Archimedes Hydropower Screw Generator

Video showing the installation of our Micro Hydro Electric Generator. Designed, built and Installed by SignMonkey.com

[@loughkb]

For those of us who are a bit more technical, some data on voltage and amperage plus calculated wattage would have been the most interesting part.

[@Signmonkey]

Next time

[@HiddenValleyHomestead]

I was JUST about to ask... LOL..

[@nez3009]

@@Signmonkey So here we are 2 years later and no data. Anyway, there is so much more power to be captured from that water than you're catching. You guys and your V-belts. Not sure why so many people like to give up horse power to V-belts.

[@selahman1074]

Bob Nesbitt Are you speaking of the belt between the drive shaft and alternator looking thing? What is a better belt alternative?

[@nez3009]

@@selahman1074 Yes that belt. I would go with a serpentine belt if I had no choice but to use a belt. Those V-belts rob a lot of power. Especially as torque increases. The best alternative would be a gear box. Yes they cost more but they last much longer, require less maintenance, and your power output would be greater. V-belt loss can be as much 175watts on a 25amp draw even with proper belt tension. That's a lot on micro hydro systems. Not just due to creeping/slipping but also friction. The absolute best would be direct drive. I'm not sure if that's applicable with an Archimedes as they turn so slow. The alternator would have to be much larger in diameter to be effective at low rpm's for direct drive.

[@andrewluck3887]

I am Australian but this year was in the UK for 10 weeks and visited Cragside, the country home built by William Armstrong, a 19th century industrial giant, now run by the National Trust This house was the first house in England to have electrical power, generated by his own Archimedes screw just like yours. It powers the whole house, completely off grid, over 240 LED light globes, refrigerators and computers etc. The comments decrying the worth of such an installation obviously do not understand physics in general or gravity in particular!

[@TheoSmith249]

I just saw that house on TV last night. I would love to go see it. What ironic timing..

[@mikhaelis]

Might actually be interesting if you post how much it produces.

[@leerman22]

It "might" be able to run my computer setup. About 1KW or less under load.

[@leerman22]

If we knew the flow rate and the height the water falls we could at least get a general idea. These screws aren't very efficient due to drag. Now that I think about it I doubt it even makes a single horsepower.

[@leerman22]

I'm canadian. I'm nice.

[@markkalsbeek5883]

Actually, in most mountainous areas creeks still keep flowing at least a little when winter comes, it might be less than a third of what it is normally, and a tenth of summer melt flows but it still chooches!

[@HarryL2020]

Bio Power it's flowing?

[@aonoymousandy7467]

It's an amazing thought that a human from 2,500 years ago is still having an impact on our lives, great job utilizing such interesting technology

[@paperking3168]

truth is timeless

[@nickcrescenzo7766]

For everyone asking, it produces 1.21 gigawatts! Enough to power 10 million light bulbs or 1 Flux Capacitor.

[@jvcantrell]

that’s heavy

[@bebetter9600]

Like I’m Back to the Future. 😂👍

[@joecombs7468]

🤣🤣🤣

[@sanrasuzumaki942]

This is freaking AWESOME!, now tutorial and how much energy it actually produces. THANKS!!

[@franktuckwell196]

I was fascinated by this as a kid and remember seeing films where Egyptians watered their fields using the same age old technology, its refreshing to see it hasn't been lost and is still pertinent today. Its what in the U.K. we refer to as low technology but to see modern applications is great to see.

[@anandawijesinghe6298]

Great project, beautiful turbine ! It would be really useful to others if power produced, flow rate and the screw dimensions were given. From looking at it while running, I guesstimate a power output of 400 watts. Here is how I guesstimated: Generated Power (watts) = electrical (generator cables, convertors etc) efficiency 80%) x turbine efficiency (50%) x water flow rate (0.05 m^3/sec= 50 liters/sec) x total head (2 m = length(4m) x Sine(30deg)) x density of water (1000kg/m^3) x gravitational acceleration (9.8 m/sec^2)) =0.8x 0.5x0.05x2.0x1000x9.8 = 398 watts. Turbine efficiency can be significantly more or less than 50% depending on the details of the design. Water flow rate is the primary uncertainty. I would love to know how close my guess is !

