Using an old SmartDrive motor in a hydroelectric project to make free power - a waterwheel will drive the generator!
UPDATE: Planning the water wheel
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Sunday, 27th of August
Sam and Stefan explored the area where the water wheel will go.
We are planning to make it out of plywood and PVC pipe which will be the center. We will then use our knowledge of electronics to make a 'dynamo', which will run electricity through wires to other uses such as a floodlight and chargers in their home. Sam's family currently uses a petrol generator which charges many of their 12V car/boat batteries to power their lights and other small appliances. We are also considering using a washing machine motor as our dynamo. The water wheel will have paddles to create resistance which turns the wheel fast. We are hoping to get up to 30 volts of electricity.
Area where wires could be dug underground - maybe power an LED floodlight
Wires could lead into caravan to charge devices, power lights, etc. as the generator is not always on
Difficult to charge devices when there is no power
An excellent blog Stefan and group, clear and easy to follow with good ideas and information. This is looking really great and is moving forward. Do not forget to link to sustainability issues.
Saturday and Sunday, 16th - 17th of September Stefan stayed over at Sam's house and they both had a very productive weekend. Summary: I won't talk about much this post as I have put together a fun video of our hydroelectric system. We cut and screwed together lots of wood for the water wheel and its stand/holder. We were also able to secure the SmartDrive in place with lots of tests and had a fun time in the creek with it. Some of it was tough, like trying to align the wheel perfectly, but we managed to get it working in the end. We tested our 300W inverter on a small lamp and it was great, we also managed to get the SmartDrive turning on full load in the creek which was really impressive, considering we haven't even built a proper flume to project the water more efficiently. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video:
Sunday, 10th of September Stefan and Sam (with the help of his dad), began to design, cut, sand and loosely put together the water wheel. The day: In the morning, Sam's dad helped us to cut the harder parts of the water wheel. After a quick search, Stefan found out the paddles should be small and on an angle to create small pockets for the water to catch in. We first cut 2 big circles of plywood for the outside of the wheel and then 16 rectangular smaller pieces for the middle and paddles. Then came the refinements. Sam sanded most of the plywood, evening out the pieces so they were of the same size. A week earlier, Stefan had made a prototype to hold the smart drive generator together out of MDF wood. This sucks in rain so Sam cut a new one and we re-did it out of ply. The results were great! After the hard day of work, we were able to sit down and relax. We were now able to assemble the wheel loosely to see how it would work. Looks awesome so far. At the t
UPDATE We have not done much the past few weeks because we have been busy with other things. Stefan said he has got nearly all parts we need for the project. I hope to get back to it soon.
this is cool
ReplyDeleteAn excellent blog Stefan and group, clear and easy to follow with good ideas and information. This is looking really great and is moving forward. Do not forget to link to sustainability issues.
ReplyDelete