Powering An Old Mill - 1.5 Kw Lake District Overshot Waterwheel Project Part 2

[@SkyDenali]

Hi Kris, regarding the water splashing over the wheel, years ago when I was working at a small gold mine, we would attach a heavy rubberized tarp (maybe 8mm thick) to the top of the trough which draped over the top of the sluice to prevent splashing, essentially creating a cowling. The tarp was the same width as the sluice (or wheel in this case) and maybe a meter long and rode on top of the flow of water. It created a really smooth delivery.

[@KrisHarbour]

I have seen that before actually. I might give that a try when I back there next. it will be interesting to see if that would help. thanks for the comment.

[@PeterLee-zn3jl]

Maybe alroper screw driven sluice gate...and an adjudtable spillway lip that will stop side losses and aim at correct angle and depth onf water drop...why not make a curved corner out of ss steel and ckntain overslill ..?

[@markschattefor6997]

@@KrisHarbour I'm wondering if it is necessary that the spillway they build follows the original flow. What would be the problem if you would make it straight and adjust the wheel to the right angle? Okay, maybe you have to put new footings in the riverbed. But it is also possible with a few beams and glueclamps on the existing structure to straighten the spillway, and with two planks you could support the wheel temporary, after all it is an experimental setup.

[@invest48]

@@markschattefor6997 Good point. The architect of this project has missed fluid mechanical principles, no turmoil, no bubble. So simple to design a straight stream from the reservoir to the wheel. Is the debit of the water the same on each extremity of the wheel, I doubt it.

[@JohnLewis-qg8rz]

​@wendyandgeoffpattison2610 he had it galanized before it was powder coated. good idea

[@yoyopg123]

The best 47:10 I'll spend all day. What a wonderful project with beautiful workmanship. This turned out even better than I imagined it would. Congratulations, Kris.

[@baltasavr]

don't do that! an additional 1.5 kW of power could be extracted at this height difference...)

[@rgr3427]

WOW ! These people truly went all in for their water wheel. As others have said; absolutely love your content PLUS watching you go from building your first power system and house to THIS, outstanding sir. What a beautiful life you have created. Be Safe Out there

[@_CAT-lg4sr]

Met a man who was a retired attorney from New York city. He bought an old ( 1800's ) mill and 30 acre millpond with a high flow rate in a rural part of Connecticut, USA. The property included a dozen or so workers cabins. He restored all the cabins to rentals and converted the mill into his private residence. He converted the site of the old rotted out wheel to a down draught 6 foot diameter vertical shaft turbine with about a 20 foot head column over top of the turbine. The 2400 volt 3 phase 250KW alternator was mounted in a generator house over top of the turbine. Power went to an electric distribution building and transformed to 120/240 for the residences and another transformer for 120/208 3 phase for his shop building. Excess power feeds into the grid. Hydro electric power rocks!

[@markwilson7788]

In a world where fewer and fewer of us are in work that does anything very useful, it is great to see someone doing something so inventive and clever.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

UK has numerous sites where anything from a few kw of power to a few tens of Kw can be generated without environment harm. River Teign has a couple of sites with archimedes screw generators. There are others that could easily accommodate water wheels or turbines. River Teign (a small spate flow from east Dartmoor) is important for migratory fish but so much could be done without hurting any fish.

[@MarkJordan1968]

Kris. What can I say. I love these engineering videos. Highlight of my KZbin week. Thanks so much for the balance between doing and the reasons why. It’s spot on

[@om617yota7]

Ahhhhhhhh so excited to see this, but I'm AT WORK and can't watch it right now! I'll let it run and just listen so you get more play time out of it. Kris, you really are living the dream. Out of all the KZbinrs I follow, you are my absolute favorite, and building a life that's closest to my own definition of utopia. Thank you for all that you do, thank you for sharing it with us and taking us along for the ride. Really looking forward to making a cup of tea, relaxing after work, and watching this properly.

[@xisssd]

Where do you work?

[@you-know-who.]

Bet ur sick of hearing about the ring piece audio only😅

[@jbuckley2546]

@@you-know-who. And sitting on his....

[@ryanzanow8221]

Your quality and workmanship absolutely amazes me!! Found you just a couple days ago with the “1.5kw” build, and started “binge watching”. Just finished the water wheel part 1, and was bummed I had to wait for part 2….but obviously you just needed a couple minutes , because here I am! Thanks for documenting all of this, man!

[@Ian_Christensen]

Craftsmanship like in the 50/60's

[@tbrowniscool]

Same I went full rabbit hole on his channel the other day. Ended up pinching myself at 2am and telling myself off to go to bed. He's the British Andrew Camarata!

