You could mount the turbine vertically and train the mice to use it like a hamster wheel in times of drought :)

After 15 years of running remote off grid micro hydro in Alaska I have learned several tricks to prevent damage and make everything simpler. The first rule is do not use solid pvc fittings directly to your nozzles. From your individual valves to your nozzles use flexible rubber hose, this simplifies all the plumbing issues. Your water collection screen intake system is at a way too flat of an angle, plus no grating or heavy hardware cloth over the screen to prevent rocks from damaging your system during flood/high high water conditions. The collection point is the most important part of the entire system that determines the amount of maintenance that you do. The design of your collection point will determine how much time you spend cleaning rocks and debris from the collection point , everyday for a bad design, or every three or four weeks for a good design. It all took a few years of tweaking all the parts and pieces for me to quit cussing and praising the reliability of our hydro system. Enjoy, it’s all satisfying in the end.

@RailPreserver2K

Жыл бұрын

Do you think you could do a video on your setup ?

Deng! I was waiting for you to open all the jets and see how much power it will produce. Anyway this is why we came here! Now you have our attention again!!! Cant wait for part 2. Well done man!

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

I actually do have a full open video. It was around 500w. I hope to get back there soon!

Thank you for sharing, sorry you had this issue.

Mouse proof housing, insulate housing; bury the pipe with a trencher below frostline (remember plan for 100 year cold), wrap inlet and pipe with heat wrap past burial entry point and outlet; put 60 watt bulb in turbine housing with temperature switch. BTW, mixing PVC and ABS is not advised but if used requires special glue. Also plastic ball valves really appreciate silicone lube and then work it in. If you do this you will never have this problem again regardless of forgetting to do this or that.

The box must be air tight too. My concrete box is really really really quiet and I implore you to consider it.

@marcoshepard7850

3 жыл бұрын

I know I'm kind of off topic but do anybody know a good website to watch new tv shows online ?

Greetings from Derek Pelton in Cape Town South Africa.

Shed, build a mouse proof shed with room to work on the turbine, go big! It's easy to comment when I don't have to build it! Great job Seth!

great content as always mate. Good luck on your next build. Hope none of that poly ended up in the water ways ;)

The ice looks awesome anyhow

@bullithedjames937

3 жыл бұрын

So the intake is about 70 ft above?

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it would change with every new freeze. Really cool but not so good for making power. The virtical drop is around 150 feet. That calculation is: 65psi / .433 = 150 feet

Wow the damage started from a tiny mouse. The just from not running, all that pvc. Well time to redesign, sweet! Cheers bro!

Great job! I'm looking forward to seeing the new redesigned turbine box and intake screen.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

The intake box I am still waiting to meet with the fellow from Elgin. That should be fun. The new Housing design is already WAY better than the first. It is made in sections so I can pull each part and work on it if something happens.

@mrhydrohead

3 жыл бұрын

Elgin built my intake coanda screen. I’ve not had a single issue. It’s a quality screen.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I have been in contact with Chad from Elgin. He mentioned that your system has started the small screen line that they now carry. Looking forward to using the screen.

Laquered wires instead of the normal plastic/rubber coated ones solves the mouse issue, never had a problem with them "bare" looking ones, hard to tell apart though. And that bypass you're planning I feel is a bad idea, you never want a spot where you get still standing water, you might notice it has a tendancy to freeze up. The surge thingymajig you had earlier is for protecting the turbine bearings and the valve from the 160 feet head you have up to the barrel/intake leaving it out might cause damages when you turn the turbine off at either end, don't underestimate the forces involved! The large pvc pipe probably "eats" a fair bit of it but the protector is there for a reason. Great looking site and seems your neighbour has a nice system too.

You should try the crimping clamps for the connections. They hold up a lot better than screw clamps.

from the bin you never start with a tube as small as the line, but with a progressive conical use in orange traffic cone with a dense brass or stainless steel grid fixed on the base and cut where you can put the starting pipe

I wrote it before, nature is giving you the answer, i think you should redesign the housing into a snail-house shape. it wil solve some issues when you think about it and probably increase efficiency.

Cracking of pvc is logical failure Composite material pipe can be recommended for improving life of imput and output pipes, you must give imput and output data of your tests, will be helpful for analysing energy aspects

God bless you 🙏🙏🙏 stay safe and subscribed. Thank you fully support.

I think that you should look at burying the penstock long term and a decent frost proof shed type turbine house. That pvc is very prone to frost rupture. Very envious of the system that you have.

Very interesting video. :)

Get yourself a rubber mallet for putting the insert fittings in.. Also for large insert fittings (barbed) use mikilor heavy duty clamps. we use them on our large 2inch and bigger irrigation systems with 80-160 PSI wtih no issues.

Maybe you could insulate the box with Rockwool insulation, it's sound deadening, provides a good r-value, animals don't like to use it for bedding and it's fire resistant and mold/mildew resistant downside is it's a little pricey but that box is so small the cost for a batt of it could easily be spread across a few of those boxes. Just a thought.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

That is a fun idea. I saved the 2.5" thick closed cell foam insulation from our closet renovation and I think I will place that in the new box to help with sound. My goal is to make the new housing mouse proof with pvc trim and plexiglass.

