Algonquin Eco-Lodge - 12 kW Micro-Hydro Turbines

[@TheFlR3StOrM]

This is one of the best set-ups of off the grid hydro electric power I've seen. Very well done and thought out.

[@lilydipper]

TheFlR3StOrM Thanks! It is a bit elaborate, but it works great, and only needs a couple squirts of oil a year to keep it running!

[@richbrout16]

Very cool. Thank you for sharing and being patient and explaining the process. I've watched a lot of videos on water wheels. We need mode people to take these non invasive used of their water resources to decrease demand on the grid. Best of luck!

[@lilydipper]

@B4119812B The 8kw turbine take 75 l/s, while the 4 kW turbine use 43 l/s.

[@lilydipper]

Our system was C$80,000 plus electrical upgrades to the building. If you have a water source then solar or wind is not even worth looking at as you get 10 times the power from water for the same investment. Plus, you don't have any batteries to deal with (they only last so many years and then end in a landfill).

[@WanderingSoleTV]

Very cool. We had a 12kw generator where I worked in the Selkirk Mountains. Pretty fascinating stuff!

[@sowards66]

You know what you could do, is put a third old wooden paddle wheel generator on the out side, to make it look rustic and generate, some additional power. Now, you don't have to be totally authentic and make it a wooden shaft for the old paddle wheel design. You could use a metal pole instead. But this would give you a third generation Type. Just some hopefully cool idea's. Sam

[@bigevan55]

This is one of the most interesting videos on youtube. Gunna have to try to make it down there one summer!!

[@Hosehead46]

I live in Tweed, ON now but I was born and raised in Pembroke and spent a lot of time in the park in my youth. I own about 50 acres north to Tweed and it has a small lake and remnants of a dam on the property much like yours but a bit smaller. I've been wondering how to harness the thing to save money and generate my own hydro. Thanks to your video, I'm going to take the plunge and do it! Keep up the good work, eh?

[@lilydipper]

The turbines work great. Low maintenance and very reliable. Not sure what a pelton wheel would do for us. Also remember that we sometimes have -35C in the winter, so ice build up would be a big concern.

[@egustafson]

Amazing work, thank you for showing us your gem in the woods.

[@lilydipper]

@AlternativePowerMan 1 day ago Last winter it dipped down to -32C in January and the pipe kept flowing. The diameter of the pipe is big enough and the flow fast enough that it didn't freeze up. Now, if we get a -44C cold snap (like we did a few years ago) I don't know how they'll perform. We want to insulate the pipes with styrofoam but that will have to wait till next summer (and some volunteers!).

[@lilydipper]

@Janigut The vertical distance (the "head") is 18m. The horizontal run is 150m.

[@lilydipper]

Glad you like the video! And we'd be happy to give you a tour of the powerplant if you ever make it to Algonquin.

[@lilydipper]

With the scale of our project the noise is not an issue at all. In the winter, with the windows of the powerhouse closed there is no sound other than the river. In the summer, with the windows open to dissipate heat, you can't hear any noise from the turbines once you are more than 3-4 metres away. Just the sound of the waterfall! :-)

[@B4119812B]

@lilydipper how many gallons per minute is used to run your 4kw or your 8kw? Thank you

[@cad6789]

Great video Robin. I will send the links around to other people so the word can be spread.

[@alhasaplan]

Amazing! Imagine if Suncor's tar operation had to follow as many regulatory guidelines as you guys do!

[@AlexRyteuBart]

I just came with my own idea of hydrogenerator like this which could be instaled in wild somewhere in Canada few weeks ago and I was looking for some data online and it come whith your video. It is nice to know that it works and keep working even in cold winter time. I want to move to north Canada and instal smaller version of your powerplant, I will need max 2-3kWh to run my home or even less.

[@michael970]

very nice place.Great hydro system.Keep up the good work

[@lilydipper]

We are located in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. About 3 hours north of Toronto or west of Ottawa.

[@rcbif101]

Very cool! Powerhouse seems a bit overkill to me. Almost seems there is enough space to put in a raised floor and double that building up for storage w/ removable floor.

[@maddkraut03]

really cool and so beautiful, but I was waiting for Red Green to come out and say "keep your stick on the ice!!

[@Nomoreidsleft]

Thanks for the quick answer. How long did the whole permit process take?

[@IlluminatedWhiteGuy]

Seems like 80,000 for that system is a little steep. Someone made some money on that system for sure. Looks solid though.

[@lilydipper]

Add up all your lights, your fridge power rating, freezer, water pump, etc. That will give you your minimum required. Then, if you have enough water you go for more power, since you will always be able to use it. We use our excess electricity to run an outdoor hot tub, and for electric heaters inside the Lodge in the winter.

