I am planning to build a floating watter wheel. My river current speed is about 4MPH. Barrels will be used on axials with paddles also made from barrels. I can use 55 gallon or 30 gallon barrels...I have both. My inclination Is that the 30 gallon barrels will have a higher RPM. The floating radius is adjustable. The paddleds can be made any size...2' seems logical because a 55 gallon barrel has a 6' circumference a 30 gallon barrel has a 5' circumference . Barrels will be mounted end to end like rolling pins. This can be 1, 2,3 or 4 axials with two barrels on each axial. Calculations on the number of barrels, paddle sizes, paddle number and gear ratio will be very helpfull, but my main question Is about the Axial Flux alternator and how big to build it and what RPM it needs to run eficiently and not over heat. My usage is about 1500kwh. I would like to over build the PMA if that makes sense to those who know more about this than me.
Thanks for a great website,
Dave