[@ryanzanow8221]

@@tbrowniscool so true!!

[@Ian_Christensen]

@@tbrowniscool you've got alot of content to look 4ward 2

[@cfnorg5308]

oh boy, I wish I were you... then I could binge watch him all over again. :D

[@Obermuhle]

Hello Kris, great project :) I built a water wheel with an electrical output of 13.5kW. Runs 24/7 since 2012 at up to 40,000kWh/year. What I notice about your water wheel is that the water falls too far into the wheel and you haven't provided any ventilation. The water jet hits the blade at almost a 90 degree angle. It is recommended to make the wheel slightly wider than the channel so that air can flow away to the sides. The kink in the channel creates a wave that swirls the water as it flows into the wheel, this should be fixed. The water should flow into the wheel just before the upper apex at as shallow an angle as possible to avoid this impact effect. You can make the side rim a little wider than the effective diameter of the wheel, which acts as a side splash guard. You should keep the bearings well covered as they rust fairly quickly. Use a fat that does not combine with water, otherwise an emulsion will quickly form. Many greetings from the upper mill HUBI :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGaqeYCwfrZ6d5I

[@mx96288]

Tag Hubi, hatte auch an dich gedacht beim Video schauen :)

[@BrewsterMcBrewster]

So cool. I was mesmerized for 47 minutes. Love the tweaking you're doing to get the most bang for the buck in terms of efficiency. Good Job, Sir!

[@69Buddha]

That whole system is so intelligently designed, and I love how you put it together like it's an art piece -- because it IS that too!

[@jameswigginton5509]

That's what i'd call a good job Kris. A keeper plate is good practice to retain the driveshaft key,I've seen them work themselves out and it damages everything, a belt and braces approach and you'll not have to go back to it,do the same with the belt pulleys. Cracking job, want to watch the next installment now...

[@darwinsfish]

More to the dynamics of a waterwheel than you first think! Enthralled by the whole process and Kris’s unfaltering enthusiasm. Can’t wait for the next instalment.

[@bekzodsabitov3699]

Hydroelectric power plants from 5-100 kW and more. efficiency-99%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XRdKJvp7SJl9E

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

Kris thank you for the great explanations and video. Even a 65 years young Grandmother like me can understand and learn from you.Yet it's obvious that you are brilliant. Good fortune to you and your customers. God bless and stay safe. From Bakersfield California USA.c

[@RazingthenRaising]

Watching this makes me even MORE impressed with the super tall wooden wheels! Talk about amazing!

[@rosewright9451]

Has anyone told you that you are brilliant. I have been watching you since just after the start of the first layer of earth bags, you are very inventive. I hope your mum and dad are proud of you.

[@Dave64track]

Wow I've been looking forward to this what a lovely piece of engineering it sounded like a steam train you could feel the energy. It looks brilliant and works really well like you said it might need a bit of tweaking but for a first setup it's just fantastic. Free Energy who would't want one of these. Looking forward to the final setup and overall performance what ever it gives is green energy. Thanks for sharing this build and to the owners for letting you film the setup.👍

[@sporranheid]

Top notch. Not only doing all that work but then filming and editing on top of it! Hats off. 👍

[@scottbalak7123]

This is truly a labor of love. As an engineer and DIYer it checks all the boxes for me. :) That being said, this is really a lot of work and infrastructure for ~24kwh/day average. I live in the overcast northeast USA and I average 18kwh/day annually on a 14yr old 5.7kw solar array.

[@srpacific]

I thought the same. Why go to all this effort for just 1.5kW, when a giant wheel like this could easily generate more. Seems like a micro hydro system with a bit of piping would have been far more efficient and way less work.

[@wardfiction5693]

That wheel can produce more power than that, I'm sure of it... Just using a crappy small alternator.. and probably not utilizing the correct voltage..

[@UndigitalWorks]

Great job on the installation of the waterwheel! The attention to detail in the galvanizing and painting process is commendable.

[@daverichardson5861]

Thats incredible Kris, to see it been made and then put into situ and working, well done you! Super vlog and work undertaken. Its in a beautiful setting too. Can’t wait to see final check out. You were beaming ear to ear and so you should. Stay well.

[@chimpongo]

Great episode, I think because the video editing was so good. I´m sure the gradual process of problem identification and resolution was a lot more stressful than you made it appear, but the consistent progress made this very satisfying (and exciting!) to watch. What a great accomplishment - like all your projects, well researched, planned and executed. Well done!