[@lilydipper]

@TheHundrethmonkey There are no batteries - we produce too much power for batteries. The extra power go to the "dump loads" which are electric heaters. During winter that's great as it heats up the Lodge. During summer we have another bank of heaters outside and we just "blow off" the excess power when not needed.

[@lilydipper]

They are standard pumps used for municipal water or irrigation. Just installed backwards.

[@lilydipper]

It's not just "some pipe"! It's expensive, large high density pipes (city water mains) capable of resisting freezing and abrasion on rocks. Turbines and generators are custom designed an built. And then construction costs in a remote location that is difficult to get to and no truck access. None of the items were super expensive in themselves, but it all adds up. Each bolt high strength stainless steel and cost $4!

[@lilydipper]

@PigeonTech The water seems to be about the same temperature as the river it came from, so not much advantage to be gained. Also, if you put the discharge pipe back into the river (underwater) you get suction forming which increases the flow rate and therefore more electricity.

[@captchisholmkoch2935]

Really amazing, glad to see things like this not far from home :), does the micro-turbine produce enough energy for your needs?

[@lilydipper]

@exclamation3mark The turbines and pipes and electrical work cost about C$80,000. Maintenance is very cheap - just a bit of hydraulic fluid and greasing a few nipples on the turbines. We'll probably have to replace a few pipe support cribs as the years go by, but that's not too much either.

[@lilydipper]

There are various incentive/grant programs available but none that we qualified for. Solar and wind power sold back to the grid, or if we were located farther north. So, we self funded the entire project.

[@TheHundrethmonkey]

Is there a battery bank in this install or is everything regulated through the controllers on the wall? also just trying to figure out how you regulate the 60 hz with a system like this. Ive seen some setups that use heaters in the penstock to regulate the extra power not used. Very tight install!!! Just awesome!

[@lilydipper]

We've thought of that, but not sure of the logistics. Also, storing and transporting hydrogen could be a rather explosive experience!

[@lilydipper]

Yes, it is a lot of money. But every little piece adds up. The stainless steel screen, with 2.5 mm holes to keep the fish out, cost $4000. Each bolt (high tensile stainless steel) cost $8. The wiring is armoured to protect from being chewed on by animals, etc.

[@lilydipper]

Turbines and control systems were purchased from Thompson and Howe in BC.

[@TheResidentEngineer]

Putting collars on the pipes and isolation pads under the equipment would have been a small cost increase and decreased the noise dramatically. I know you said there wasn't much noise, but it could have been significantly less.

[@lilydipper]

It took us 2 years to get permits. MNR, Fisheries, and Ministry of Environment. Fisheries were the real sticklers.

[@Janigut]

How many meters is the difference in height between the intake and outlet? Looks very nice and it's a clean source of power. Sorry for my bad english if i made any mistakes.

[@AriBenDavid]

Minor hydro is the finest source of electricity. How much potential is there in your stream if you wanted to divert all of the water for power generation? I presume 8KW was all you needed to run the lodge.

[@Mainer1945]

I haven't read all your comments yet, but you could gain added kilowatts by adding draft tubes on the outlets. Perhaps 4-6 ft of head is possible.???

[@lilydipper]

+Lloyd Dalton Yes, it has been suggested. We could get about a metre (3') of extra head. But I am not sure how to build it so that the ice doesn't rip everything out when we get our spring melt/flood.

[@lilydipper]

You need the space in the powerhouse to be able to move around or work on the turbines. It's not really that big. Plus, the turbines generate quite a bit of heat, so you need some space and windows to dissipate it.

[@lilydipper]

@SuperOffgrid They are AC, and get stepped up to 640V for transmission, then another transformer tpo step down to 240 V as it enters the Lodge. The control mechanism (electronic) keeps it at 60 Hz.

[@setyobhakty752]

Pwrplant in the forest, good reference, tks 4 video...

[@123decoeli]

Great system! How do you feel about pump as turbine which you opted for, versus a pelton wheel specifically designed for your site?

[@skate2funtrack]

Cool! We have SO much fresh water in Canada, it makes sense to take advantage of it. How much would a system of this size cost roughly? I would love to be able to run my farm on renewable energy, and water seems to be much more reliable than wind/solar.

[@Nomoreidsleft]

So, I wonder what kind of permits and environmental assessments were needed for the government to approve that.

[@lilydipper]

@AlexRyteuBart Yes, you can make a smaller system for much less money. There is a company in New Brunswick that makes the Stream Engine, which can produce up to 1.2 kW I believe.

[@lilydipper]

We use electric base board heaters inside in the winter, and another bank outside in the summer. Would like to find a productive use in the summer, perhaps an additional hot water heater.

