I Had To Rebuild The Waterwheel, The Driveshaft Snapped! 

A man who never made a mistake, never made anything.

Sorry this went wrong on you Kris-but the fact you reasoned out a proper solution is testimony to your skill and intelligence. Keep up the great work.

I was a certified weld inspector and I was going to say my guess was the shaft needed pre-heating. We had some big 4" shaft fail because of that exact reason. Good for you, you'll get it figured out. There is sooo much to know you can't be expected to know everything about everything right away.

Now this is what you call customer service ! Nice one Kris

You show your character in honorably taking responsibility in the failure and the repair. Great job!!

No info is more valuable then field testing. Worked for Caterpillar for years. They spared no expense in designing new equipment. Yet before a new model came put they would send "field follow" machines out to certain customers for them to run for 2k hours then they take the machines back tear them completely apart and inspect everything. In that 2k hours it's amazing at how much stuff fails! Even things and designs that have been used for years but because of one little change it can cause downstream issues. I think you did fantastic and I even thought it was a little overkill the first time you built it! So I definitely think you got a great design now and only can improve from here!!!!

I would encourage you to embrace any potential for being wrong and have The Bravery to put yourself out there . That sort of authenticity in these videos is what makes them invaluable. If you do something and it's completely wrong and you're so certain that it's alright and then you show us in fact that you were mistaken and you discover what the truth is, I can't imagine anything more valuable on the planet than seeing that entire thing play out. I thoroughly enjoy watching all of your videos but the ones where things didn't go right and you work through the process of how you thought about it and what you had to do to fix it are the best videos you have in my opinion.

There are only a few people like you Chris left in this country. Thank you sir for being a man of your word, I hope this video pays you back 1000x what this repair cost you. God bless.

Don’t beat yourself up Kris. This is still an amazing project. Putting your hand up to admit there’s a problem, working out the cause, working out a solution, AND documenting the whole process; shows you in a better light than some companies 100 times your size. Your customer also seems to be a good egg. Keeping you informed of an emerging issue, and having faith in you to resolve it! Awesome job! 👊🏼

I like the way you are never beaten Kris. You just get on with it and try again. All part of the learning process.

Mate, this had to happen, the learning curve here is steep, but 1/2 million viewers have learnt something with you on this journey. So impressive how you improved this prototype build. Kudus to your client as well, their patience, their enthusiasm, this waterwheel free energy technology is adictive.

All your fans know that you are an honest and talented chap. 👍

Hi Kris, Large cyclical loads on a high-frequency rotating shaft is classic fatigue failure. The welding certainly would have contributed to the failure but if the shaft was never designed for fatigue failure it still would have broke, welded or not. Sizing for torque based on the smallest diameter dimension is only part of specifying the shaft.

This entire project has been a pretty big learning experience for you, that's for sure.

It's called 'Field Testing' for a reason. This is where any design issues show themselves. Don't be let down by this, Kris, all inventors/designers go through this phase of product development. Rarely is a product perfect on the first attempt. Glad we get to see the progression of development. All part of the process. Cheers!

A man that can talk about his mistakes and fix them is a real man! Your customer service is what your business make stand out! Thanks for taking us with you and thank you for your honesty.

It’s likely not the torque that killed it, but the bending of the shaft between the two bearings. The whole weight of wheel and water is on there, and rotating as well. Repeated bending -> fatigue break.

Engineering, Physics, and Machining fix everything. I enjoy watching your mistakes not because I don't make my own, but because I am also a member of the "My Fault" club.

As an engineer I really appreciated this fault finding and fixing video. Kudos to you Kris for a great approach to solving this issue, professionally with great workmanship. Exactly the reason why your channel is one of the few I have the notifications bell set on. Keep up the great work!

I worked as an Industrial mechanic, millwright for 50 years that is the correct design same as on large exhaust fans , good rebuild.

Your honesty and character are beautiful and a large part of why I enjoy your channel. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for being honest and genuine about your work! Not only is a good thing for your channel, but you're also helping us to avoid those mistakes!

Hats off to you for owning these issues and hats off to the customer for being so understanding. This is how progress is made and I would hope that in the long run its beneficial for both this customer, your knowledge of the craft and your ability to continue this kind of work. Its bloody fascinating to watch anyway!

Another testament to your integrity. I've heard it said by wiser men than myself that mistakes are an opportunity to learn something new. You have proven it to be true.

