Need suggestions for hydroelectric project.

 

I am buying a place with 44 ac. of wood and an old mill dam. The Mill
has been sold/given by the previous owners to an historical restoration
project.The dam has about 10' head and flow will be in 5 digits ( well
over 10000gpm). I have no interest in selling power to the grid or
getting tax benefits.

I'm looking for suggestions that would permit me to do all my heating
and cooling without the local utility. I am on a fixed budget, so the
projects must be economical.

thanks.

 



A trompe would probably handle your cooling at very low cost.  

Before you buy, the big issue that you want to explore is the
liability involved with the dam itself.  Dams require maintenence or
they fail.  That work can be quite expensive.  There are also state
and Federal agencies that will be wanting to live in your pocket, and
possibly environmental and special interest groups like fishermen that
will want their way.

 

The dam exists. It was built in 1907 and used up into the 1970's. It is
pretty silted up, so storage is low. The down stream neighbors would
like it cleaned, if possible, to help with some of the local flood
problems. Others miss the old mill and wheel that once stood there.
As things stand any flow that doesn't go through the gate, goes over the
top, so I won't be affecting normal down stream flow.  I do have a
lawyer looking into my making non-commercial use of the dam.

Harry Chickpea wrote:

 

With 10ft. head and over 10000gpm, pretty good start for hydro electric
power project. Look for a generator head on ebay for 10-15KW range 1000RPM,
I think it will cost you some thing like $250-400 and rest of the turbine
just built it or buy ready made, cost you much cheaper if you built it by
yourself. I don't see any rocket science involve there in building a
turbine. Lot of info. available on internet about size and type of
turbines.

Here are few quick links:

http://www.altenergystore.com/cart/university/seminars/hydro_power/hydro_power_calculation_site.html?j2I3QCxb;;15

http://www.bitterrootsolar.com/hydro/canyon.htm

http://www.renewableelectricity.com/hydro.htm

http://reslab.com.au/resfiles/hydro/index.html

 

Hi Charles

As others have said, you may need to check on what use you are allowed
to make of the dam/water by local authorities - especially at that
flow level.
Here (this part of NZ), local authorities don't take much notice if
your usage is under 25 litres per sec and doesn't actually affect
anyone else  -  but it can depend on the official you speak to!

Nevertheless, to answer you questions about equipment - I have a "one
off" (made locally) Kaplan runner at my holiday home, which uses up to
about 14 litres a sec at 6 metres of head.  (I have 62 acres there)
For the 3 m head that you have, a Kaplan would probably be the most
efficient, though I think it might be difficult to find anything cheap
enough, which would handle even 1000 cub ft per min (=around 460
litres/sec) at 3 metre head.

A better (cheaper) solution for you would probably be a crossflow
turbine. I have been involved with designing (ie modifying) a small
crossflow system that was installed locally, using about 25 l/sec with
a 2m head. Diagrams for building these are available on the web
(search for Shoal Creek Light & Power  or just for crossflow turbine).
Its also called a Banki Turbine.

Your potential power available is immense compared with most small
systems - but tapping into it is going to have to cost some dollars!

Best wishes with your project.

Eric Sears

On Thu, 24 Nov 2005 20:25:41 -0500, Charles Lyttle