Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric

Home Power - Home Power/Home-Made Power for Off-Grid Living. 

Bookmark this page:   Yahoo!   Google   Windows Live   del.icio.us   digg   Netscape

Subject Author Date Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric z 06-19-2009  Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric Curbie 06-19-2009  Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric Curbie 06-20-2009  Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric Jim Wilkins 06-23-2009  Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric Tim Jackson 06-23-2009
Posted by z on June 19, 2009, 1:15 pm Please log in for more thread options > z, > > I like the spa idea, economy of scale pricing and availability. > > Did you ever figure out the head & flow for your system? Its between 37-39 PSI so thats roughly 90 feet of head. My pressure gauge isn't so easy to read. The optimal flow for 2 inch pipe at 450 feet is around 54 GPM so according to microhydrocalc I should have 300+ watts available. Sadly i'm only making about 120 at the moment (I finally scored a charge controller that shows watts produced), but i'm not using nearly the optimal GPM, more like half, so I use 25 GPM as an estimate. That results in 206 watts, so i'm probably losing quite a bit in my design. But I'm pretty sure a lot of that is from the transition to the nozzles and the big T -- so i'm going to get a 2 inch wye like above and go flexi 2 inch all the way right before the transition to nozzles. Might gain some there. Been experimenting with different bore sizes too I've got a lot of notes one of these days i'll compile everything together and make some sense of it ;) -z Posted by Curbie on June 19, 2009, 1:45 pm Please log in for more thread options z, Maybe a stupid idea, but I recall tire air fill nozzle for tube-less tires that you just bolted to the rim before spooning a tube-less tire to the rim. The questionable idea would be to bolt one of these air fill nozzles to a water feed-pipe near your generator to take a water pressure reading with a cheapo tire pressure gauge? Sense: Head * 0.433 = PSI 87 (Ft. Head) * 0.433 = 37.6 (PSI) Then: 37.6 (PSI) / 0.433 = 87 (Ft. Head) So you obviously got that. Flow would be easy, just time how long it takes to fill a 1 gallon jug from power drum. (?correct term) Say it 21 seconds to a one gallon jug: Flow (GPM) 2.85 =(1 / 21) * 60 With proper head and flow measurements that "turgo" spread-sheet you have should help in estimating the number and size of the jets you need? It may take some of the time out of experiments? Curbie Posted by Curbie on June 20, 2009, 7:21 pm Please log in for more thread options z, SolPos.c is too intense for a simple tracking system, here is some tracking specific code I ported from JavaScript which is far better suited for tracking I found here: http://www.powerfromthesun.net/CALCULATORS/AngleCalc.html Have fun. Curbie *********************************************************************************** Dim LA As Double ' latitude Dim ZE As Double ' zenith Dim AZ As Double ' azimuth Dim TmpAZ As Double ' temporary azimuth Dim HA As Double ' hour angle Dim DE As Double ' declination Dim AL As Double ' altitude Dim CZ As Double ' Dim CI As Double ' collector angle of tncidence Dim CT As Double ' Dim HAS As Double ' hour of sunset Dim HAR As Double ' hour of sunrise Dim HD As Double ' hours of daylight Dim Text As String ' results text LA = Radians(Me.Latitude) ' latitude in radians AZ = Radians(Me.Azi) ' azimuth in radians ZE = Radians(Me.Zen) ' zenith in radians ' Perform calculations here HA = Radians(15 * (Me.ST - 12)) ' calculate hour angle in radians DE = ASin(C1 * Cos(Radians(C2 * (Me.Day - 173)))) ' calculate declination in radians ' calculate altitude AL = ASin(Sin(DE) * Sin(Me.Latitude) + Cos(DE) * Cos(HA) * Cos(Me.Latitude)) ZE = (Pi / 2) - AL ' calculate zenith ' calculate azimuth TmpAZ = ACos((Sin(DE) * Cos(LA) - Cos(DE) * Cos(HA) * Sin(LA)) / Cos(AL)) If Sin(HA) > 0 Then ' AZ = 2 * (Pi) - TmpAZ ' End If ' If Sin(HA) < 0 Then ' AZ = TmpAZ ' End If ' If Sin(HA) = 0 Then ' AZ = Pi ' End If ' ' calculate collector angle of incidence Select Case Me.TA ' get number of tracking axes Case 0 ' if fixed CI = ACos(Sin(AL) * Cos(ZE) + Cos(AL) * Sin(ZE) * Cos(CZ - AZ)) Case 1 ' if eest/west only CI = ACos(Sin(AL) * Cos(CT) + Cos(AL) * Sin(CT) * Cos(CZ - AZ)) Case 2 ' if both east/west and north/south CI = 0# End Select ' get number of tracking axes HAS = (Degrees(ACos(-Tan(DE) * Tan(LA))) / 15) + 12 ' calculate solar time of sunset HAR = 12 - (HAS - 12) ' calculate solar time of sunrise HD = 2 * (HAS - 12) ' calculate hours of daylight ' Display results ''Text = "At Solar Time: " & Format(T, "##.000") & " (hr)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Solar Time: " & DecimalToHMS(ST) & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Hour Angle: " & Format(Degrees(HA), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Declination: " & Format(Degrees(DE), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Sun Altitude Angle: " & Format(Degrees(AL), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Sun Zenith Angle: " & Format(Degrees(ZE), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Sun Azimuth Angle: " & Format(Degrees(AZ), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Time of Sunset (solar time): " & Format(HAS, "###.000") & " (hr)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Time of Sunrise (solar time): " & Format(HAR, "###.000") & " (hr)" & vbCrLf Text = Text & "Hours of Daylight: " & Format(HD, "###.00") & " (hr)" & vbCrLf ''Text = Text & "Angle of Incidence on Collector: " & Format(Degrees(CI), "###.00") & " (deg)" & vbCrLf Me.Results = Text ' display results *********************************************************************************** Public Const Pi = 3.14159265 ' define pi Public Function Radians(Degree As Double) As Double ' convert degrees to radians Radians = Degree * Pi / 180 ' calculate and return degrees converted to radians End Function Public Function Degrees(Radian As Double) As Double ' convert radians to degrees Degrees = Radian * 180 / Pi ' calculate and return radians converted to degrees End Function Public Function EquationOfTime(DayNumber As Double) As Double ' Equation of Time using day number Dim R As Double ' radians R = Radians((360 * (DayNumber - 1)) / 365.242) ' load radians EquationOfTime = 0.258 * Cos(R) - 7.416 * Sin(R) - 3.648 * Cos(2 * R) - 9.228 * Sin(2 * R) End Function Public Function LongitudeCorrection(TimeZone As Double, Longitude As Double) As Double ' Longitude Correction using time zone and longitude LongitudeCorrection = (15 * TimeZone - Longitude) / 15 ' calculate and return solar time End Function Public Function LocalTime(ST As Double, DST As Double, EOT As Double, LC As Double) As Double ' Local Time using solar time, daylight saving time, equation of time, and longitude correction LocalTime = ST - (EOT / 60) + LC + DST ' calculate and return local time End Function Public Function SolarTime(LTD As Double, DST As Double, EOT As Double, LC As Double) As Double ' Solar Time using local time decmal, daylight saving time, equation of time, and longitude correction SolarTime = LTD + (EOT / 60) - LC - DST ' calculate and return solar time End Function Public Function DecimalToHMS(X As Double) As String ' Return time in 24Hr. string formatted 19:29:12 Dim Hrs As Integer ' hours Dim Mins As Integer ' minutes Dim Secs As Integer ' seconds Hrs = Int(X) ' calculate hours Mins = Int(60 * (X - Hrs)) ' calculate minutes Secs = Int(3600 * (X - Hrs - Mins / 60)) ' calculate seconds