@jameshendry4097

3 жыл бұрын

/

Dear Land to House, May I suggest a small clear plastic sheet-based 'greenhouse dome' to hopefully block next years wind chill and trap as much solar heat to help protect from freezing. a crude but effective geo heat solution to add to that is driving some metal pipes down into the soil layer past boundary freeze around the generator/inside greenhouse, the pipe will passively draw up the earth's heat, and the dome should help trap it.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

That is a fun idea. The rock around here might keep some of that from happening but I do like the idea of a wind and cold blocker. I have already started the new housing and it is way better. I am also designing a system that can keep the pinstock flowing when the pma is turned off.

@mrhydrohead

3 жыл бұрын

Be sure in your new design that your pipes and jets don’t have residual water allowed to sit in them when you divert the water from the penstock away from them. You could still suffer freezing and cracking if water sits in them Maybe a valve at the lowest part of your jet manifold that you could open and drain everything out.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Good point. I actually think I will try reinforced hose in the 3rd iteration. Perhaps transparent hose so I can see if it has residual water.

@mrhydrohead

3 жыл бұрын

Another thought. Instead of a valve at the lowest point for draining you could just cut threads into the pipe that match a screw which you remove to do your draining. Less expensive and won’t take up much room.

PP pipes have an expansion of 0.2 mm / m / ° C which must be taken into consideration with the temperature change there are comfortable compensating bellows joints to avoid problems do the taps have a smaller ball than the thread? this creates turbulence if they are close to the nozzles (it would be better if from the primitive diameter, they go progressively conical the distance from your pelton is ideal 6 times the diameter of the water jet

Super capacitors are awesome for solar and off grid. The 10 minutes to full charge is amazing.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

I have heard of people using capacitors for a fast charge. For now I am mostly using the batteries to pass the power along to the house. In the future I will be getting to an off grid portion of the power.

@johnwyman6126

3 жыл бұрын

10 minutes to full discharge is disheartening with capacitors.

Why wouldn't it have the large manifold above the unit with flexible hoses feeding the nozzles?

Would adding a couple large water tanks to the head stock and use a ram pump in the summer to reclaim a few extra gallons to the system in the summer?

“...the mouse is gone as you can imagine...” Died laughing at that 😂

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Something about 72v and 5 amps that the mouse did not like.

@BillyMcCord

3 жыл бұрын

He got a charge out of the experience...

Wonder if you could use a concrete ground vault like they use for pond drainage etc as your base ?

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

That is what joe Malovich used in his build. Seems to work well. In my next design I have a plexiglass box that holds around 3 gallons. It is really fun to be able to see how it fills and drains. (the design a youtuber would go with haha)

@BillyMcCord

3 жыл бұрын

@@LandtoHouse I look forward to seeing how that works !

When you tried to open that last valve and what I’m saying is that new ball valve you were opening it or at least trying to open it the wrong way

I was having trouble with mice in my pump house so I lined it with aluminum and put foam insulation inside against the aluminum. No more mouse trouble. Plumbers grease on the valve would help but i am not sure how you would get the grease inside of the valve.

@vicentemalazarte4361

2 жыл бұрын

sir how much is the cost of turbine micro hydro?

@gordonwilloughby8793

2 жыл бұрын

@@vicentemalazarte4361 I believe you wanted to respond to the video instead of replying to me. I don't know what it costs.

I’m sure your new screen box will eliminate this problem but instead of an innertube for sealing between rocks try using pool noodles they’re way cheaper than innertube‘s and they last basically forever in the shade even in full sun you’ll get a few years out of them and they shouldn’t come loose if you tuck them in real good. You can also trim them with a razor knife to fit tighter cracks.

mice mate.. have two cats... tabby ones.. also known as ship cats they not keep up but do a great job.. not have to feed them much.. lol..

Aren't those water balloon filler nozzles? Great idea!

Ouch! Need to mouse proof it

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Yes that is a key factor of the new box. I hope to have that video out in two weeks.

Your nozzles are forcing the water out from under the black box because of their angle. They are straight on. An angle would prevent the water from seeping out. Rebuild the box or angle the nozzles down a bit. Or add a lip to the box that extends down below the base that the box sits on.

haven't you thought about putting a mini pump on the same axis as the generator?

You probably have to install some heat trace wire so it can't freeze

Heeloo dear what is the capacity of small hyrdo plant in megawatts possible?

Whoops! Yeah, Ice forming in steel pipe = pipe bomb.

I'm sorry for what happened, if the water does not flow in the pipes it freezes, a small bypass / drain valve helps to maintain a flow in the pipe, but under certain temperatures it freezes anyway, why do you want to put a switch? If you open it while turning the turbine loses its electrical load and accelerates too much and stresses the bearings if it is kept for a long time.

Hey buddy, where did you buy your micro hydro system?

What type motor generator you use?

wait till summer !!!

@LandtoHouse

Жыл бұрын

This unit has run all summer long making between 30 and 40kwh a month.

👍👍응원합니다 👍👍🇰🇷

Use correct poly pipe joiners to make life easier. Otherwise, loose the worm-drive clamps and get some compression clamps.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Sadly the poly pipe threaded couplers that I got were for the next psi rating up. They did not fit. So I had to use barbed fittings.

@bentheguru4986

3 жыл бұрын

@@LandtoHouse Understood. Next best suggestion is the use of bolt-style compression clamps that have wider bands and can clamp way more than worm-drive clamps. You can also get a pair of each of your barbed joiners.

Water pipes freeze up when it's in the 20's. Mice squeeze in through small openings into enclosed places, build nests and chew things. Take 2.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

More KZread content for your enjoyment! That's how I see it.

You did not keep the water flowing or drain the pipes so they froze in below zero temprature. Surprise.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

As it turns out water freezes and expands when its cold. HA This does give me a good excuse to upgrade this box.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. With almost freezing water constantly running on the inside, I don't think insulation will ever help. Keeping the water running is necessary. Mice will chew through anything not metal. Take that back. Make it "not steel". I've replaced enough auto copper wiring that they ate. Metal hardware cloth or "pressed steel" (wrong name I know, mesh steel like they use on cheap trailer beds) or sheet metal box will stop them long as bottom is same material. Used metal lockers come cheap. Is not the nozzle position relative to the vanes critical to obtain best alternator performance? Could not that be best and most easily achieved by first installing the nozzles in the housing. Then, measure and write down on a full size sketch the location of each nozzle connection relative to others. Lay your PVC fittings on your sketch in location, but first make a mark on outside at every female connection indicating depth that pipe can go, so pipes will be cut correct length. Since nozzles will be mounted on PVC piping "ring" on final assembly, if that ring must first be in several subassemblies before final installation, then on sketch include strategically placed couplings midway of some pipe lengths. Note on use of flex vinyl tubing: I have used clear vinyl flexible reinforced tubing from Lowes or Home Depot; flexibility allows easy connection/disconnection - AND positioning of subassemblies- by having pipe stubs on each subassembly almost touching. Cut flex vinyl tubing just short enough to first push onto one stub, bring mating stub into position, slide 1/2 of tubing onto second stub, tighten one clamp, recheck positioning and then tighten other clamp. The reinforced vinyl is rigid rotationally so you don't have to worry about it letting nozzle alignment change. Back to measuring: Then measure from one fitting to another the length of PVC pipe needed at that location . Mark both fittings/pipe pieces and the sketch with matching identifying marks. Temporarily assemble them to be sure they will align with best position of nozzle. Takes much longer to explain than to do. Sorry about that. Sidenote on those plastic ball valves: They get virtually impossible to open or close in a short time.

that valve you installed at the intake of the hydro was cheap for a reason. they suck. thy're the worst valve i ever encountered. other than that the whole thing is verry impressive.

So how much all that cost

So I believe you had planned to have it paid off in 5 years without KZread monetization. I assume this will set you back at least 2 years.

I would get a plate of steel and cut a hole in the middle of it then mount a shower drain in that hole then permanently weld the plate in a hopper style to the bottom of that turbine housing and then weld legs with pads on the bottom of each one to each corner of the hopper! Leaking box solved

On the plus side more "content" :)

Rodents are the worst, looks like your basement has some freeloading squatters.

Please kindly request to you inform me please...

You are off grid..wouldn’t d c to charge your battery bank assuming you are using an inverter

And this is why you drain your lines before freezes.

@jamess1787

3 жыл бұрын

The purpose is for constant power.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

OHHH that makes sense. haha yes. My neighbor ran his unit all winter long with no issues. I just forgot to go back down and turn the water on when I fixed that chewn wire.

Did it never cross your mind to bring in a plumber ?

@PeterLawton

2 жыл бұрын

That would never cross my mind.

Your Facebook messenger fooled me.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

It also got me when I was editing.

The title made me think the turbine had failed or something.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

It definitely did not work well with broken pvc :)

I am looking for about your product place lave me a message when I post this, I am looking for more information on this. How can build one or can get one put

@EdwardVanNatta

3 жыл бұрын

Mike power for electricity and run my water pump for my greenhouse and fish tanks and water to other animals livestock

@johnwyman6126

3 жыл бұрын

Google "Micro Hydro power"

My comment disappeared. But either way it was moot. I saw everything farther along in the vid.

clearly your setup has one valve too many. one nozzle without valve, and one with two

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

I fixed the plumbing and it was not right. I am about to remake this again.

Spoke to soon sorry

🤣🤣🙄🙄😯

Way too much explanations of every conceivable thing is very boring and hard to listen or watch. It's a video we can see that one nipple is longer than the other. Can't subscribe yet.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Thats fine. If you like a dedicated hydro series there is a 10 part on how this was installed.

@NLJ1953

3 жыл бұрын

@@LandtoHouse that my point you've done it over and over again. Now if you told me that watchers are asking you to be more detailed. I believe that there are very few novices watching this. You made a mistake, your pipes froze over or is it trying to turn a 5 min video into 30 mins.

@LandtoHouse

3 жыл бұрын

Perhaps you can set the watch speed to 2x. That might help you.