Low Head Water Turbine -Free Build Tutorial

/ opensourcelowtech
Tutorial: opensourcelowt...
This free and open source turbine can be built for half the cost of a 120 watt solar panel, and will produce about ten times the power (5kWh with 3m drop and 35 l/s flow) per day. It can be plugged into any appropriate waterway without the need for earthworks, and uses only basic off the shelf and recycled materials, and simple hand tools.
♫ Where The Waves Take Us by Purrple Cat - / purrplecat
#turbine #DIY #hydro #renewable #energy #opensource

[@Shambala_G]

I have followed your channel for some time and I know that this is the result of many years of work, with a lot of challenges along the way to put it mildly! To open source the design with such a professional video is staggeringly impressive. This is precisely the attitude that will save this world from going down the pan for good. Respect and thanks to you! 👍🙏💚

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks!

[@yarudin7961]

😮

[@shanelipe2552]

Exactly.

[@enshawellness]

I second the motion 🙏🌟🙏🌟🙏🌟🙏

[@xavier6130]

+1.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Well, it's been much requested and a long time coming, but the full step by step build tutorial for the siphon hydro turbine is finally finished. I hope you find it useful, and if so please share it to any groups, forums, FB pages, subreddits, email lists etc that you think may find it interesting. I don't get a lot of views from the algorithm, so it's going to mostly come down to community reach and word of mouth to get this in front of those it'd hopefully benefit. Full step by step tutorial text: opensourcelowtech.org/water_turbine.html And thanks to all of you for the sustained impatience in this finally getting done, it's been great to see how many people are keen to start making and using this technology. Any questions email me, or post them here and I'll make sure to be of help as I'm able. Cheers all. ~Daniel

[@kolishedward4006]

Hi Daniel, thank you for sharing your ideas view this medium. I hope to build a replica of your water turbine and share it with you. Please provide me your email so I can contact you, thank you and God bless you all the way from Papua New Guinea!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

@@kolishedward4006 Glad to hear it. opensourcelowtech.org (at) gmail .com

[@eg6tec]

Thank you brother, many good ideas here I can’t wait to make mine for our moulin 🤙

[@SirPrancelot1]

Thank you for your content. Outstanding.

[@andrewsmithmilan1780]

@@OpenSourceLowTech is it possible to get a materials list? This video really only gives an idea of what's possible, otherwise. Great idea tho.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Details on materials, tools, and step by step build instructions are available (free) at: opensourcelowtech.org/water_turbine.html Any questions let me know.

[@rodericknixon9958]

Thank you for this video. It is so clear and easy to follow. It was a joy to watch. I wish all construction videos were made like this, a joy to watch.

[@elfyinc]

Fully agree!

[@rogerunderhill4267]

A real joy!😊

[@donhos1698]

Wow, this is incredible...not just the concept but how everything is put together. 👏👏👏

[@Lana_Warwick]

I was more impressed with the animations. Very clever, got me to watch the whole vid.

[@elieribouchon5504]

Thank you so much from France !! You are a very good person to do this

[@keefsmiff]

All instructional videos should be shown this way ,

[@jedics1]

While the chances of me having somewhere to make use of a turbine approach zero I can see how incredibly valuable this video is, very smart placing the electrical part out of the water via a fan and shaft enabling it to be built with cheap easily found parts. Excellent video, anyone can quickly grasp what is involved, great choice in background music as well :)

[@rentisme]

Well it's not smart, it's just common sense, but I get your message

[@jedics1]

@@rentisme Smart ideas are usually percieved as common sense after the first person actualises it into the real world. If it was common sense then plenty of others would have done it already instead of trying to make an electrical component water tight and put it underwater :)

[@tortillafilms5075]

I waited for it, and it's better that I was expecting for. Thank you so much !!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Glad you liked it, cheers.

[@davidprins9401]

Very cool! I’ve been interested in the project’s progress since finding you a couple/few years ago. This is super helpful.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Glad to hear it.

[@os_kos]

What a nice video, incredible approach for step by step explanation, keep up the good job!)

[@falconeagle3655]

It was the ending which made everything awesome

[@NutScrewGamer]

I thought this was computerphile

[@Qopzeep]

A high quality, well-made video 👏

[@ashleyarundel3134]

That was brilliant and beautiful to watch!!

[@ttbdan5326]

Phenomenal, need more ppl like you... All the best.

[@skeller0160]

Great detailed instructions! Enjoy your videos immensely!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks.

[@portnuefflyer]

I have also used plastic cutting boards for years for various other purposes, the opening shot showing one being hole sawed up cracked me up!

[@ibasswood]

Congrats to the person who made this video. Very cool instructions. Good stuff!

[@britnorvell5937]

Thankyou! In Asia trying to come up with micro hydro ideas for IDPS and refugees and medical clinics. solar does not work well in rainy season. Not sure I can replicate this but the success is encouraging.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Sounds good, what concerns do you have about the building process?

