Elwin Key

These pics are current day (not when the mill was operational). I rebuilt the dam in 1990, 50 yrs after it was first built by my dad.

The old wooden wheel was 14'x4'. It was built and used by my dad for about 10 yrs to generate electricity (32V DC) to light the house and power the phone between Dad's and my grandfathers house (About 1/2 mile on the other side of the farm). Dad also used the waterwheel to power a grist mill, and a sawmill for a few years.
I am in the process of restoring the mill. I have the iron works (pulleys, shafts, gears, etc),the grist mill, a corn sheller, and a cut-off saw he used when building the wheel.
I restored the mill pond in 1990, but am just now getting around to replacing the mill-house and water wheel.
I also plan to re-install an axial permenant magnet generator and inverter. I have calculated approx 4kw constantly assuming normal stream flow.
Yes I have some pictures. but not the old pics...sorry. Most of my pics are of the dismantling of the millhouse and the restoration of the wooden millpond dam.
Thanks for your response! Hope to talk a lot more!

I have not yet been able to get the "dome pressure" design to work satisfactorily with the production of methane gas from a bio-digester. There seems to be a gradient on the pressure levels that inhibits the release of the methane gases from the substrate.
Just a thought

My grandfather used that system wayyyy back in 1923. He used carbide and water (acetylene gas) and the floating dome maintained a constant pressure for the gas lights in the house.

more seriously, I would look at the pressure check valve preventing back flow from the pressure vessel...just a thought

got a frog in the relief valve?

Hello all. New here. I hope to be able to learn (and possibly teach a few things) about hydro power for the small user.
I have a stream on my property with a measured volume of 3.1 cfs. during nominal flow. I have a usable head of 19'4" to the stream bed 17'4" to the bottom of the water wheel.
I am trying to decide whether to replace the (defunct) waterwheel with the same 14'x4' (wooden wheel) or to go with a 16'x3' wheel (steel of course).
Any thoughts?

energy is neither created nor destroyed-it is only converted into a different form.