On Fri, 23 Nov 2012 02:39:30 -0800, mike wrote:
>On 11/22/2012 9:18 PM, Jim Rojas wrote:
>> mike wrote:
>>> On 11/22/2012 10:40 AM, Jim Rojas wrote:
>>> .
>>>>
>>>> My system uses running water to provide the DC power.
>>> I'd like to hear more about the running water.
>>> Florida is pretty flat. How did you obtain
>>> a water supply with some head.
>>> Legal issues getting permissions to divert it etc.?
>>> What kinds of systems did you use to convert the head
>>> to rotational energy? Volumes/velocities/efficiencies etc?
>>>
>>> My impression is, that here in Oregon, even if you have
>>> a stream running thru the middle of your property, you're
>>> not allowed to spit within 10 feet of it, much less divert it for power
>>> generation.
>>
>> My aboveground swimming pool is the only water source.
>>
>> 2 alternating 1.5HP 220V pool pumps drives the entire setup. They each
>> take turns every 4 hours.
>>
>> There are 2 freshwater pumps in series. The internal impeller was
>> replaced with a pelton style wheel for maximum force. This pump is
>> readily available at Northern Tools. The pelton wheel was purchased on
>> ebay for $249 each.
>>
>> The freshwater pumps are turning a 20" cast iron wheel from an old
>> diesel generator. 2 belts then drives the alternators.
>>
>> So for every single turn of the 20" wheel, the alternator spins about 10
>> times. So if the 20" wheel is spinning at say 100RPM, the alternators
>> are running at roughly idle speed.
>>
>> 2 manual water valves control the water flow, one is a bypass valve, the
>> other is the valve going to the freshwater pumps. I could have installed
>> a governor, but I wanted to keep the system as simple as possible. If I
>> need more RPM, I slowly close the bypass valve in relation to the pump
>> feed to achieve this easily.
>>
>> This system by no means is perfect. It requires daily inspection, and it
>> does require grid power to run. But the point is to reduce my overall
>> electric usage by using a my pool pump that needs to run anyway. If for
>> any reason my system shuts down, I receive a text message on my cell phone.
>>
>> Water pressure, gravity, centrifugal force play an important part here.
>> At first I had the fresh water pumps working great. But once the sand
>> filter started getting clogged, the entire system would come to a
>> screeching halt. Because the system runs 24/7, the sand filter needs to
>> be backwashed once a week. When the pool is not in use, I put a screen
>> cover to keep the leaves and other debris from getting into the pool. A
>> screen room would be nice, but it is not in the allowable budget at this
>> time. To solve this issue for now, I installed a second sand filter in
>> parallel. I installed a manual valve on the input side of the sand
>> filter. This now allows backwashing without having to turn off the pumps
>> whatsoever.
>>
>> By county code, I am allowed to generate up to 5KW of usable power with
>> no permits of any kind needed. Anything above that just requires a
>> permit which runs about $15 a year, with no annual official inspections.
>>
>It gets interestinger and interestinger...
>Can you disclose the numbers?
>How much real power are you using to run the pump?
>How much continuous real power can you get out of the inverter?
>How much real power would it take to run a high efficiency pool
>filter system without the power generation?
>If you take net power consumption and subtracted from the
>high-efficiency filter
>system power, what's the payback period on the investment for the power
>generation component?
My guess is about a lifetime and a half.
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