[@avyitis3425]

I'm so glad you got it up and running already cause I couldn't wait to see it in action, after your last video! Well thought through, as always, you're a true inspiration. Thank you also for contributing to the independence of so many others, through your videos and work.

[@poowg2657]

Here in America there would be a 10 year multi million dollar environmental study followed by another 10 years of court battles after which time the whole project would be too expensive and would then be cancelled. I got to tour the working grist mill in Pickwick Minnesota and the whole building shook and rattled as the machinery ran. Excellent video, glad I stumbled on to it.

[@LikeSomeDude]

I’m a creative and resourceful guy; a construction superintendent for a home building company that builds affordable housing for non profits. But mate, YOU are a mastermind, a genius! I’ve loved watching your whole adventure! Cheers!

[@5gadget5]

What a great install Chris, fantastic work. Like all things there will be a bit of trial & error to get it all working how it should, nothing that a bit of head scratching won't sort out.

[@fortytwo8388]

Thats so cool and interesting to see the details of the waterwheel being installed and running. Waterwheels always fascinate me.

[@markalton2809]

I had the thought that if the bucket angles were a few degrees more "open", you'd lose water a little earlier at the bottom, but get better bucket filling, therefore more torque where it counts. Really enjoying your videos, Kris. Your ingenuity is most impressive.

[@szolanek]

Yeah, I think if this thing would be more popular, they would come up with something without buckets. Similar to the "take in" he has at home. The goal is to catch as many water we can and drop it on the bottom. I don't think the buckets were the best solution.

[@Finnspin_unicycles]

@@szolanek If you want the most efficient solution for hydropower, you don't build an overshot waterwheel. But waterwheels are great to look at, fairly simple to run and this place looks like it has been setup for one in the past.

[@szolanek]

@@Finnspin_unicycles Sure, as long you have distances, drops and earplugs :) // This one is nice, and nobody can complain. Fish might swims back for one more round // Btw, do you know about bottom powering, is it inferior to this?

[@AkkerKid]

@@szolanek Among water wheels, undershot is the lowest efficiency. A type of wheel called "pitch back" is most efficient since it combines the positive aspects of each other type.

[@szolanek]

@@AkkerKid Thanks!

[@zerkfitting]

Very interesting process. I would have never guessed there was as much calculation and adjusting on such a project as this. I appreciate the idea of harnessing clean energy.

[@tuffshiny301]

Great video. Clear instructions thoughtfully given. Great camerawork. Brilliant. I'll be revisiting this when I finally find that little bit of land within my budget. And with a stream. 👏👏👏

[@bobflores]

That is a thing of beauty. Looking forward to the final tweaks and testing to see final numbers. Thanks for the video.

[@AMG63]

Wow that wheel is a thing of beauty, I love the attention to detail on absolutely everything you do and it’s very inspiring..thank you for everything that you upload I really do appreciate it 👍

[@johnhampson7]

Absolutely marvellous piece of work there, and there was me thinking there aren't any engineers out there anymore. I don't think there's anything more thrilling than to watch a waterwheel come to life and supply all that much needed power. Congratulations that man.

[@daveturnbull7221]

I could honestly spend an entire day just watching that wheel

[@anthonyfoster7206]

Thanks Kris , great wheel mate and you ironed out the problems and overcome faults out of your control. Done by one man and not a team of design engineers in some high paid workforce in a state of the art factory. It’s a credit to you buddy massive achievement and I hope and pray you build many more of these wheels that people can purchase from you or buy the plans etc to build their own. God bless you mate you are an incredible person with true grit who sticks at it regardless of the challenges I hope you make a fortune from this prototype 🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼

[@madhavda]

Really nice work and I can't wait to see the follow up. For me, coming back to a big project after a bit of time has always added some clarity that helped the current project as well as future ventures.

[@SisterWomen]

I watched this 16 minutes after it posted this morning. It stayed on my mind and I ended up watching it several times, each time noticing the views. This video picked up around a thousand hits every hour today. I'm feeling so proud of you and what you've brought into the world.

[@bekzodsabitov3699]

Hydroelectric power plants from 5-100 kW and more. efficiency-99%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XRdKJvp7SJl9E

[@davidkettell5726]

I have finally come up with the right word to describe your endevours .GENIUS ,take a step back Leonardo.

[@TheHughzt]

It's obvious you're genuinely having fun with this project and you deserve it after all your hard work. The bredth of your knowledge and skills is truly staggering and makes your videos inspiring and entertaining. Well done mate!

