# diy power



## 88beast (Jun 4, 2012)

ok so for remote sites and those of us that are more frugal with our power ive had an idea since i was a kid i hope to implement someday. well you see solar and wind energy in one home use but not hydro why not? i was thinking if a stream was diverted to run over a water wheel that was hooked up to a generator with a gear train to keep the steady rpms the only thing to worry about would be the regulation of water which would include after really rainy days moving a diverter to control flow this could even be done with a servo of some sort from a switch in the house. so am i a genious or a dreamer? why has nobody thought of this?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Sorry your post got caught by our systems filter. Not sure why its fine. BTW I have seen a few small hydro systems for powering a home / farm but govt. regulation of water systems makes it a tricky area to harness.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

No need to reinvent the wheel . . . 
Many folks who are lucky enough to have water flowing through their property have been doing this for years.......
There is a fair amount of water powered turbines available on the market.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL when you use the term >divert<..............
The State and Feds have lots of ideas/rules/regulations on letting a >"stream"< run natural...


I am not one of those lucky enough to have access to water power...


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,
There are a lot of DIY hydro power setups here:
Small Scale Hydro -- Ram Pumps and Water Motors

Its a great way to go if you have a stream with a bit of drop and you can meet the local regulations on what you are allowed to do with the stream.

If you have an actual stream in mind, first thing to do is to measure the flow rate and the vertical drop you have available. Best to measure the flowrate when the flow is low. Then use one of the calculators at the link above to estimate the power you can get. Keep in mind that hydro is 24/7, so even a low power level can add up.

Gary


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

You need either pressure, or volume to make useful amounts of power. The numbers needed are well documented. At my location in the Sierra, I have neither, with 8 months out of the year without any flowing water.

In my dry section of the west, water is much too precious to waste just to make a few watts of electricity.


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Google "micro hydropower" and you will find lots of small systems.

One has to consider that not everyone has a large enough water source as compared to almost everyone that owns a home has sunshine falling on the roof. This creates an economics of scale for manufacturing that makes solar a much more attractive business to be in than MicrHydro systems.

I've considered building a micro hydro system several times for my little brother and sister. We were looking at installing them in the feed canals for irrigating his fields. Since he has yearround water rights I think we could build a system that could supply the majority of there power.

WWW


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

MichaelK! said:


> You need either pressure, or volume to make useful amounts of power. The numbers needed are well documented. At my location in the Sierra, I have neither, with 8 months out of the year without any flowing water.
> 
> In my dry section of the west, water is much too precious to waste just to make a few watts of electricity.


Generally the water is not wasted, its just returned to the stream (if it ever left the stream).

Gary


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

SolarGary said:


> Generally the water is not wasted, its just returned to the stream (if it ever left the stream).
> 
> Gary


Yes, but one is still required to obtain a nonconsumption water right to divert, dam, or impeded the flow of any stream/river/body of water. 

That's why we were looking at it on my brothers ranch. He already had the water rights for irrigating the fields. 

WWW


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

88beast said:


> why has nobody thought of this?


All kinds of people have thought of it, and done it.....they just didn't bother to clue you in....:happy2:

The problems are:

1. It takes a whole lot more water than most folks think to run the type of wheel you're talking about.....even the far more efficient micro hydro turbine units take a fair amount of water/and/or drop (known as head in the water biz) to actually produce much in the way of power.

2. There are few (often none) restrictions to setting up solar and wind, but the govt interference in using water is often HUGE.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Here you're into water ways are protected habitat for which ever is the frog of the year or whatever spawning waters for a sunfish with an extra stripe or something. Beavers can dam things up but people can't.... easily.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Most of the rules / regulations make some sense, because man is well known for his ability to botch-screw things up.
Unrestricted a man and his bulldozer and some very hinky ideas can / could ruin things for those down stream from him..........


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## 88beast (Jun 4, 2012)

ok so its just not as common due to the gov regulations? whsats these water rights how do you know if they come with the property?


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

Water rights vary by state. You'll need to find the gov website for your state to know what laws pertain to you.


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## AVanarts (Jan 2, 2011)

I'd love to have property with a stream flowing across it, but when I see low lying land or streams I picture massive rains and flooding. I would want the home site to be well above the stream.


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## Alaska (Jun 16, 2012)

small stream, lots of head (lots of elevation) with year round flow, hydro wins hands down. But of course the local state and feds may have a say in it.


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