[@StratRider]

I've subbed this channel for a long time and am always impressed. You've outdone yourself his time. 👍

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Good to hear, thanks.

[@N1ghtR1der666]

I am just shocked by the detail of that animation, well done

[@aidenjohns8248]

awesome idea! a slight decrease in pipe size and a cone on the fan would slightly improve performance, and adding another prop should add more torque, but may reduce overall speed, these are the projects that change the world, little by little.. great stuff..

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Being a momentum turbine generally the bigger the pipes the better because more flow, but there is a constriction point across the impeller which does up the revs and therefor voltage, while hopefully not reducing the overall flow to much and therefor torque and amps. One of the main things I'll be testing with the 3D printed impellers is kind of reversing the current situation of that constriction coming in to meet the smaller impeller, so that instead the hub of the impeller is larger and the blades (whichever shape turns out to be most efficient) are at a larger radius to meet the pipe wall. That should hopefully mean more torque from the runner with no reduction of flow. But we'll see what happens in reality. Two spaced impellers on the one shaft is also an option and may well increase overall power, yeah.

[@ashtontechhelp]

@@OpenSourceLowTech if you want two impellers then you will need a static blade that turns the water the other way in between the two spinning impellers. That is how a jet engine works. Otherwise you get no additional power. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmOXiJlmi9GHe5I

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Yeah, I'll also be experimenting with stators, vectorisers, and the like.

[@jgz2]

Very well done. Great animation. Thank You.

[@teasie1967]

Hi Daniel. Thank you soooo much for sharing this tutorial. I am a woman in Ireland rural living and am going to try this as i have a small river on my land. Hopefully it will be a success. Can you show me how to connect this up to store and use electricity for my mobile home if poss. I think you are awesome helping people to source their own electricity and everything else you do around the world. We need more people in the world like you ❤❤❤😊😊😊

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Glad to hear it. The electrical side of things will depend on your specifics, but if you're on FB post here about it and we'll help out as best we can: facebook.com/groups/windturbinemakers

[@bernarrcoletta7419]

I just stumbled across this video. I’m going to have to look into some of the others to get some context, but I subscribed anyway. Looks like you’re doing some interesting work.

[@collinsphiri6744]

Thank you so much producers.

[@shaneannconnell8022]

Wow this is easy to follow along. Thanks again for doing this.

[@brumesanglante]

Yeah man , thank you so much ! I'have made one and it's work . I Will try to put three of them along the pipe. Good Luck to you

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Details, data, and video?

[@brumesanglante]

Ok i contact you by mail

[@dennisestenson7820]

This is mesmerizing to watch 😮

[@cjkenning]

Beautiful animation. You're easily good enough to be doing that professionally FYI

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks

[@rentisme]

I like how he must've made several iterations of this design and thought 'no, I can make it cheaper'

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

This one I sort of chanced into more or less the current configuration from the start, but usually these things are iterated as you say, yes.

[@rogerunderhill4267]

Very relaxing and informative and motivational - all in 1!😊

[@Earzone63]

So Excited for this! Do we / can we create a community map of places where it may be suitable to install this?

[@adamgeard]

I’m no engineer but could this design work on a house down pipe? Would it create any energy from say a heavy rain fall, especially if you had one on each down section of pipe coming from the roof

[@GreganDunn]

You would need a lot more water than a rain fall to get any appreciable amount of electricity generated...

[@markm8188]

Thank you. Very nicely done.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks.

[@CplusO2]

Brilliant ! one for the algorithm.

[@craigellis3250]

Thank you for your amazing video here. Really incredible graphics and easily understandable for a lay person like myself

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks

[@EctoMorpheus]

This is awesome, and with seriously impressive power generation. I don't know much about the physics of turbines but why is the turbine at the top of the waterfall rather than at the bottom? Is there only water in the tube and no air? If there is air, what does it matter how much the drop is if the turbine is at the top? Thanks!

[@lujitsu1251]

That animation was awesome! Thanks

[@AaronBrand]

The animation is at least as impressive as the design and build! Thanks for sharing.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks!

[@momohnyaley7069]

Impressive animation. Thanks

[@kalerido]

Great Video!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks, was a bit of work but happy with how it turned out.

[@masterbard]

this is an awesome concept. I will attempt and probably fail at making it.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Any questions let me know.

[@energymarketchile]

Excellent video. Thanks so much for your good work.

[@MIdaffy502]

Beautiful 3D animation work, may I ask what program did you use to create this?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks. Modelled in Rhino, animated etc in Maya, rendered with Arnold. AfterFX and Premiere to compile.

[@MIdaffy502]

@@OpenSourceLowTech Thank you for responding.

[@StarJackerSRL]

Awesome. Congrats, you'we done great work! I think this could also be used as a jet unit for a boat or ski jet. It just needs a reduction in the output to increase pressure.