[@Bullshit1011]

You could see it was running a car alternator, so it not producing massive amounts , and notice how much load was coming off when he unplugged those two things alone give fair estimate of production, well done nice project

[@kwb188]

i dont get it, where are the screws collected? how many screws does this generate an hour?

[@maccacino2]

kwb at least they are nice and clean...

[@RogerKeulen]

Screw you !

[@rokitman5753]

kwb it produces aprox. 2.5 lbs of screws daily depending on screw type, however metric threads take longer as the screw producer has to turn in metric intervals to produce nessessary voltplunges for the wtf'er.

[@dirkdiggler2624]

Lol

[@phi9249]

Love that much...

[@funny-video-YouTube-channel]

Beautiful design that can heat up an infrared sauna and the green house too :-) Basically free heating and free light for the home. We can be happy about it !

[@jeffreywitherell532]

GOTTA LOVE ALL THE EXPERT ADVICE. THE THING IS YOU'VE ACTUALLY BUILT A WORKING MODEL. GREAT JOB !

[@Signmonkey]

Thanks Jeffrey

[@pandjnixon]

An open aqueduct offering a bigger cross sectional area, would be more efficient than the delivery pipe that you have chosen to use, to feed the turbine, as it would have less friction and less fall required to shift the water to the turbine intake, which means you would have more available head, and could therefore install the screw turbine on a steeper angle, or make it's screw longer, to take advantage of the additional head, which in turn means a better wattage yield.

[@ricknelson947]

Cut him some slack folks. No good deed of presenting a neat power generation idea to the off grid, techie community, will ever go un-punished, without full disclosure. An excellent demonstration in my opinion. It will be interesting to see how it performs over time and yes if you could provide some output information. That would be very interesting to hear. I imagine that grit or small stones may be an issue. Possibly wedging between the screw and casing. Have you had any issues with this?

[@SkyjockeyHHO]

Great workmanship you just see this is built by a craftsman. Keep us posted on any updates to the project.

[@CarbideGames]

Really cool! Nice job--I wanted to do this years ago while living next to an abandoned mill foundation--the spillway was just screaming to be harnessed into a bit of energy.

[@Signmonkey]

Go to it Carl!

[@MrDeicide1]

The screw was conceived as a water-lifter. The way you are using it, just makes it a curious Impediment to water flow

[@justin-ng8zs]

it caught me by surprise also to see it being used in reverse, I like the concept and would like to take a little more in depth look at the process and possibilities.

[@davidfr924]

I think this is a GREAT video. I agree with mikhaelis that it would be nice to know how much power you are producing per day or week. And the DIY of how you made your screw and what type of generator you are using on it. For homesteaders this idea is of great importance. I hope you would do a video on the building of it. Thanks.

[@PaddyNinja]

Fascinating, even without the data. Many thanks, SignMonkey. ♥

[@yoMXTT]

This is really neat, I have always wanted to build something that does exactly what you have it doing at one of the creeks on my dads farm so this is a really interesting concept to me

[@Signmonkey]

I plan on building a simple one with a video that shows you how to build it.

[@alwest83]

@@Signmonkey Is the video on How to build it available?

[@rudrashiva]

Increase the head available at the input of the blade, flow rate is ok. You will get more power than that. As power = ρgQHη Where ρ = density η = Efficiency of turbine g = acceleration due to gravity Q = discharge of flow H = net head available at the inlet of turbine Increase H, increase power

[@roflwilwin]

Hi Sign Monkey! I have a question. I was looking through the comments and saw that you made this screw yourself. I was wondering how exactly you did that or what process you used to model/design it and also what material it is made of? I am currently a senior in university and working on a graduation project and would like to implement an Archimedes screw into the design. I am trying to gather information on how to get/build a screw this size. Thanks! Also, awesome video and idea!

[@FBPrepping]

Nice setup .buddy!...really interesting. You have plenty of water over there. But building by yourselves is a plus!. Thanks for taking the time.

[@Vydonis]

This application can be applied to wave generators with water level riser stacks where air pressure+wave crash momentum raises the water inside to drip down.

[@Rayji10]

I think that Small Hydropower systems will be the future of energy generation. Another similar system is the Turbolence Hydro.

[@joshhayl7459]

🔵 A (properly designed) paddlewheel would offer higher torque-output for the amount of water you have going through it and would drive a larger generator!

