Hi Splash As your flow rate is only about 7 L/s, if you can get 10 feet of head (3m) in 180ft (55m) of 4 inch (100mm) pipe then from a simple Pelton rotor you should be able to get around 80 watts with a 36mm jet (or two 25mm jets).
You existing set up I would predict only about 40 watts or less is possible (efficiency tends to drop at very low outputs). If you are getting 20-30 watts you have done pretty well - you'll probably find the brushes in the DC motor only last about 1 year - a brushless PMG would be a better choice. I would imagine your forklift will not go far on this low level of input. We had an eclectic car for many years and the same amount of input you get it 24 hours it would have gone about 4 km. If interested in some low cost options for micro hydro and a more suitable PMG than you have at the moment then look at our web site. Regards Michael Lawley Renewable Energy Engineer EcoInnovation EcoInn/EcoBach 671 Kent Road R.D.1 New Plymouth New Zealand Phone: (NZ) 06 752 2765 Fax: (NZ) 06 7522768 Web site: www.ecoinn.co.nz email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: splash081468 To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 1:50 AM Subject: [microhydro] experiments with hydro Just wondering if anybody can help. One year ago I started a mini hydro experiment. The head is 5 feet and the flow is 100 gpm. I'm using my old blower fan off my furnace as the turbine. I have 80 feet of 4" pvc pipe going down to a 1 1/2 nozzle to strike the blades. My generator is a old dc motor (90 volt 6.35 amp) with a blocking 6 amp diode. It's putting out between 21-26 volts into my forklift batteries 100 ft away. The wire I'm running to the batteries is 12/2. I have 2 problems. One is it possible to increase production with crossflow and a different generator. I can increase the head up to 10 feet by putting down 100 more feet of pipe. And 2 can anybody tell me about how many watts and amps I might be charging now? I'm guessing around 20-30 watts, pretty low but nothing cost me anything. I'll have pictures soon. Thanks Splash Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links a.. To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/microhydro/ b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers. At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EA3HyD/3MnJAA/79vVAA/FGYolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Does your company feature in the microhydro business directory at http://microhydropower.net/directory ? If not, please register free of charge and be exposed to the microhydro community world wide! NOTE: The advertisements in this email are added by Yahoogroups who provides us with free email group services. The microhydro-group does not endorse products or support the advertisements in any way. More information on micro hydropower at http://microhydropower.net To unsubscribe: send empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/microhydro/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