[@lilydipper]

Actually, the output pipe should discharge directly in the river (under water) to create suction. That would give us an extra 1kW of power. Something we will add on in the future.

[@lilydipper]

@AriBenDavid If we were to block off the entire river we could probably get about 100 kW. But we are only allowed to divert 10% of the flow. That gives us nearly 11kW in the winter (when the water levels are higher). That is enough for a hot tub, some electric heat, lights, and electric appliances. You can always use more power for heat in the winter, but you don't need that much in the summer.

[@lilydipper]

@1967gal Yes, we installed it. Had some volunteer helpers, rented a backhoe one day, and a local contractor to build the powerhouse and a few more cribs.

[@xHowieWilhelmx]

Nice video..and very nice setup! Does Phil from SOS contracting have a website?

[@lilydipper]

He doesn't have a website, but if you contact me through ours I can give you his email.

[@BladeRunner26364]

Thank you for posting this.. How do you figure the amount of watts you need.? I'm curious as to figure out how to pick the correct generator ..,

[@lilydipper]

Hi Sam, we thought about that but what do we do in the winter when everything ices up? Plus, we already have enough work to do!! ;-)

[@lilydipper]

If you use low head, then you need high volume. Since we have a waterfall, with lots of head, we can produce more power with less water.

[@powerpro2013]

One question. If you have 60 feet of head, why are you only producing 12KW of power? What is you GPM flow rate? Around 90 gallons per minute, eh?

[@1967gal]

This is good stuff. Did you instal this?

[@boady1111]

What do you use as a load dump when extra power is generated?

[@lilydipper]

Yes it does. We even have enough power for an outdoor electric hot tub!

[@captchisholmkoch2935]

Simply amazing, any fluctuations in power output? and is it a 120 V or 240 V supply? I've been thinking about including micro hydro for my business however the real pain is getting the approval :(

[@ManofCulture]

5:10 COOL TURBINES!!!! cost?

[@christopherlangshaw7401]

Hello, Awesome project! Where did you purchese the turbines from? What was the estimated cost for the whole project?

[@lilydipper]

That is in our plan. Just not sure how to secure the pipe against the ice in the river.

[@AlexRyteuBart]

85.000 $ seems to be a lot of money, but you got 12Kw. Do you think it would be possible to make smaller one, lets say 2-3kW, for less than 10.000$

[@christo930]

I guess as a commercial operation you have to meet all of the regulatory burdens. It just seemed like such a high number, but you saved 15k right off the top in bringing in the mains.

[@MichaelJeffers75]

Can you share the specs of the water pumps that were used as turbines?

[@lilydipper]

+Michael J I'll have to check next weekend. I'll see if I can post a photo.

[@ToddMelville]

Well Done!

[@exclamation3mark]

how much was it t o buy and maitain for the yrs per year you hve had it

[@CncObsession]

Though I do understand and appreciate your plight. It is odd, once power is able to be produced expansion is almost always considered. Kind of defeats the purpose IMO.

[@lilydipper]

It is a lot of power, but not so much we would want to expand. We are happy with the size we have, but do try to keep making the place nicer and more comfortable.

[@lhong1987]

Why didn't you use low head generator? If you have a lake, you have enough amount of water.

[@lilydipper]

Well, not that many people have a waterfall! And, we did require permits before we were allowed to build. So, it is regulated by the government in that way.

[@lilydipper]

@lapulapu12345 The project cost about C$80,000. Plus renovations up at the Eco-Lodge so we could actually use the power we were creating. Like a $5,000 electric outdoor hot tub!

[@k2000day]

Excess power could be used to distill water for drinking, would save money, effort hauling jugs of water plastic bottles etc.

[@lilydipper]

We actually use our own well water. And some of the electricity to operate a UV filter on the water that we use for drinking.

[@heckyes]

@lilydipper Consider taking that excess power and using it for grid computations!

[@Saltshaker122]

Turn that into a hydrogen generator set up and produce a bunch of hydrogen to power your cars so you can drive where ever you want.

[@lilydipper]

We were limited by the Department of Fisheries to using a maximum of 10% of the flow through the waterfall.

[@lilydipper]

@enticed2zeitgeist We are too far in "the bush" to be connected to the grid. 2.5 km away. So we have to use all of our power ourselves.

[@lilydipper]

about 2 years.

[@christo930]

85 thousand dollars? That's a lot of money for some pipes and a generator. Why is this so expensive?

[@lilydipper]

We needed permits from the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Department of Fisheries.

[@wkdravenna]

The problem with doing this is that if everyone did it then people wouldn't have to tie in to government regulated power sources. No way to regulate it / share with people who have less.

[@a7x1591]

cool

[@markojablanovic31]

very well done, visit the face book link - Micro hydro power plant - and exchange of good experiences