[@willdwyer6782]

If you spin it in the other direction with a motor or crank it by hand, it will pump water uphill. That's what the Archimedes screw was originally invented for.

[@kublai4434]

Nowhere did it occur to you to mention how many watts it generated?

[@bobhoward9016]

How many Amps and at what volts.... likely 12v at between 10 and 40 Amps..

[@neonphoenix8951]

@@bobhoward9016 120 volt, he said when hooked up the drill. nothing about amps though

[@peterpiper_203]

Awesome Great Job As a pipe fitter I can really appreciate this

[@Signmonkey]

Thanks!

[@peterpiper_203]

Sign Monkey Now make it go up hill like he did Or Did he 🤔🤔🤔

[@davidjackowski4336]

I would need to get so many approvals to do this where I live. That thing is cool. Not terribly efficient, but excellent demo.

[@climateclimateclimate-kend2017]

One can only imagine the torque it delivers.

[@seanewan280]

Oh wow!! This is a nice lil set up you have here. You could easily add onto it and generate a nice amount of electricity.

[@1943L]

There is 30 KWh Archimedes screw generator in a village near me. Paid for by a group of folks who now use this power.

[@tyhkee1]

Pardon my language Sir! But this is Badass! I'm a free energy seeking individual and if I had property and a creek, I'm definitely doing this. Thanks for the share.

[@jeschinstad]

You shouldn't call it free energy, because that means something else. This is just a form of solar power, which is great stuff, but doesn't break any laws of physics. :)

[@MrVeraedward]

Congratulations! Nice system and nice video. Good to see something i would like to make for myself. One question. How did you make the screw? In my country already built are not available. Thanks in advance.

[@ledbetterjack]

Thanks for sharing some fine work on a useful project.

[@sarahpride5556]

Great! The water’s weight pressing continually against the entire length of the screw...much pressure achieved.

[@charlieangkor8649]

presses the button of the drill, the whole creek grinds to a screeching halt

[@MrJest2]

That's kinda cool; looks like it could reduce the amount of filtering fiddle-faddle needed with "modern" turbine generators. Just keep the bigger rocks and debris out and your good. It may not be as efficient, but I'm lazy and would rather not go out every other day to clean screens out...

[@jamesbennett959]

"come up with crazy inventions" yet you acknowledged that Archimedes invented this, gj though. glad it works

[@energystoragedevelopers7656]

Awesome. I would have thought some 1 inch walls on the screws blades would help hold onto the water longer increasing the output.

[@makingcookingfixing]

This is a pretty amazing construction! What I'm thinking: What the would the difference be if you didn't have that long screw and you just did a small fan/turbine at the end: you would get the same speed, the difference though with your screw is that you have enormous torque and this you can leverage by using a much bigger generator motor for more power.

[@f1reguy587]

Making, Cooking, Fixing I’d like to know if having the screw vertical changes the speed and also some means of knowing how long the screw needs to be to produce the required torque for a given rpm, since things like this could work on house down pipes or in lower head environments.

[@patrickbruce187]

Brilliant, what a lovely place, thanks for the lesson

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

How does this Compare with a Micro Hydro charging system in Wattage for the amount of water? I like your idea! I was just wondering the other day how efficient a Archimedes screw would be?

[@TheWorldBelow360]

It’s strange how there aren’t more of these.

[@ivannair2201]

1:26 a rare sight of a screw powered drill in the wild

[@whatyousaidbud]

Yeah i guess the person operating the electricity generator could be called an electric screw driver??

[@gar374]

Would be great to know how much electricity you're producing with it. Also, with the generator unplugged how much effort it takes to stop the screw turning. I reckon it would have a load of torque. Nice video.

[@HiddenValleyHomestead]

So I see someone else already asked about power output. I see what looks like a regular automotive alternator there... which would mean 13.8 volts and maybe 10-20 amps.. so that thing probably isnt putting out more than 100 or so watts... but 24/7 means good steady energy...

[@Pprez.69]

Yes, that's what I'm hoping build one day.

[@dongough2626]

Pablo Pérez

[@ScottWilcoxSongwriter]

Did you ever make a video explaining how it was built and where you got your parts?

