I have been invited as a guest at a hunting lodge in Upstate New York, I'll be up there in a few weeks on a "work weekend" and I would like to try to sell the camp on investing in hydro power. Its a blue collar hunting camp and there are professional welders, plumbers, and electrical lineman in the membership ranks; each masters of their own trade.
Most importantly... there is a heavy flowing spring, feeding a creek, ON THE LAND, that falls about 200' over 1500' of run.
I would like to encourage the camp to generate grid tied power using a home made pelton setup. Most of the members are older than me (31) and many years more experienced in their trades... so I want to iron out all the issues in my plan before I approach them.
My plan....
I intend to manufacture a pelton wheel about 18" diameter with 16 spoons. Each spoon will be two halves of 3" diameter iron pipe, about 4" long, cut length wise, and welded together to make a "number 3" profile shape. Each of these will be welded to a 10" diameter center steel hub using 3/4 rebar. The center hub will be housed inside of a 55 gallon drum, positioned horizontally with pillow blocks on either end to support the pelton wheel on a 1" axle. I would like to have 8 - 1" nozzles to redirect the 4" of flow spaced equally around the drum. Around the drum there would be alternating 4x2 sanitary PVC T's and 4" 45 degree PVC elbows forming an octagon of 4" pipe. The 2" side of each 4x2 t's would then convert to 1" pvc nozzles, pointed towards the spoons inside the drum. Each of the 8 - 1" nozzles should be backed by 60+ PSI of flow.
Down the hillside I would like to bury 4" HDPE corregated drainage pipe in 250' lengths. Approximately 6 x 250 will leave me at the very least 120' of head. The drainage pipe would be connected using standard HDPE connectors, each encased in a block of concrete. I am hoping by burying the corregated pipe it will hold the necessary pressure. The drop could be as much as a 200'; hard to say as you walk through the woods. Anyway... at the bottom of the hill, near the creek, still on the hunting camp land is a power line and power pole, so grid tie would be really easy without too much wire expense. At the top of the hill there would be a filter jenny to keep out debris.
Expected cost of the project is about $2000.
My questions:
1) I would like to use a single phase 220v 1750 RPM 5HP motor. Does this seem like the right size "induction generator" for my setup?
2) Does anyone have any links to a specific schematic for hooking up an induction generator, running off a steady flowing pelton turbine, directly to the power grid? Or, could you specifically describe all of the parts in question including any phase balancing relays, reverse power relays, start/stop relays, and breakers etc.
3) The mechanical ends of things I feel like the camp can handle... we can weld together a rock solid pelton wheel. We can dig a trench and create a filter to divert 4" of clean water down the hillside. We can do the 4" pipe to 8 x 1" nozzle plumbing; no problem. We can install a 200 amp power pack on the pole, no problem. I'm just not sure about SAFELY and LEGALLY connecting the "induction generator" to the live grid. What would we be up against to actually turn the system on legally?
4) How much electricity do you expect we would be able to create with this system?
5) Please poke as many other holes in my plan as possible... (and then help me patch them up if please
).
Thanks,
carpenter mike