It is nice to watch somebody who is happy and willing to see their mistake and also spend the time and money to rectify it. Hats off to you fella, the customer make a great choice hiring you. 👍

Kris, you are a noble and refreshingly accountable gentleman. Set-backs sure do allow a person to improve designs, as frustrating as they are. Thomas Edison sure had his share, and today we are so grateful for his perseverance. Best of success to you, Kris.

I like the new no-weld design, it’ll make it easier to change out parts for future revisions of the water wheel.

Above all else your integrity really shines through. I truly admire your work, but your work ethic and morals even more

I Mac 1944. You are an all round engineer Kris, wood, stone, hydraulic and metal of any kind, it's a pleasure viewing your work. Your honesty is a credit to you.

Great job fixing an issue and your honesty is very refreshing in these times%!!!!

Making things right for your customers is the best marketing plan your going to ever need.

Fair play for being straight up and honest. The solution’s absolutely solid looking. Amazing skills.

A big learning curve. Well done Kris, taking the financial hit and putting it right is exactly how I would approach this. You're a good man.

So glad The Algorithm brought this back. Really enjoyed the original build, and great to see your integrity with the repair. I'm pretty sure you've got it right this time!

Rest assured you have a customer for life and solid reference for any future customers.. Doing what is right will pay off in the future.

And kudos to your customer giving you the ‘room’ to customise as needed to get the right product for their situation and when something that is so bespoke such teething problems should be expected. Well done for getting it sorted so well. Great advertisement for your business.

Smart Move Kris! Live and learn they say. Thanx for taking us along for the ride.

Admirable work Kris. It’s really hard as a tiny operation to eat the costs of this kind of failure, and the fact that you present it all so transparently is a credit to you. As they say, you live and learn, so hopefully this doesn’t happen in the future projects that must be coming your way.

Integrity, honesty, and hard graft or your hallmaks Kris. Excellent work, great engineering... Well done

Admire your honesty Kris. I'm not sure that "It looks like we've cracked it" was the best choice of words when you fixed it though!🤣

Sorry to hear that it happened, kuddos for the transparency 🌷👍

I totally respect a person who owns a mistake, doesn't dwell on it, and focuses on a better fix. 👍👍👍

Well done Kris.........yet again.............. You didn't make any mistakes, you just gained the knowledge at a slightly slower pace than the work progressed, then you reasoned it out and applied it accordingly. ................Rome wasn't built in a day and considering everything else you are doing I think you're doing excellently. Keep it up it's still incredibly enjoying to see.

Well done mate! ‘Experience is the best teacher but the school fees are high’.

Pretty amazing when you think about it. You have the ability to build almost anything. And you do it in a hand built shop of mud, straw, and wood, that is powered by hydro and solar. Plus, you're an incredible engineer and woodworker. There's a reason I wait for your videos to drop. Great job again Kris.

Its more important to show failures and "what could have been done better" in videos to show progress is about hard work and mistakes along the way. But my god man you are an inspiration with your absolutely mind melting variety of skills and abilities when it comes to building stuff.

well done. Took ownership, solved the problem. Great solution and customer service.

That was bad news, Kris. All these things are sent to try us. But you stood up to it despite it being soul destroying. Well done, Sir. It's now a belt and braces job. Amazing skill and perseverance👍👍.

Love the fact you don't hide the mistakes ,makes this channel one of the best on RU-vid. Keep it up

Hey Kris, this was your first water wheel . It lasted for many months.You got this 👍🏻

Amazing Kris! nearest thing to precision engineering in a wattle and daub cowshed, absolutely remarkable. Your problem solving skills are a match for your humility, keep pushing the limits and sharing this wonderful content.

I appreciate your honesty and unflinching analysis of what went wrong. Such a valuable trait for a person to have. I know you are beating yourself up even now but I bet your customer has a smile on their face. Sumitomo sells planetary and other gearsets for industrial applications that would drive a wheel 10x that size. You can usually source them from factories and other heavy industry facilities that are making capital upgrades. In the U.S. I snagged a 649:1 gear reducer for a 5.33HP 1750RPM motor for $350 with delivery a few years back.

Standing by your product,Means a lot these days

Engineer here and long time follower! Fantastic to watch this project evolve, really great to see you learning and ever improving. Those torque collars are very cool, I've never come across them!

Well done Kris I admire your honesty and if future customers are watching it will stand you in good stead

Back in the early days of steam a slack tolerance shaft to wheel was used, any gap was filled with iron filings an urine was poured on. When it came to time to scrap the wheel had to be cut off as the cut was so tight, this led to the expression A Piss Fit. The profit from your build is experience, good luck with your future projects and the barn build.

