Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Microhydro

Who on here has a microhydro feature with their pond?

I am considering building a waterwheel to generate power to supplement electricity usage that could sit in the spillway past the dam. I have looked at grid tie systems, battery systems, water pumping/storage, just about everything!

I think I can generate ~1-2KW/Hr with a 8' Breast-shot wheel out of the 5' of drop that has an average yearly flow rate of 1500 GPM (0-8000+ gpm fluctuation; saw 22000gpm this spring for a day!).

Wife thinks I am a little crazy...

I'm sure you came across this technical article, but if not, there is a lot of meat to pick off the bones here:

Waterwheel hydro technical study

Neat idea. Have you done a cost study? If you can pay for the system in 3 years or less, I would look seriously at doing it. Keep in mind, at peak generating times you are only going to realize your actual consumption unless you go with some type of grid-tie system (could actually get a check from the power company every month if the laws are the same as they were 40 years ago).

If I looked at it purely from a payback point of view, it is cost prohibitive. All in I could do it myself in the 5-8K range. So my intrigue is more project excitement, than fiscal viability. I could make some money back from utility, but it appears to be capped, mitigating a plausible payback scenario.

I have generated a calculator for waterwheel design to maximize efficiency with the flow at the site. This was initially modeled in ProE in aluminum, but realized it was going to be ~4K with me doing all of the welding (not my speciality). Since then I have a low cost idea for a waterwheel using a 8’ utility Cable reel and a cable reel carrier. I would like to demonstrate its function before spending more money on something that isn’t viable. Also looking at building a Kaplan turbine using a jet drive impeller and dc 3-ph alternator. There are some out there on the market using commercially available components.

In either case it is like a science project! Ultimately, I just want to be more self sufficient, albeit may not be more cost effective. Just thought I would post it on here to see if there were any other folks with kindred spirits looking at ideas like this.

I have not seen that article, thank you. I feel like I ready the academic version of that report, but it may have been a different universities.

I have a notebook full of ideas and have scoured the internet on all of them. If you have any thoughts or questions throw them out and I would love to engage with you on it. It all centers around the following:
1. Keep it a simple as possible (minimize unnecessary losses)
2. Work = Force * Distance
3. Work: How do you store it or use it

Thanks,
Jason

Consumers Power in MI uses electricity (at non-peak demand hours) to pump water to a high elevation along the bluff near Ludington, MI into big reservoirs, then during summer time peak electric hours lets it run back through turbines again.

So they don't store the electricity, they store the potential to make power by just moving the water to a different place.

IN your case, if you could use the elevation difference and perhaps during low flow months of the year you could divert the water to a higher elevation reservoir and then run it through the power system when you had a use for the power (like to run an aerator in the summer months) that may give you personal benefit beyond any financial benefit.

I know with the push for solar and the limitation we have in northern states where we don't have consistent sun that large liquid 'batteries' are the hot item to store 'energy' to do work later.

I guess if you had a Tesla battery wall mounted in your garage or basement then it would make sense to harness the water supplied energy year around as you would have a energy storage device.

Some have discussed getting an old electric vehicle battery pack that is beyond its life and reusing that as an energy storage device.