[@martinkavanagh196]

That is one excellent video showing a great design in a superb location. - Thank You for sharing Kris

[@Muffinshaker]

I’m sure vertical vanes would smooth out the flow in the corners and rectangular nozzles pointed tangentially would calm the splashing and quiet the noise. Great start. 👏👏👏

[@bonniebertrand1189]

Absolutely fascinating Kris! What an amazing job done by all! Thank you for showing the process. You SHOULD be proud of the wheel you made, it is a work of art!!

[@mvanvelsen]

Impressive work you have done - these water videos are my favorite - looking forward to part 3.

[@earthangel8730]

Not being much of an engineer this video was surprisingly fascinating. The water wheel is a work of ingenuity and art, like everything you create. Well done Kris!

[@bekzodsabitov3699]

Hydroelectric power plants from 5-100 kW and more. efficiency-99%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XRdKJvp7SJl9E

[@aarongrabowski3775]

I remember watching this months ago. I thought that I subscribed but I didn’t. Surfing through some video’s today I found you again so I quickly subbed again. Great job Kris.

[@MagnaMater2]

Thank you very much for showing this. We have an old mill-rivulet in our neighbourhood, and there is an old artificial waterfall right under the bridge at the corner to my property. If I get the neighbours fixed on this idea, we might be able to install and power roadlamps. But we need some winter-version when the top five centimeters of the rivulet might get frozen. I have to check on local legislation, but it seems to me, that private electricity-mills were actively stopped by our regional government when they built the larger river-dams in the 1950's and centralized electricity-production. Only a stubborn family in the next village downriver clinged to their old mill, all the others were demolished.

[@Robert_DeVille]

Hi Kris - just a point to consider. If you want 1.5kW out of the alternator, setting the voltage to 100V means that you are essentially generating 15A. It is possible that this is too high for your alternator stator (without me knowing the nameplate rating of course) & the current is causing the windings to get hot, but unfortunately, this also increases the resistance in the windings & this makes the problem worse. The heating effects from the increased resistance & reactance of the windings can be reduced by decreasing the current & increasing the voltage without power loss & you might find your efficiency improving. Something else to consider is the conductors from the alternator. If the cross-sectional area is too small for the current being generated, this will create additional problems & also check the resistance & tightness of your electrical connections. Another point to consider is the flow of heat from the stator heat sinks on the casing. From a still image of the vid, there doesn't looks to be any air gaps in the casing, so if your cowling around the alternator is preventing the heat escaping &/or not allowing a reasonable air flow across the casing, it might be trapping the generated heat which could also have an effect. However, it looks fantastic & you should be justifiably proud of yourself - well done sir!

[@greggv8]

Gearing up the alternator speed would make it worthwhile to make a fan to mount onto the alternator shaft. Make a disk of sheet metal then cut some radial flaps to bend. Even if it only moves a little air over the alternator it would keep hot air from stagnating under the cover. A hole in the top, covered by a plate spaced up a bit and larger than the hole, would let heated air out. Would want to put a temperature sensor on the alternator to test if the fan helps any.

[@SaltGrains_Fready]

@@greggv8 that's what I thought of also. The air inside that large cover must me kept moving. In the dead of winter it will not be much of a need but on the warmest days of summer that will burn out with forced air over the unit. The only other ideal solution is an alternator with a water jacket that can take a small hose from the sluice and feed some water over the alternator and let it be water cooled. That's a different design concept.

[@KEhydro]

This is a run-of-river scheme and all r-o-r installations have changing water availability through the seasons; setting the inverter to work in 'constant voltage' mode was never going to allow the wheel to work in all seasons: when water is scarce, the alternator pulley may not turn sufficiently fast to generate the 100v he set, whilst when water is plentiful, as in the video, and as @old-seadog has said, the current is too high and risks damaging the alternator. Kris's plan, at the end of the video, is to increase the size of the drive pulley in order to get a higher rpm at the alternator (and thus higher voltage) whilst achieving the slow rpm he wants at the wheel. This would provide the combination of higher voltage / lower current which will see the alternator not getting overheated, but it risks the open circuit voltage, - the highest voltage which could ever be produced when the alternator is not under load, - being too high. Grid tied inverters are rated to receive a maximum dc incoming voltage of around 600 v; if changing the ratio of the pulleys makes the open circuit voltage encroach on the maximum permitted for his inverter, then some form of voltage capping will be needed to cover those times when the inverter is going through its self-check before connecting to the grid, and for when there is a grid outage. There are always 'trade-offs' to be made, - a trade-off being "a situational decision that involves diminishing or losing one quality, quantity, or property in return for gains in other aspects".

[@Robert_DeVille]

@@KEhydro An excellent explanation sir, I love generator theory (& transmission, transformers, protection, switchgear, etc & yes, I *am* _that_ dull!).

