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Offline WD45

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water power
« on: July 11, 2010, 03:11:28 PM »
Any of you all using or trying to use water wheels to either power a generator or other things? We do not have enough wind to use as a power source around here but there are a lot of creeks that run year round.
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Offline PowPow

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Re: water power
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2010, 03:25:55 PM »
Doesn't a water wheel and its dam get the attention of the US Army Corp of Engineers?
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The difference between people who do stuff and people who don't do stuff is that the people who do stuff do stuff.

Offline Hodr

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Re: water power
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2010, 03:53:19 PM »
Haven't had my hands on one myself but a relative in Portland says there is a device called a Bamford Hi-Ram Pump that actually works and is far quieter than an old style hydraulic water ram.  He has lots of free flow creek water and uses this to pump water to his cattle barn.

blindhari

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Offline bilmac

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Re: water power
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2010, 04:27:35 PM »
I made a ram pump last year for about $100. I don't run it continuously, but don't find the noise objectionable at all, in fact I think it is a peaceful sound that puts me to sleep. With about 8 feet of head I pump about 100 gallons an hour up a hill about 75 feet higher than the pump.

There is a large irrigation canal on my place that has a major drop in it. Water races down a cement ditch about 8" deep and traveling around 10 MPH. I am thinking that I could rewire an old trolling motor and dip it into this raceway and charge 12 V. batteries.
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Offline WD45

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Re: water power
« Reply #4 on: July 13, 2010, 05:48:17 AM »
Most water wheels used around here in the old days were rather small and would draw little attention. A lot of them required no dam at all due to the drop already built into the hill. A trough race was just ran from the creek to the wheel and then back into the creek. Bilmac , I don't see why that would not work. I never thought about the trolling motor.
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