Too few people like this left in the world. Well done Kris!

I'm a chartered mechanical engineer and experienced expert in the fatigue mode of failure. I would say that the failure was not due to a lack of strength, or due to cracks causing stress concentrations which cause lack of strength. I expect that the issue is cyclic fatigue failure. Tiny weld cracks grew due to rapid cyclic service, and after each rotation of the wheel the weld cracks grew a tiny bit more until there was no material left (i.e. cyclic fatigue failure). Pre-heating the weld would have created a starting point of having much smaller cracks which would have increased the life from one month to perhaps six months. If you had welded your new larger shaft with pre-heat, it would fail due to fatigue at a year or so. Any welded shaft (or mechanical equipment) which has rapid cycling at moderate stress range (across the cycle) will fail due to the growth of the cracks in the weld, even if the cracks are made very small by using an optimum weld technique. Even an unwelded shaft will fail due to fatigue at some point if the cyclic stress range is greater than half yield. The starting crack for an unwelded shaft is the material grain boundary. The fatigue life of your new unwelded shaft will be many decades,v if crack don't grow due to corrosion. I made a similar comment three months ago. I've made a few equivalent naive mistakes to your one, over the years. They are a immensely good learning experiences. Mine were mainly due to underestimating weld distortion of precision machined components.

Hi kris , the honesty and transparency of the engineering failures and the way you find the solutions is admirable , keep up the good work mate

Very impressive work to stand behind your product and deliver for your customer. One thought about your new system. You have a couple of friction fits where you have a tiny gap between the shaft and the part that goes around it or the part that goes around it and goes to the hub. While these gaps are indeed tiny they're still large relative to water molecules. Water molecules love to get into anywhere. So a core question that is worth asking is what is the electrical potential for oxidation between the two steels the shaft and the hub and the hub and the water wheel. If you have a galvanic potential between those two you will have the opportunity for corrosion. The corrosion product is bigger than the steel and so things will tend to want to lock up. Part of that is good it flugs up the gap part of that is not so good makes it almost impossible to get things back apart. To whatever extent you can protect the tiny gaps from water intrusion would be a bonus. Whatever extent you could use steels which avoid the corrosion is a bonus point. Of course it's been installed for 2 months now and the environment is doing its best to cause problems and you're doing your best to keep it from doing that. Best wishes I enjoy your work greatly I'm impressed by your engineering skill

More accurately said: the welder didn’t know how to weld this design. Good news! You do now! Learning is everything! Redo’s are always better! Thanks for sharing!

Your skill and integrity is commendable. Well done Kris.

Hi Kris, there's this german guy with a 10kw water wheel (Niederurff). He says there's no way around storing the shaft on hardwood. other water millers confirm this, too, he says. The wood absorbs the vibrations and thus reduces stress on the steel parts. He now uses ruby, before he had oak.

Machining a nice wheel hub would help a lot, I guess. Weld zone/heat affected metal likely flexed and fatiqued which then broke the shaft. Wheel hub from thick welded plates, a nicely machined hole, torque with woodruff key on both sides, should last forever.

Good on ya, brother for taking full accountability and also for your thorough analysis of the failure mode. You can’t be assured of your fix if you don’t understand what actually went wrong.

I would much rather have an honest and reputable fabricator than a know it all. Thanks for sharing your projects.

I can only speak for me, but if I was that customer, I would pay you for the extra you spent in 'material', at least! You have put so much work in this waterwheel and generator.

Thanks for the update. Trial and Success

I've just started watching some of your videos, I spent 35 years as an agricultural engineer, in my time I serviced and fixed a lot of combine harvesters, when I saw you weld that shaft, I was thinking why doesn't he fit a big boss each side and just use a tapered key to hold it tight. It's not so common nowadays to use such stuff, but have seen well over 500hp going through such stuff and very few failures. Anyway, no one gets everything right first time, and I like a man who can overcome problems, there's not many left around nowadays. Great channel by the way 👍

Making one-offs and prototypes is always a learning experience. I certainly couldn't have predicted any failure from watching your original build but the new solution you've come up seems to have addressed the welding issue perfectly. I hope RU-vid helps to compensate you for your losses in this development. I have to say, it's been absolutely fascinating and I only wish I had a stream passing alongside my house because I would really love one of your waterwheels.

So glad to see u back

This is why I love this channel. If you don’t make mistakes you don’t learn. Being a tradesman for over 40 years I’ve made many! Great to see the thought your thought process in redesign.