[@greggv8]

@@KEhydro It needs a two speed drive between the wheel and the alternator. Fix two pulleys on the wheel shaft then have the pulleys on the alternator shaft run on bearings. Fit a clutch between the alternator pulleys to engage one or the other or be in neutral. When one alternator pulley is engaged, the other one spins independently from the shaft. The extra tricky bit would be automating the shifting to accommodate two ranges of higher and lower flow, and shifting to neutral when there's not enough flow. Also useful would be controlling bypass flow for when there's too much water to run through the water wheel.

[@Jerbod2]

This is bloody awesome Kris! One of my favourite projects at the moment.

[@davea1771]

Hard to believe the amount of power in such a small amount of flowing water. First rate job of capturing and harnessing what Nature provides. It will be interesting to see how well the tuning process goes. Water wheels like this one are what powered the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s using belts and pulleys to transfer the power to where it was needed. Your creation proves that good ideas are timeless and never get old.

[@eyesuckle]

Interesting! I was very impressed with the thought, skill, and labour that clearly went into this project. Loved watching the video. But once the wheel started turning and the power was measured, my reaction was quite the opposite of yours: "That's it. . . ?" I thought, "All that effort and the result is about enough power to run a toaster oven?" I know this is just my own ignorance showing, but I thought it was going to power at least a single household!

[@davea1771]

@@eyesuckle 1 kilowatt is enough power to lift 2,200 pounds 1 meter in the air every second. One hour of running that waterwheel provides enough power to lift a ton about 12,000 feet in the air. "That's it."

[@computeronzin]

I love a piece of quality work and what a beautiful environment. Your water wheel will still be there when the house has collapsed and the stream's current has found another path hundreds of years from now.

[@w.hamilton3327]

Is there anything you can't imagine or build? I think not. What an amazing and innovative mind you have Kris. Love all the videos. Been with you since the start of the round house. Keep em coming. Many blessings to you and yours. The barn is looking awesome!! Brilliant! Watching from Alberta, Canada

[@jimvincent6408]

I enjoy your content with the hydro generation and also the barn build! Keep up the excellent content!👍👍

[@123turby]

Again Chris, you have done a spectacular job. Not only does it produce power but it also looks fantastic. Great job son..⚡️

[@rebeeccaborne]

They did a great job preparing for you. I know they had to be so pleased. You're amazing !

[@maurice07Birkin]

Loving this build as much as your barn Kris. I am a retired Fitter/Welder so really enjoy all your build work and like how you design your projects, then reassess/redesign as you progress. Maurice

[@bekzodsabitov3699]

Hydroelectric power plants from 5-100 kW and more. efficiency-99%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XRdKJvp7SJl9E

[@TheTubeTube2]

Brilliant Krys, really superb and a major contribution to sustainable power production. What an important update and rebirth of ancient technology.

[@CollinsRealty]

You’ve got to be very happy with the first run Kris. Well done!

[@kenbone4535]

Wow Kris, what an amazing project, one of your best yet. Don't knock yourself, you are an expert in a job only some of us would dream of. Your skills are very appreciated.

[@PrimitiveSkillsnet]

It will be great when in the summer, it rains a lot, there is water... I should install a machine with the same large capacity as yours, enough to light up an entire farm.!

[@Orphanboy01]

Hello Duong, nice to meet you here, I'm a fan of yours from America and following from America!

[@hggg9168]

Hello Duong! Thanks for all your hard work over the years! I really like your videos, they make me very relaxed and satisfied, I wish you good health, Manh Tot!!!🥰🥰

[@Farah-jqk99]

Hello, nice to meet Duong here, the lack of light on your farm is obvious, you are living under the high mountains that will cover all your light.

[@rurallifepham]

Duong, I see you also have an electric machine that runs on water, how is it working now?

[@fanprimitiveskills]

These beautiful videos I discovered are of indescribable beauty….

[@blobstrom]

Amazing Kris. I can watch this content all day (if my wife let me).. What you constructed is amazing. My only minor tweak would have been to ensure the cable exit from the alternator would have been underneath the electrical box, even though it does have the metal cover when finished. Water will always find its way into a top entrance hole..

[@kjbaran]

Hey I’m Kris too! I’ve absolutely loved watching you guys put this wheel together, amazing job!

[@om617yota7]

I used to rebuild those conveyor gearboxes. The part you showed about turning down the shaft and machining the keyway took me back to those days. Looks like Dodge green bearings? You are 100% not joking when you say the gearbox is heavier than it looks, the entire case is cast iron and it's mostly full of steel gears. That's a big lump of cast iron to be lifting by hand, especially with uneven footing while standing in running water.