DecimalToHMS = Format(Hrs, "00") & ":" & Format(Mins, "00") & ":" & Format(Secs, "00") End Function ' arc sine ' error if value is outside the range [-1,1] Function ASin(value As Double) As Double If Abs(value) <> 1 Then ASin = Atn(value / Sqr(1 - value * value)) Else ASin = 1.5707963267949 * Sgn(value) End If End Function ' arc cosine ' error if NUMBER is outside the range [-1,1] Function ACos(ByVal number As Double) As Double If Abs(number) <> 1 Then ACos = 1.5707963267949 - Atn(number / Sqr(1 - number * number)) ElseIf number = -1 Then ACos = 3.14159265358979 End If 'elseif number=1 --> Acos=0 (implicit) End Function ' arc cotangent ' error if NUMBER is zero Function ACot(value As Double) As Double ACot = Atn(1 / value) End Function ' arc secant ' error if value is inside the range [-1,1] Function ASec(value As Double) As Double ' NOTE: the following lines can be replaced by a single call ' ASec = ACos(1 / value) If Abs(value) <> 1 Then ASec = 1.5707963267949 - Atn((1 / value) / Sqr(1 - 1 / (value * value))) Else ASec = 3.14159265358979 * Sgn(value) End If End Function ' arc cosecant ' error if value is inside the range [-1,1] Function ACsc(value As Double) As Double ' NOTE: the following lines can be replaced by a single call ' ACsc = ASin(1 / value) If Abs(value) <> 1 Then ACsc = Atn((1 / value) / Sqr(1 - 1 / (value * value))) Else ACsc = 1.5707963267949 * Sgn(value) End If End Function Posted by Jim Wilkins on June 23, 2009, 6:14 am Please log in for more thread options > .. > It just needs a vent, like any water system. =A0You need to identify any > potential airlock points, high-points in the pipeline where air can > accumulate, and fit a small open tube (big enough to pass an air bubble, > about 1/2" if it's straight up, more if it is a gradual gradient) > leading as straight as possible from the top of the pipe to above the > head. =A0Otherwise, even without leaks there is the risk (certainty) of > small bubbles carried in the flow accumulating there until a lock occurs. > > This of course won't work if it is a syphon, rising above the head. =A0In > that case you need to use a pipe section narrow enough to ensure a high > enough velocity through the "negative pressure" zone to carry any > bubbles down to a region of positive pressure, where they can be trapped > and vented. =A0This of course works against maximising your flow for powe= r > (and can be a problem if you are throttling the flow elsewhere, it'll > run fine until you throttle back, then refuse to open up again). =A0It is > only in such areas of sub-atmospheric pressure that leaky joints will > suck air in to the system. The suction can also cause gases to boil out > of the water and accumulate. > > Tim Jackson Vitruvius described something like this in Roman aquaducts where they crossed a gorge on low pipes. jsw Posted by Tim Jackson on June 23, 2009, 9:33 am Please log in for more thread options Jim Wilkins wrote: > Vitruvius described something like this in Roman aquaducts where they > crossed a gorge on low pipes. > > jsw Oh, well, can't be original. Those aquarii were pretty clued up. Ever read Pompeii by Robert Harris? Gets pretty close up and personal with a Roman aqueduct. Tim Similar Threads Posted Re: spa parts for home built hydroelectric June 19, 2009, 12:47 pm spa parts for home built hydroelectric June 19, 2009, 11:32 am Home built generator February 11, 2010, 8:27 pm ELECTRIC VEHICLES OF AMERICA (Leading Supplier Of EV Parts) October 24, 2008, 3:12 pm How i built muscle quickly October 6, 2007, 7:54 pm Ever seen/built a Minto's wheel December 28, 2007, 4:59 pm Solar Sterling Engine - Have you built one? September 2, 2008, 4:32 pm new home ideas August 24, 2007, 1:15 pm Re: new home ideas January 4, 2008, 8:00 am Re: Asking for Recommendations for New HVAC in a Row Home April 3, 2007, 7:46 am