This is the way how we all learn, i am sorry for you it was a costly one, but respect, you stood for it , and resolved it, that is how a true man behaves!

Outstanding work and always positive to acknowledge one's mistakes. A man who never made a mistake has never done anything. Thank you for this fascinating series of videos.

After watching your build series on this project, I was sad when it was completed as the story was ended. I know it was a challenge for you, but I'm selfishly happy to see more! Your customer is so lucky to have an upstanding person to provide this system.

My grandfather always said that "education always cost you time and money". Hopefully you will have future contracts to build water-wheels for someones property, and you can make a bit of money. The new design looks superb, Kris !

I've been watching your saga for a while now. Glad to see your customer hanging with you. You will get it right.

Sorry it went wrong on you Kris,BUT… please don’t be so hard on yourself. You are a man of honesty and integrity. Everyone here likes and admires you!!!! Chin up mate!!!!

Everyday is a school day Kris, this is a much nicer solution, just remember if it were that easy everyone would be doing it, excellent project , don’t forget this really was a prototype, well done

At times like these I always refer to quotes by those that have gone before us, my favourite and one that I have up in my little workshop is from Sir Barnes Wallis. 'You gentlemen are really carrying out the third of three experiments. We have tried it out on model dams, also a dam one-fifth in the size of the Mohne dam. I cannot guarantee it will come off, but I hope it will.' I know his quote came from the midst of war but feel its so apt for many things since that time, but like yourself he was also a genius. 👍

I reckon the client should get involved with the cost! That waterwheel is amazing and the fix solution is double amazing. If it cost 20k, its cheap.....30k and maybe id wear the cost too.its a marvel! well done Kris

"Kris, your recent project setback turned into a showcase of your resilience and expertise. Despite encountering a challenge, you demonstrated remarkable problem-solving skills and dedication. Your transparency in acknowledging the issue, analyzing its root cause, and implementing a solution speaks volumes about your professionalism and integrity. The support from your customer and the collective learning experience shared with half a million viewers further highlight the positive impact of your work. Your commitment to continuous improvement and excellence, evident in every step of the process, sets a shining example for both peers and larger companies. Keep up the fantastic work, Kris, as your approach embodies true customer service and engineering excellence!" ChatGPT.

Kris, I've followed your videos because your honesty engages me. Being of strong enough character to admit your mistakes and learn from it is an admirable trait😊

Integrity. Well done. I’d hire you and I’d recommend your work more now than ever.

Use the friction coupler at work and we always grease them up well, and looks like your turndown shaft support could do with collar supports to the main backing disc to stop any movement, looks amazing well done

Thats why the term tinkering around came about. You built a great water wheel & power generation unit. Well done sir. Good work.

I was thinking a mechanical shaft connection would be superior and then you went there. Great job I think you have it licked now

Great work Kris .. It's all part of the learning process. Helping save the planet one water wheel at a time.

Wisdom doesn't come from getting it right every time. Well done 👍

Kris I'm absolutely gutted this went like that for you but the most important thing is that everyone knows this was not a workmanship issue because we all know you would of done the math and that your work is top quality always. Don't beat yourself up pal because most people wouldn't even have the guts to do this type of thing and it may of cost you 1000 but at least now you know and let's be honest it would be strange if nothing went wrong in the beginning years so I hope your customer is a reasonable person and can understand this. You fixed it you stepped up for the customer and you'll be all the better for it pal. Well done great job. Thanks for all the great content.

Tough job taking that apart but a beautiful work site.

It's fascinating to understand what went wrong, cheers Kris 🙌 And it's heartening to see an engineer with over half a million subs 😊

Amazing job Kris! You have gone above and beyond on this one! What a testament to your character! I really enjoy your channel!

Kris, you are a credit to Engineering responsibility. Pity that multibillion pound companies can’t or won’t do the same, as anyone who ever bought a new car will attest. As costly as this may have been to you in terms of monetary loss, you will reap that back in spades from new customers who will choose your experience and knowledge over price. Good on ya !

I'm glad there are still people like you. Thanks for your honesty 👍🏻

Great job getting it back up and running mate. All part of the prototyping process hey.

Well done mate, water is one of the hardest forces to tame. It will always win in the end...

This is how engineers learnt what they know trial and error until it could be described in math and physics.

Chris! Brilliant mate! Your videos are awesome, you are so smart and patient with your work. Well done!

Excellent, it takes a true craftsman to realize he’s mistake/problems and solve it. Great job Kris enjoy your videos. Have a great Sunday!!🍻😎