[@LukeCunningham]

It’s pretty crazy to see the difference in effort between him lifting it on the dry shop floor versus in a creek, much respect.

[@justlooking4202]

If Kris went and became a fully qualified Electrician, with the skills he has in building water wheels and hydro turbines etc he'd be able to provide a full service with this stuff. Definitely something worth thinking about.

[@invest48]

Yes. De facto, the most qualified electrician is the one who adjusts the power. The other one will pose the cables.

[@unhippy1]

4 year apprenticeship to become a sparky

[@om617yota8]

I'm sure Kris is 100% qualified, in that he knows how to wire up a safe and effective system already, including attaching to mains. The piece of paper saying he knows all that, on the other hand....

[@axelusul]

Best get a qualified guy in to make sure everything is up to spec and regs, also if things go wrong it is only Krises work that would need to be check on.

[@om617yota8]

@@axelusul Electricians are perfectly capable of goofing up too.

[@z1teq]

Amazing build. Regarding the stainless bolts, it's actually good practice to use lube or anti seize on stainless bolts. Having worked in food grade stainless metal fabrication, lubing all stainless bolts was a must, for assembly aswell as for future disassembly, those stainless threads can seize up at any point in time.

[@bozotheclown935]

Interesting project guys. Thanks for including us in on the build. Brotherly love from Australia...

[@tomclarke6415]

This to me has been the pinnacle in your video output. I know I’ve often felt the frequency of videos has reduced, however this has sated my desire somewhat. I do miss the updates on how much power is produced on the homestead but well done Kris ❤😊😊 might watch it again later

[@dan.vitale]

Your videos, your creativity and talent is a joy to watch Kris! Can't wait to see part 3 :)

[@twigandroot]

The slow-mo of the buckets filling was so cool to watch! great work. this is a fascinating project

[@myself248]

This is beautiful! Sounds like you could add some supervisory/telemetry wiring to that conduit, with a temperature sensor on the alternator, possibly a temperature sensor on the gearbox too -- they don't last forever, but they heat up before they fail. Recording those values during periodic maintenance checks, or better yet, logging the data continuously, could help with diagnosis in the future.

[@liam3284]

good idea. A common failure for micro hydro.

[@bekzodsabitov3699]

Hydroelectric power plants from 5-100 kW and more. efficiency-99%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5XRdKJvp7SJl9E

[@pellythirteen5654]

What a great little project. It shows all the good human trades like : ingenuity , engineering , delay of gratification and cooperation. Would love to have seen it being fully functioning , but I think we get the hang. Archimedes would have been proud of you. This is good material to be used in technical education. Great idea to film this project.

[@ratgreen]

This is so well made, its so impressive how well its all gone together. I look forward to you getting it dialed. My only comment is add a 'do not disconnect whilst wheel is spinning' or 'Isolate AC side of inverter before this isolator' warning sticker, to the DC isolator (unless that iso is specifically made for disconnecting fairly HV DC, it'll arc like crazy under load.) Easy fix for the kink in the trough is bend some sheet stainless steel into a nice arc and screw it to the inside of the corner of the trough to smooth the flow of water a bit.

[@lukejay]

Kris, this is BRILLIANT! Yet another of your videos that I watch in awe. Just a quick note on the electrical box at the Generator end - with that copex entering at the top, you'll end up with water ingress. The IP68 box will end up trapping the water inside and as it's the first connection, it'll short the generator out and cause quite a bit of damage. I'd suggest bringing both the generator and the output cables in from the bottom, and ideally fitting an isolator switch as close to the wheel as possible. I hope this comes across as constructive criticism. I'd hate for such a small error to cause any damage. Keep up the good work!

[@avantgarde619]

I would have used a rubber seal tight tubing from the box to the conduit instead of the galvanized MC cable.

[@wardfiction5693]

This was my thought.,... I probably would have wired a 3 core shielded cable to the alternator and had less conduate. or have gear and shaft system back to the room where the isolator switch was and had all the alternators and such in there..

[@garyviveiros2557]

So-o-o, be sure to silicone-seal the connector to form a better seal against water, and mist incursion. Could use water tight connectors and outdoor flex cable that has a plastic flex jacket.

[@LukeCunningham]

The really low dump height should be good for minimizing erosion. Can’t wait to see what you get with a bigger pulley so the alternator doesn’t have to brake the wheel anymore.