[@corgraveland4874]

A very good design and executed micro hydro electric project! Well done👍

[@hippyhappyhippo]

Surely the efficiency of water wheel would be better that an Archimedes screw? The water flow is pushing on the outermost edge of the wheel and momentum would mean it gets more efficient after it's started up. The screw on the other hand is actually designed to move water uphill and not optimised for the water to drive it, maybe if it was totally submerged and the pressure was high enough but it'd be acting like a turbine then and driving the water out with a lot of force. I just don't see the advantage of using an Archimedes screw, invented to move water to a higher plane, over a water wheel, that was actually invented to harness energy from the flow of water.

[@SilvaDreams]

It's not very efficient, because well the Archimedes screw was exactly that it was meant for moving water up an incline.

[@andreim841]

SilvaDreams bingo!!!

[@Elliandr]

I can see one advantage of the setup. Namely, that you can generate power with a lower profile. For example, this setup could probably run underground if you needed it to, so in communities with visibility issues or building permits this would actually be a good idea. However, I can think of another good to use for it: as part of the apparatus that leave the water to a water wheel channel. in fact, I'd replace all of those pipes with thisata slight incline and put the wheel under the end of it.

[@MichielVanKets]

the length; the screw is like 5 to 10 smaller turbines in a row; it actually does catch the energy better, but ... he didn't set it up right; the water flow needs to be higher and the gap between the screw and the gutter has to be tiny

[@calfeggs]

You could use it to power signs at night., however this design has less capability than a paddle wheel and a water jet especially in the department of portability and cost. It requires higher volume of water for the same output of a water jet and wheel design. Looks neat though.

[@Signmonkey]

This design is for a Low Head, the water is only falling about 8 feet, a jet of water could not be produced.

[@chrisdaniel1339]

It looks like that stream slopes down a fair bit after the waterfall, what is the total head of the stream across your property? Would you produce more power by building a small dam (4'-6' tall just to create a small settling pool) adding a Coanda screen intake and diverting the stream flow into a penstock down to a Turgo turbine at the lowest point of the stream.

[@jonathancallahan2516]

awesome . First one I've seen using a screw . I am curious as to how efficient it is compared to something like an overshot wheel or a nozzle jet powered pelton wheel .

[@MindBodySoulOk]

you left put the most important part which is why the screw? Does it give you an advantage over just a straight fall into a paddle wheel?

[@waynep343]

It would be so neat to build a mandrel bender with an inductive heating element to create spiral tubing creating low power requirement water lift sections very much like your power sections.

[@Signmonkey]

Yes it would

[@bobmar9239]

I suspect it's not as efficient as a pail wheel or some other design. But, it sure is cool. I like the clear plastic top so you could see it in motion. And like other people, we want the speeds and feeds and how did you make it.

[@kimalexanderkepler8414]

That is a great invention that would definitely power the world one day thank you for sharing

[@soapshouse9275]

TQ Sir GOD bless you family and business

[@sponge850bobette7]

I guess you have to stop it before cold weather starts. Wow.

[@Yeahcuz1]

Hypothetically if the screw was to be upright would it produce more power?

[@anilkumarsharma1205]

use siphon equation so a water filter used in between and we got drinking water supply too

[@showme360]

If designed effectively this could be a practical solution. I am designer, I would put the generator in side the tube of the screw body, one at each end, design and make it to function under both extremes of water flow conditions, and test for fish survival. Once this has been done it could be placed under bridges with a Minimal amount of fuss, it would have to operate under flood conditions so full submerged!

[@alexm-cm8bo]

ken pen lol

[@JacobEllinger]

if you give the screw blade a cup shape would it work better? I was just thinking that if it could hold more water it would have more pushing on it.

[@josearellano5778]

Hey there boss I absolutely love what you done I love your video I enjoy science and I look forward to seeing future projects

[@walthodgson5780]

That unit looked awfully well made for some cobble-up. Is this a repurposed lift screw rig? If not, how about a vid on how it was made in your home shop?

[@vps1014]

Hope you told your wife beforehand that you were going to pull the cable out to demo something..nice to see great diy project in action!

[@OP-fd4lh]

Excellent work sir.

[@gammaraider]

I see some people claiming that this setup should make around 1000 watts. There is no way that that's correct. The actual vertical drop in the screw doesn't seem much more than 2 meters. At 70% efficiency (common for these) about 71 liters (about 19 gallons) of water per second would have to pass through that thing to generate 1000 watts. (E = m * g * h, P = E / t)) It seems closer to about 15 liters per second, I'd be surprised if this setup makes much more than 250 watts.

