Thanks Peter, I'm getting a lot of feedback advising against the 4" pipe in favor of 2". Is there no advantage in the larger pipe? 2" would certainly be easier to work with.
I see good use for heat from a diversion load. The winter is when I will need the most output. I am going to add some appliances, e.g. a Sunfrost 16 refrig, a Jacuzi tub pump, and a radiant floor heat pump. I do intend to add more solar panels as well for Summer power. --- In [email protected], Peter and Eileen Allen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Tom > I also live off grid (20years) and generate power > with solar and hydro. My hydro site sounds somewhat > similar to your proposed site except that my house is > near the turbine and my intake is just a small dam > that holds a couple hundred gal. of water. A pond > makes a great intake so your maintenance on that end > should be minimal, but changing Nozzels can be a > hassle especially since your turbine will be some > distance from the house. From what you have described > about your site I think you must make some care full > measurements of available flow during the non-summer > months. Sounds like you should be counting mostly on > solar for summer. If you get a dry spell the the fall > (a month with little rain) How many gallons/min can > you count on? If you do not know the answer to this > question then perhaps alittle more study should be > done before you start sending money. If you could > count on 20 gallons /min or more your site would > produce at least 300 watts which should easily make > the effort worth while for an off grid battery system. > Such a flow could be accomadated with a 2 inch pipe > which is very economical. In my opinion its not worth > changing nozzels more than a few times a year. Forget > about the peak flows in the spring. Put a nozzel on > that you can be sure is going to be supplied with > sufficient water for the 8 or 9 good months and then > change to a small summer nozzel. During the summer my > site produces power intermittently. often it will > produce power(150 watts) during the night and > morning,but not in the afternoon and evening. those > deciduous trees are very thirsty on a hot sunny day! > The four inch pipe that you were talking about seemed > very large to me for a site with intermittent flow > three months of the year. This is about all I can say > with the limited information provided but would be > happy to comment further if you would like. > Peter Allen West Chazy NY. > > --- [email protected] wrote: > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor > > --------------------~--> > > Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make > > Yahoo! your home page > > > http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/FGYolB/TM > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------- -~-> > > > > > > There are 6 messages in this issue. > > > > Topics in this digest: > > > > 1. Re: ABOUT MICRO HYDRO > > From: Manfred Mornhinweg > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 2. Re: Planning a new hydro system > > From: Eilrem Fernandez > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 3. Effective water flow calculation > > From: "Mihai Radulescu" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 4. Fwd: Re: ABOUT MICRO HYDRO > > From: himani goyal > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 5. Re: Effective water flow calculation > > From: "Radu Babau" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 6. Re: Effective water flow calculation > > From: Eilrem Fernandez > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > > _____________________________________________________________________ ___ > > > _____________________________________________________________________ ___ > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:39:26 +0000 > > From: Manfred Mornhinweg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: Re: ABOUT MICRO HYDRO > > > > Hi, > > > > > HI Any body can tell me how i can determined any > > micro hydro plant > > > capacity if i know his Discharge,water head. > > > > Very simple: Every kilogram of water is attracted by > > Mother Earth with a > > force of 9.8 Newton. Force times distance traveled > > gives energy. So, one > > liter of water falling one meter gives 9.8 Joule of > > energy. If this > > happens every second, you have a continous gross > > power of 9.8 Watt. Then > > you must subtract the losses of the whole system > > (penstock, turbine, > > transmission, generator) to reach the final > > electrical power output. > > > > > If any formula please tell me in brief. > > > > Electrical power (Watts) = 9.8 * flow (liters per > > second) * head > > (meters) * efficiency > > > > The efficiency should be between 0.3 and 0.8, > > depending on the quality > > of the system. > > > > An example can make things simpler: Suppose you have > > a stream giving 30 > > liters per second, with a usable head of 25 meters, > > and a system > > efficiency of 50%, or 0.5. You will get: > > > > 9.8 * 30 l/s * 25 m * 0.5 = 3675 Watt. > > > > Clear? > > > > Best regards, > > Manfred. > > > > > > P.S.: This is my first post to this group. I hope to > > buy a piece of land > > soon, build my definitive home on it, and power it > > from a microhydro > > setup. So I joined here a few months ago, to get > > into gear! > > > > -------------------------- > > Visit my hobby homepage! > > http://ludens.cl > > -------------------------- > > > > > > > > > > > > > _____________________________________________________________________ ___ > > > _____________________________________________________________________ ___ > > > > Message: 2 > > Date: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:54:39 -0700 (PDT) > > From: Eilrem Fernandez > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: Re: Planning a new hydro system > > > > Hi Tom, > > > > I'm assuming that you're using GI or BI pipes since > > the maximum pressure at the bottom is about 85psi. > > Your penstock could handle up to 12L/s flow rate > > with reasonable efficiency. > > > > For proper operation, the intake only requires a > > minimum depth of submergence 3x its diameter, > > theoretically 12" in your case, which makes your > > plan (4ft) more than sufficient. However, if you > > could immerse your intake deeper, you can use the > > pond as water storage during the dry weather. > > > > You can operate the system at full power (around 5kW > > @12L/s for pelton runners, or 3-4kW for crossflow > > runners) when water availability is sufficient. If > > the system is outfitted with multiple nozzles or > > with a spear valve, you can just adjust the flow > > rate to match what is available. > > > > However, generators and alternators are notoriously > > inefficient when operating at partial capacity. So > > if you have sufficient water storage capacity in > > your pond, you can operate your system for a few > > hours then wait for the pond to fill up before using > > it again. > > > > May I know your battery bank capacity and the total > > watt-peak capacity of the PV array? Are you planning > > to use your microhydro just for battery charging or > > have plans for other applications? Are you using > > your system as a hybrid system? Are you planning to > > fabricate your own turbine? Such info is also > > relevant in deciding what is best for your > > microhydro system. > > > > Eilrem > > > > thomas_a_phillips <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > To introduce myself, our OTG Solar home is located > > on the Cumberland > > Plateau, north of Chattanooga. We use Solar > > electric, propane and > > diesel with some wood for energy needs. Our home > > sits on a bluff > > that rises 150' above a raveen with a creek. We have > > a 1 acre pond > > up on the bluff that is fed by a wet weather stream > > that runs 8 or > > nine (winter)months. The out flow from the pond goes > > over the bluff > > to the creek below. > > > > I have surveyed a route for a 4" penstock from the > > spillway over to > > the bluff and down the slope to a suitable turbine > > location. Total > > length of the penstock will be around 800 ft. The > > Penstock will be > > buried from the pond to the edge of the bluff. The > > slope is too > > rocky to bury it from there to the turbine site, the > > last 200'. > > Difficulties will be the length of the penstock, the > > fact that it > > traverses a dip before droping over the bluff, the > > need for concrete > > thrust and slider blocks on the steep slope, and the > > distance of the > > turbine from the house, probably about 600'. > > > > I have two questions I'd like some input on. One, I > > think I can > > place the intake for the penstock out in about 4 > > feet of water in > > the pond away from the spill way. Is that a good > > plan? > > > > And two, It is a wet weather stream that drains > > about 50 acres. This > > year has been unusualy wet, so the stream has almost > > not stopped > > running. But other years we have seen little or no > > flow in July, > > August and September. (Of course the solar panels > > crank then). How > > are these periods of intermittant flow handled? Does > > it require > > constant adjustment, or do you just shut it down > > till you have > > sufficient flow? > > > > > === message truncated === ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/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! 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