[@YellowSn0man]

A couple vanes in the sluiceway will solve the spillage issue and get a more even flow of water entering the wheel. Vanes will increase the likelihood of clogging though. To help alleviate this, make the leading edge of the vane taper up like a ramp. The water flow will help push the debris up out of the way. Thank you for the fantastic video!

[@williambryce8527]

Outstanding Job, and awesome fabrication? Love any RE systems, and a old style wheel hydro system is wonderful to see!

[@thornwarbler]

You're some bloke. You!! Wonderful stuff mate. I remember when you were building your first wind turbine in the alley at your old flat. You've come a long way since then.

[@dantheman6698]

cool, almost there. pully sizes was always going to be one thing that needed playing with, id take a few different combinations with you so you can find the best one. will that alternator need any kind of cooling? too much heat would cook the bearings and make them fail early. hopefully the other guys fix the trough a bit better at the corner to stop it leaking and going over the top. eager to see the results :D

[@frankiepitt9135]

I’ve been reading the comments on this video and I’m amazed just how many water wheel experts there are out there.

[@davemurphy2020]

It’s not rocket science

[@agreensh]

I suggest adding a corner/radius inside the trough to improve the water flow (either from wood or steel). Will make a huge difference.

[@loloaqici82qb4ipp]

Yes, to round off the bend and possibly higher than the existing sides to give the water a "smoother" ride.

[@ajw1467]

Amazing vlog i came about watching from looking at other ways to power electrics on a narrowboat and gives me some great ideas . Your workmanship is superb thank you so much for sharing will be subscribing to follow some great ideas whilst in hospital having cancer treatment big smiles cheers your a very clever man and think as i do out of the box

[@canadiannaturalist6369]

I hugely admire your workmanship. The concept popped into my mind when I was watching your "flow slow-mo" and I'm absolutely sure that if you get the water input closer to a laminar flow, you'd have way more efficiency. turbulence=efficiency loss.

[@adrianlane4256]

One of the top ten projects I’ve ever watched on KZbin, absolutely brilliant. The build quality is top notch and any glitches totally understandable on a unique first build. Well done to you and all involved. Just need to find a location for me to commission one 😂

[@SquareOneForge]

This is awesome. I am loving this build series. Well done mate!

[@Itssmial_Ova]

Congratulations Chris, I've been watching since day dot. What you've accomplished here I know is years of hard work and dedication. I remember you saying you'd eventually love to get into the Hydroelectric business and here you are doing that. Watching your bare land turn into a home, Then a smallholding, then a successful small business has been very inspirational. Makes me reflect upon my time seeing all you've managed to accomplish.

[@davidcurd987]

Hi Kris, great work! One way to stop the water overflowing at the bend in the sluice would be to put in thin guide vanes. If you slope the leading edge it would stop debris from building up. I’m a pump and turbine design engineer so if you want some advice on hydraulic design I would be happy to help. You are a true inspiration - keep up the incredible work.

[@lowescottage]

The design of the buckets with built in back plate is excellent and imaginative. Did you consider high level back shot? Overshot wheels have a slight braking effect from the water leaving the wheel. Back shot can give a smoother entry and exit. So well done.

[@thismaineliving]

To add this the good points made above, a back shot wheel has the highest efficiency of all the wheel designs. It's had the advantages of a top shot wheel but ALSO the added power and perks of an under shot/run of river wheel.(bounce, it runs quieter) Also, wouldn't be that hard will all the existing setup/ build to flip that wheel around and make a very simple modification to the flume.

[@TomTurner704]

Great job! The chute is problematic. In air-handling systems the flow rate in ducts with sharp corners are improved using turning vanes, a series of curved rudders running across the corner. The discharge should be a steel fabrication adjustable for length and angle, and perhaps a little bit of narrowing.

[@Riceman-o1p]

Thank you father

[@buggsy5]

Lovely job. When you change to flow direction in the trough, the momentum causes the water to climb to trough side. There are several ways to reduce or eliminate this - the easiest is simply raising the obtuse side of the trough - e.g. the bottom of the trough would not be horizontal any more. But that would require quite a bit of twisting of the trough to avoid the overflow. There are two ways to get power out of the water - the first is gravity alone, which appears to be what you desire. The other is making use of the momentum of the water as well - which in many cases provides far more energy than you will get from gravity alone. But if esthetics is more important than efficiency, that is fine. The alternator/generator getting really hot means that the method you are using for wheel rotation rate is not proper. Your controller is forcing the generator to operate at reduced efficiency - which means it overheats. Instead, you should probably be running the generator at close to the rated operating rpm and controlling the power output by adjusting the input water flow volume. Keep up the experimentation, such efforts are always a joy for me to watch.

