Off-grid hydro installation with rocks in pipe 

Asen apelaron con generador eléctrico

hi John, sorry but you don't get the picture. The water entering the penstock came from a nice big pool (fed by an washover screen) and was clean, but the client did not buy a valve for the bottom end (expensive) so it was controlled by closing the top end of the penstock. It turned out that he had not done a good job of joining the pipes and when the flow was stopped it created a vacuum that sucked small stones in through the gap. It took a while to figure this out (thanks to Jamie Wallace how had seen something similar before) and dig up and fix the loose pipe connection. Since then it has worked very well for many years although the falcons have sadly departed.

This is a low-head site with about 4 metres as far as I can recall. it was a few years back and my part of it was basically the electrical side. The customer did the "civil works" along with the digger driver and hence the creation of a vacuum that sucked rocks in through the gaps in the pipework somehow. The turbine was from ecowavesystems.co.uk/ and a very professional job. Controller was by www.sustainablecontrol.com

hi The sand and rocks were drawn into the pipe by the vacuum created by putting the valve at the top, and not having a vent. This video is supposed to be a helpful illustration of how not to do it that way. The pipe was dug up and fixed together properly with no gaps for entry of debris, and they put a vent on it I think, or put the valve at the bottom. Either way that issue was fixed and it has worked really well ever since.

This turbine uses an induction motor (most common type of motor in the world) with 3-phase winding and C-2C capacitor network to give single phase AC output stand-alone. YOu need a voltage regulator unless you are running it into a carefully sized fixed heating load. Electrical controller was by Sustainable Control Systems. this includes the capacitors and regulator. Excess energy is fed to hot water and space heating.

Hugh Piggott thank you sir

Hugh Piggott do you need a recirculating hot water tank for your dump load or can you just go to a larger tank depending on calculations? Thanks

In this case I used relays to transfer the heat from one tank to another and finally to a panel heater. The relay coils are wired through thermostats. When the water is not the relay coil turns off and the current is diverted to another load. it works well but you need a lot of wires!

Hugh Piggott thank you for sharing your knowledge sir.it was a big help to us.because it was not easy to pay electric bill here in my hometown.

It's not intended to be a technical training video. It's a real life story. Actually there is a lot to learn but I you need to ask the right questions or read the comments and my answers to them to get some of the background to it. I am not making money from this so you can take what you want from it or go elsewhere.

Thanks for that opinion, David. There are plenty of small, higher revving crossflows like this around, and they work well. I am not in any way prejudiced as I have never sold one or installed one or made one. (My part in this job in the video was on the electrical side.) But I recognise that they have their place, and I think your comment is overstated. In my opinion.

well, thanks for sharing. cheers

David Davids why? Is due to air layer, cavatation, etc? And, for the application on the video would you recommend a bulb propeller setup or something else

why, what. my comment relates only to the hydroturbine. without knowing the head and flow rate, analysis of the site is impossible. cheers

David Davids your commenting on someone else's video to all their subs that the design of the turbine is flawed. You give no argument to why it is flawed, only state how it should be. What causes these flaws and what are they?

At 1:48 they were flushing out the pipe to remove stones that had been drawn in by the suction. The closure of a valve at the top had sucked stones and debris into the pipe. This was sorted out, and then the pipe was being flushed out to clean it. I have to say that despite the alarming events portrayed, this system has worked really well ever since. The pipe design and installation by the client was the initial problem. The lesson to learn is that closing a valve at the top creates suction which can draw stuff into a poorly sealed pipe at low head. I regret that most viewers do not seem to read the notes and understand this.

@@scoraigwind Ah, thank you!

Couldn't have said it better myself. Loved the gravel in the pipe too.

Bughman70 you don't have to watch it. sorry for wasting your time :-)

Do you have a channel where we can learn your superior methods ?

I have a river with enough water can I install any turbine on river?