Help - Beavers

[hydrosun]

Andy
it makes sense to hook the hydro into the solar positive bar and then hook the bar into the MX-60 input. That way the hydro and solar are always hooked together when connected to the Mx-60.  Put tape across  all the breakers and a note to ensure someone doesn't shut off the solar and not the hydro when it is running.
You'll just have to see what the voltage of the hydro is to determine if you have to get the higher voltage version of the stream engine.
Chris

[Lowhead]

Good idea about the tape/note on the breakers.

Thanks
Andy

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

The town/county line runs right through the center of the river and pond.  I own the southern half of the dam and the "T" owns the northern half but they own the whole pond - in fact they own the river for 1/2 mile upstream.  This goes back to 1798 when the Governor of MA granted the mill rights every 1/2 mile along the river.

Sounds like power rights to the stream are a piece of settled law in MA.  I suggest you get hold of a good water-rights lawyer and find out if you already own some and can MAKE the people who own the waterway do what's necessary to make your mill work, or give you the necessary access to allow you to do it.  (This will also let you know if somebody else has the rights - in which case you can decide whether to be more stealthy with your mill or see if you can buy 'em for a song.  You can also check whether they've been abandoned and are up for homesteading.  B-)  )

The beavers are living in the dam on my half so the "T" won't be interested in any maintenance issues on my side.  ...  I can probably get permission from the board of health regarding the giardia but it would be a stretch.

Permission?  Board of Health?

Check whether you have a "Vector Control" separate from, or within, the Board of Health.  They're in business to mitigate disease spreading pests.  If they decide the beavers are a disease risk they may deal with them themselves, order or persuade another government branch to do it, help you by showing you the way through the bureaucratic hoops and cutting red tape with other departments for you, or maybe even "order" you to eliminate the beavers.  (Oh NOES!  They're MAKING me shoot the little critters.  Boo hoo!)

[12AX7]

Hello...

I just recalled an old story I heard (well.. maybe not 'that' old).
Try visiting that pond with a remote controlled high speed boat.
Seems I recall someone saying how much the beavers didn't like it.

come to think of it, neither did his wife.

ax7

[David HK]

Perhaps a moment of humour might be appropriate.

Do you have any high voltage power lines going over your property at the beavers favourite swim spot? Say 4 to 33KVA lines.

If yes, how about driving a metal stake into the water at the beavers favourite swim area and connecting it to a substantial piece of wire. In turn construct yourself a Roman trebuchet as per this URL - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wVADKznOhY

Put a weight on the end of the wire, and load the weight into a cup or basket at the end of the trebuchet. Observe beavers in water at the right spot - launch trebuchet - the resulting earthing of the power line might toast the said beavers.

The electric company might not be too happy.

Alternatively, just construct the trebuchet, catch the beavers and throw them into the United States.
David

[DamonHD]

But that would make them undocumented illegal alien terrrrrrist beavers!

I for one welcome our new electrified rodent overlords.  Whoops sorry, wrong board...

Rgds

Damon

[zap]

LOL David and Damon

What is the airspeed velocity of an unleaden beaver?


On a possibly more serious note...
What about one of the sonic rodent repellents?
Harbor Freight has or had the solar and wind powered variants though I don't know how well they work.

[Hilltopgrange]

We don't have beavers in this part of the world so I have little to offer but most creatures (including me) can be made to feel threatened by a dog/dogs. The general rule being the bigger the dog the better. We had a lot of problems with foxes killing our hens so we went and got ourselves a Zeuse and haven't lost a single hen since! might be worth a try, if nothing else you gain a friend for life.
Russell

This is Zeuse, three years old and still growing!

[zap]

Good looking dog... I'd think twice about stealing one of your hens.

[Lowhead]

Hi Chris.  I hooked the turbine up to the PV+ bus bar and did see a slight increase in power but I think the turbine is spinning way to slow and I'm not seeing much of a voltage change at night.  I'm wondering if I need to adjust the sweep range on the MX60.  I didn't change anything on the MX  I did set the magnet gap to the minimum. 

Andy

[hydrosun]

There are two ways that the MX-60 can improve the output of your hydro. One is to run at a higher voltage so the amperage is less and the power lost in the wire is less. The other way is if the speed of the turbine isn't half the speed of the water. 
It didn't sound like you were losing too much voltage in the wire before so you wouldn't be gaining much that way. Now you need to see if the turbine is slowed by half when connected to the load. So either a frequency meter or voltmeter test of loaded and unloaded will tell you if the voltage that the MX is selecting is correct. With a Harris turbine I put the leads from my Fluke meter across  any two of the wires before the rectifier to measure frequency. The Harris is set up so that the frequency is 1/10th the actual rpm. You might be able to find out what  the rpm for your ESD unit should be at your head to compare to yours to see if that is the problem.
   I don't think adjusting the sweep range will help. The initial sweep is full and should find the best spot.

What is the voltage that the MX is using for input on the hydro?
Chris