[@JoshHenery]

Unreal work Kris! I'd love to see you have a wee chat with the owner and him talk about what he thinks of your work

[@digdilem]

Proper job, love hearing you work through and understand the problems.

[@gregorythomas333]

This is an amazing project...very nicely done! You might want to consider running an ethernet cable through the conduit and install some monitoring like couple of temperature & speed sensors. On the house side you can use an Arduino to read the data out and possibly send commands to change the settings to adjust the load. A possible solution for the excess power& to slow down the wheel could be to dump the extra load into one or two water heaters...that should help with the overspeed.

[@garyviveiros2557]

That's great! One of the biggest needs is for hot water so you could run those into a pre-heat tank that feeds a water-heater tank made to support solar water heating. Pretend the pre-heat tank is a solar water heater and plumb it into the main hot water tank made to support solar heating.

[@g.p.3844]

You need good fat in the bearings, or they wont last a year. The fat for river boat propellers should be cheap and good for the purpose

[@IndigoChild2000]

Nicely done, but in my point of view, a waterwheel isn't the best solution here. You have a drop of more than 2 meters and a descent water flow. If you installed a vortex turbine, I think you can generate 5KW on this location with this much water flow. Fish and debris can pass through easily trough the system. Also wood and water isn't the best combination as it rots away overtime even if coated with protective products.

[@1Shignog]

Same with the steel he used.

[@brunetyannick1174]

Some woods last centuries underwater, not sure they used the right one though

[@swainscheps]

Yeah I was gonna say….I think you could enjoy even more power if instead of an overshot waterwheel, you bought an extension cord… Seriously though - beautiful work. Johann Euler would be proud…

[@adriansmith827]

😮😂😂😮😂😂o😂I 😂p

[@IONACOMPUTERS]

Definitely should utilize the 2 metre drop

[@JF-fx2qv]

The need for a third video exist. Hope to see the tweaks done. Looks great! Thanks.

[@hotchihuahua1546]

The most efficient use of a water source for the cleanest electrical energy you can harness through human technology ! Makes me want to live by a stream or brook for many reasons , besides it’s natural beauty . ❤️

[@firstlast6334]

"I'm not qualified." - Kris. "Excuse me?" - Us.

[@mechniack]

Make a metal fil nose that's adjustable

[@KrisHarbour]

Yeah I think thats the plan :)

[@jerrylewis7702]

thank you

[@Classiccarbscouk]

Thoroughly enjoyed that, from start to finish!

[@kletusbobby7029]

Kris, you are far ahead of me with knowledge and skill, so I suggest this cautiously. Have you considered putting an adjustable funnel type attachment at the end of the shoot, this will allow you to adjust the exact water entry angle to the bucket. This funnel attachment could also have an anti-splash back attachment that acts to keep the water in the bucket. Much as a mud guard works on the wheel of a motorcycle.

[@wardfiction5693]

This is a very interesting project and I am glad KZbin recommended it to me. I would have loved to design something like this in the lake district, or even in Scotland. It would be my pet project. However, if you haven't done so already, I recommend finding out how the old wooden water mill wheels work in the old days, those are extremely powerful and built to last, plus there is lots of good ideas behind them. This brings to mind a massive waterwheel near Calne in Wiltshire. Made out of wood, it still stands to this day. I always wondered how much power that beast can make if converted. I see some problems with this on such a small scale, all the crap will flow down stream and build up on the inlets, and cause a huge problem, as I guess you guys might have found out, twigs and god knows what will block all that up, having the spillway, and the troff the same size as the river would allow it all to travel through the wheel. It will be a nightmare to clean all the time. Also, perhaps having a over at the end of the troff, like a cloth or sheeting that drapes over the wheel a little to stop the excess splashing. Not necessary but could be helpful. As for the electrics, I personally would not have used conduate, I would have wired a shielded 3 core cable directly to the alternator just to eliminate any leaks, as this is a heavily water environment, hell, I probably would have had pulleys and a shaft back to the isolator switch and had the alternator there. I do wonder what noise that would make at night. If it was made out of wood, it would have been more natural in a way, but as its metal and that alternator in side that metal cover, I hope the owner does not sleep near it. All in all, its unlikely you will see this comment, but this project is highly interesting and I'm glad I get to see it. I will be watching with intense curiosity... Thank you for posting this and making the video. Shane

[@Can_non69]

I'm such a geek for these things. I'll never use anything like this but my brain 🧠 just loves to see and absorb the magnificence of creative, talented and capable people. Greetings from Mexico 🇲🇽.