Have someone in the community wanting to put in an off grid hydro system. Went to look at his site and HOLY MOLEY.
He has a 14" ID steel pipe shooting a FULL stream of water about 6 feet out before it starts to turn down into the washout below. He says rain does not affect the flow rate, noticably. It is a branch off from the river where the inlet is submerged about 2 feet below the surface in a 6' deep cut in the river on an outside bend. This is right before a waterfall, so a pooling effect.
It's approximately 30' of head to a concrete walled area where a "Pelton" once lived. Needless to say, I'm overwhelmed with how to advise him. He doesn't know what he has or needs, just "wants to run a house on the farm".
For starters, I did measure his chaseway capacity. It runs water 19" wide X 16" deep. Knowing I need many more measurements, I will return to the site one day this week.
Meanwhile, Is a high RPM turbine system beneficial or a low RPM turbine system more practical ? Looking to keep maintenance to a minimum and longevity to the maximum. Also, which might be a better system, a DC system with inverter or a direct AC system with a small battery for backup ? On a quick trip through Ebay, I found a NEW 1800 RPM 2.5 KW alternator that would be belt driven. I have no idea if this would be a usable item or not. Also, need advice on whether a Pelton or a Banki turbine is better and how to size it.
Once I gather sufficient information, I will start a build thread, if I get to work with him on this. In the interim, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks