neat small hydro plant.

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cappa-hydroelectric-generator

Wow. It only sligthly bigger than my face and produce 1kw per day. I use about 3.3KW per day.
The best part its instream no head. how would I protect it from branches flowing down stream.
And whats that about it costing the same price as a car 12,000. I can find cheaper microhydro.
Still its really nice and not really that expensive.

It's a clean design and a jumping off point for someone making their own. I certaintly couldn't afford one. With any hydro you need to be concerned with debris.

it said it would take 5 devices to produce 1k...

One Cappa hydroelectric generator is capable of producing 250 watts of electricity at a water flow rate of 6.5 feet per second

250 watts x 24hours = 6kwh per day

If you can do micro hydro, that's the way to go since it works 24hours a day. Unlike solar that is 6-14 hours and zero on cloudy days.

I assume you would install an mesh cone in stream, this has the function of channeling debris away from the inlet.

Seems like a good deal.
For them!

Also, if you have that good stream you likely have head too, or can use a wheel for drag effect.
Its nice and all, but not very practical.

Looks like a Kort nozzle around an impeller. Fairly easy to make yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducted_propeller

And you could make it for less. PMA alternator, and a homemade kort nozzle it could be a nice suppliment to solar.

is it just me, or does this look like a great thing to set up one after another through a municipal water supply system? I mean even a mid-sized subdivision would have a large enough water main that you could string a ton of these together and power the neighborhood.

Either way, really interesting design, and I'd like to see how much could be done with it and other micro-hydro generator designs for a basic suburban life (not that i would wish it on anyone.)

Atom Dari wrote:is it just me, or does this look like a great thing to set up one after another through a municipal water supply system? I mean even a mid-sized subdivision would have a large enough water main that you could string a ton of these together and power the neighborhood.

Either way, really interesting design, and I'd like to see how much could be done with it and other micro-hydro generator designs for a basic suburban life (not that i would wish it on anyone.)

Any power produced in a water main would first have to be powered from the pumps that pressurize said water main (or fill the water tower); a net loss of energy.

I saw this after looking at a friends irrigation pond with four head gates and thought they would work great there.

Dave Turpin wrote: Any power produced in a water main would first have to be powered from the pumps that pressurize said water main (or fill the water tower); a net loss of energy.

Well I'd imagine that the biggest issues to consider would be how many of these you could chain down the piping, as well as how much they would suppress the initial pressurized flow. As I understand it, fluid dynamics would keep the water flowing regardless of interference. After all, it isn't like we can stop the flow of a river by putting enough of these in a line.

these might not be the cost effective method for that either way though. It might be a better plan to use a different device with similar properties.

over 10k for 250 w and you are claiming it is better than sunshine? Come on folks this might be good for specific uses but it would take a hundred years to pay for itself.

Sorry been thinking about this all day. I wont go into how much electricity is used by a household there is too many variables but also with this hydro unit is all the storage of the electricity for later use as well as inversion and redistribution costs so leaving all those costs out, they are true of solar and even more so since it is not a 24 hour system. A 250 watt solar panel runs around 400 dollars but then there is that they only operate so many hour a day and they do not operate in the rain, solar panels are not always facing the best direction to the sun etc, I think it is fair to say 4 of these panels would be the equivalent amout of actual production of energy of the 24 hour a day unit and now we have 2,000 american dollars.

I love the idea of hydro electricity, perhaps in a few years these units will be more affordable. The best use for a unit like this really would be to power something which uses the electricity directly as it is created so you can save all the back end costs of electricity storage and distribution.

Love this idea to death!!

We have materials on site for diverting water from a beaver dam. The details come from http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/assistance/backyard/privatelandsprogram/clemson_beaver_pond_leveler.pdf

And to finish the power production, we are installing one of our old fish trolling motors. Note, if you decide to try hydro electric using a trolling motor- the old ones work better as the new ones are so full on electrical components they won't work.

I really like the cone shape in this design so it's back to the workshop . . .

This is one from Australia and a little "bigger" but looks the goods for hydro power in rivers ocean and most moving water sources
Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iq-h4ShZ8s

Website

http://tidalenergy.net.au/

and no I have no affiliation with them nor have i seen any trials , just have seen what you will see here ... Thanks Dave

There are several odd things about the listing for this turbine. Of course, paying the same price as a small car for a 250 watt turbine is absurd.

I don't really know what using a turbine "along" a stream means, either.

Also, 250 watts is plenty of power for a house. There are lots of examples of houses and businesses running on 250 watts or less, using a battery inverter subsystem, in the Serious Microhydro anthology. There's a photo in Microhydro: Clean Power from Water, that shows a big pile of energy efficient lights. The caption reads "Even a small turbine will run lots of energy efficient bulbs".

And so on. The reason I wrote these two books is that there's a lot of foolishness out there and really what you need is true information, gathered from years of first hand experience.

Cheers,

Scotty

Scott L. Davis wrote:The reason I wrote these two books is that there's a lot of foolishness out there and really what you need is true information, gathered from years of first hand experience.

Cheers,

Scotty

I understand the need to keep people informed on all the options that are available and it is true that one solution will not fit all scenarios. There are many available solutions that address different area's, flows, heads, flooding, debris, separation and of course costs. As for foolishness, I have been studying hydro power solutions for many years now. It is apparent that some idea's, though under developed, are far from foolish and given the correct environment would probably work, to some extent. It would be counter productive at best to give scant research to such idea's. More so, if you are ready to invest in a hydro solution. Such books as this deserve study and recognition, though even this will not encompass all available scenarios and technology and as such, further research, by intended investors would be wise. Indeed, I have seen hydro electrical developments, idea's and technology more forward at a fantastic pace the last few years.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=PMA+generator+water+generator&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0&_nkw=PMA+generator+water+generator&_sacat=0

Sounds too good to be true.....?
Comes is various types but the most interesting one outputs a 120V 60Hz with a max of 1900 Watt. $345
If I had access to good water flow I would install several and would even use electric heating.