[@andyharpist2938]

My guess is that he's getting around 100-200Watts . Whilst that's not much... it's trickle heat and will take the edge off your heating tank over time, day in day out.

[@thomaspayne6866]

Agree. 100-200

[@andyharpist2938]

@@thomaspayne6866 indeed..one only has to imagine how much energy it would take to pump that water in reverse ,,,and take a good slice off for efficiency. My feeling is that with greater inclination of the screw he could gain 20% more, with a scoop of of a digger bucket

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

How many watts are you getting out of this?

[@zaintariq1102]

We have 800 cubic water with 10 meter height. How many kilo Watts of energy could produced from it??

[@kamikazekunze]

Holy steady cam Batman. Puked before I could see anything

[@forest_dweller_2]

Very cool! Way to make good use of a small drop!

[@henryhenry903]

This is a great idea now to convert my old grain auger and give it a try

[@johnnysouth4982]

Pretty cool wonder.if a longer screw would turn a bigger generator

[@kensmith5694]

A simple way to look at it is to remember that "power" is the ability to lift a given weight a given height in one second. In the US: 1HP = lift 550 pounds one foot in one second. This thing can be thought of at taking power out by lowering a given weight of water a given distance each second. Thus to get more power out, you need to either work with more water every second or increase the distance you allow it to go down by

[@mikec5258]

Why is power box under water pipe. Might want to move it away a bit

[@jblob5764]

How much head does that system have? It looks like it is nearly level from intake to screw but that may just be the hill screwing with my perspective

[@PacoOtis]

Very clever and thanks for posting and the best of luck!

[@ftgu2003]

Hi where did you source the auger/screw having a hard time finding one in orlando

[@zaintariq1102]

We have 400 cubic water with 3 meter height. We want to generate electicity. How many energy could produced from it??

[@stilleatm4512]

Can you put a link or video on how did you build that and where did you bought the spiral blade and what is the best motor for hydroelectric energy.

[@johnsmith-so5do]

I thought this was originally made to take water up hill ?

[@Hellsong89]

Looks good, but how was the generator and electric system built? I see washing machine motor, but how that is connected is bit hazy for me... :/

[@Signmonkey]

I plan to make a tear down video soon that will show the parts and assembly

[@Hellsong89]

Cool! Just received presumable working washing machine on the yard and water source (spring well over flow) needs to work anyways, so that done :) I just hope that over flow is enough for this application, cause there is no rivers to be seen in our area. Subbed

[@cjread-jones1528]

Any suggestions for where and how to buy, create build screw turbine shaft? preferably in lightweight plastic?

[@mccc4559]

Thank you for your time and effort.

[@ntceoreo9797]

Thanks

[@rickhobson3211]

What kind of power do you get off that? Volts and Amps? Well done!

[@ichhasseamerika]

Anyone know where I can buy something like this in Europe? (Im in Ireland)

[@59KYHighlander]

How did you make the screw? Was it a purchased item? Looks like a post hole auger, but you'd never get that to turn by water power.

[@perry8498]

It’s a more simple idea dose the same job as some others I’ve seen , do you have snow and ice problems

[@marc-antoinethebeautiful7714]

I wonder if a progressive thread or variable thread screw would work better?

[@Signmonkey]

Have thought about that myself, may give it a try sometime

[@backcountrypreps6171]

Very cool. Wish i had a flowing stream at my offgrid property

[@goerizal1]

your work is quite admirable, thanks.

[@tomchristensen2914]

use a motor from a big treadmill..generates more power... but where did you get a screw that size

[@Signmonkey]

I used a permanent magnet generator designed for a windmill. I make the screw

[@zj1710]

I would belt a bigger gear and from there another small gear to triple or quad the output. What do u think?

[@caseymcclellan4221]

Good on you. I always thought that Archimedes screw was a water lifter.

[@Bemx2k]

I didn't get you what is a power of the generator ?

[@leonardovisuete9672]

IT IS A NICE PROJECT, YOU COULD TELL US THE GENERATION CAPACITY OF THE TURBINE PLEASE?

[@bebetter9600]

Could you theoretically make something like this using opposing ferrite magnets to make it generate? Sans water?