Thanks for the response! It will just be for my family, however I have varying needs that might differ too greatly to make this feasible. The closest power I can get to is 22 miles away, other than the cost I have some other roadblocks barring me from connecting.
I did not have in mind to harness 18 cfs, but A 1/3 or 6 cfs. I think that would give me a potential of 140 kw. My needs will vary between the seasons, and when I am working in the shop. I have lots of power tools, saws, planers, lathes, and 2 CNC Routers. The largest is a planer, which requires 3 circuits: 80 amps, 50 amps, and 20 amps, mad power hungry. The remaining tools are all ½ that requirement and much less. I don't plan on running every thing at once, just have the some small tools running and 1 large one at a time. But in addition to those loads, I have three electric boilers; the largest in the house can take up to 100 amps, while the workshop is 53, and a remote structure is 45 amps. Then to pile all the other thins on top, pumps, fans, computers, tivos, and kitchen appliances would be allot. My thought is the stream is capable of generating the power I need, just wanted to bounce some ideas off this group to see what you think. I want to be safe and responsible, and keep the future in mind. Fuel is getting expensive, and I fear the recent increase are just a hint of things to come. All the reading I have done, about living green requires batteries, inverters, and a reduction in power availability, this is not for me. But if a diesel generator can make it all work why not a turbine coupled to a generator. In another response someone mentioned to give more detail, hope the above and below gives that. Given my goals, I have acquired some of the materials over the past year, they were free to me, here is what I have: 720 ft 15" PVC pipe (ID 14.04) MAGNAMAX 126 KW GENERATOR (3 PHASE, 480Y/240Y) @ 1800 RPM GENERIC COUPLING HUB ELECTRONIC CONTROLS FOR GENERATOR TRANSFORMERS AND REGULATORS I have the skill set to get the water to the turbine, and to distribute the electricity from the generator. What I lack is how to design they hydro portion Pipe size Will pipe with 14" inside diameter carry enough water and keep the velocity fairly low? Is PVC ok to use or should I use something else? How do I maintain RPM, when I could vary my power requirements by 200 300 amps? I need a good ballast load, would pumping a portion of the water back up the hill do the trick? How do I manage/accomplish it, is there a product I can buy, a black box, something that is rated for 240/480 3 phase at 1000 amps? Should it be a direct drive or belt? The design of the turbine is greatly helped by the Josephs spreadsheet and web site, enough so I feel confidant to take a first stab at building and testing one. I hope this gives a bit more info; any thing I left out I will try and answer. If I missed anyting let me know, look forward to your responses! Thanks, Coby --- In [email protected], "Joseph Hartvigsen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Coby, > How much power can you productivly use at this site without a grid > connection? How far to get a grid connection? This has a potential of > about $140,000 USD/year at $50/MW-hr. > > An 18" steel pipe at 18 cfs flow will have a head loss of about 12'. I > assumed 277' static head (120 psi mentioned) in the calculations > rather than the 280' also mentioned. > > Given an 18" steel pipe, at 18 cfs, the power potential is 320kW (94% > generator, 85% turbine). You can put 18 cfs through four nozzles of > 2.5" bore. A 12" pitch diameter turbine will direct drive a 1200 rpm > (460V 3 phase typical of this size) motor of 400-500 hp. > > I'll email the spreadsheet directly, or you can download one from my > web site and enter your numbers. It does require excel with macros > turned on for the visual basic pressure loss calculation. > > http://h-hydro.com/pipedp.xls > > Joe > > > > --- In [email protected], "cobyroberts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > All, > > > > I have painstakingly taken measurements of a stream I have rights to > > in the Pacific Northwest for the past year. Thus far my lowest flow > > is 18.4 cu. ft. sec. in summer and many more times that in spring. I > > have made allot of calculations pertaining to the theoretical energy > > I could harvest. Here are some numbers: > > > > HEAD IN FT: 280 > > PSI @ BOTTOM: 120 > > LENGTH OF PIPE: 688 > > GRID TYPE: OFF-GRID > > > > Could I get some of your thoughts on what this would be capable of? > > Size of AC 240/480 generator, what size of pipe should I use, type of > > turbine? > > > > And another question, I have read allot about ballast or shunt loads, > > for instance if the above was capable of a 50kw generator, what would > > be a good ballast / shunt load? > > > > Thanks, > > > > Coby 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. 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