[@andremurilodiasdesouza3848]

Concordo plenamente. Trabalho sensacional. Parabéns

[@SmithyScotland]

Great animation.

[@walterwatts3994]

Pretty chill music

[@swyveu]

Well done! Keep it up!

[@evanhernandez1450]

Two things I noticed while watching this video: 1, the majority of this project can be 3D printed which is amazing. 2, this is basically wave runner jet drive, but obviously in generator format.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

I'll be parallel testing a half dozen 3D printable runner options when I get the chance, some are pretty exotic, some are basically just propellers not unlike jetskis.

[@Deliinii]

Dose it make sence to try a 3d printed impeller using somthing like smiler too hump back wale fin nodules, they can increes lift and I would love to see what it can do in a turbine like this. I know that would make it more doficoult to produce but as you have tested some other 3d printed designs I would love to see this one aswell.

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice video, thanks for sharing it :)

[@rudolfvreeburg2451]

very nice!!! yes but I would at moment 1.31 turn around these bolds around as they might get lost inside the tube

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Facing out is also an option, yes.

[@OwenSkarpness]

Crazy idea here that might help some of the issues you've experienced with blades breaking, clogs, and excessive wear against rocks and dirt: what if you used the water to pull a vacuum and place the fan/generator in the vacuum intake? This effectively creates a hybrid water/wind turbine where the water creates the wind that powers the turbine, but given the relative cleanliness of air, you avoid most of the major wear issues. The biggest challenge here though might be keeping the siphon. Thoughts?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Interesting idea, tho it would definitely break the siphon unless something very elegant can be thought of, and there's a lot more momentum and torque in water over your runner than air. Also you're basically halving your mass and therefore max system power, unless, again, something elegant. But it could be a potentially good solution to the issues as you say. I'll give it some thought..

[@OwenSkarpness]

@@OpenSourceLowTech a further suggestion here that I'm pondering is using something like a Pythagorean cup, but with the top sealed except as connected to an air intake hose. When the water level reaches a certain point, a siphon is activated that drains the cup. The action of this siphon naturally draws in air, creating a sort of "breath" as it drains. My naive intuition is that a series of these could be attached to the same air intake with the timings sufficiently offset from each other to create a relatively constant flow. Theoretically this entire assembly could also be miniaturized, but of course there are many assumptions here that need to be tested first! It's an interesting thought experiment regardless, if not perhaps one day a physical one!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

You know trompes?

[@OwenSkarpness]

@@OpenSourceLowTech looked it up, very interesting mechanism. I wonder if positioning the fan at the air intake of the trompe would be sufficient and/or efficient, or if it would make more sense to use the traditional compressed air output, but my original intuition was closer to the first and that's a much simpler, cheaper, and easier to build mechanism. Come to think of it, Venturi wine aerators work similarly to a trompe, but without the pressurization chamber at the bottom. As I find myself lacking a strong background in fluid dynamics, I'm going to consult a much more knowledgeable engineer friend and get back to you. Certainly not an easy optimization problem to solve!

[@darceyweimer3171]

Awesome animation👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks

[@VictorY-mu6zp]

Nicely done!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Cheers Geert, fair bit of you guys' help in this.

[@cool3884]

awesome video. such graphics my god

[@MarineVeteran0351]

I'm very interested in seeing results of setting something like this up maybe beefier in conjuction with a mechanical, ram pump. And wired up in series🤔 4:37. For a homestead. That's supplied off the rampump, through a Charcoal & sand filter...

[@ramzeneger]

The best video ever!

[@keithg5137]

Great video

[@Peter_Parker69]

Highly underrated work

[@MENDNZ]

Superbe graphics!

[@danbrown9357]

What a wonderful video

[@jimhowell4064]

Can you start a patreon account? I’d like to support your cause long term and I’m confident many others out there appreciate your approach and similarly would want to help scale your impact. Don’t fuss over the features and tiers, it’s about supporting folks like you. We already got our money’s worth…

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

I've been meaning to for years and just haven't gotten around to it. Probably should...

[@dogdooish]

Stunning Video!

[@ramzeneger]

Thank you for the video

[@middleway1885]

Sweet plans! Thanks!

[@drsatan9617]

This is awesome but a bit too large scale for my uses Could you maybe make a turbine which a bit more portal for camping/hiking Im thinking a tube which houses not a screw turbine specifically but several sets of blades on one rotor which is held by bearings at entry and exit to pipe. Entry has a flared mouth to catch more water and direct down pipe and tail has a tail to orientate the pipe into the current. A couple foam or even inflatable floaters then a slightly larger tube which it sits in for travel

[@pahasapaman]

The bolts holding the wood to the outside need to be reversed in direction and rounded on the ends to reduce flow interruption. Nuts and rods interrupt flow.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Normally yes, but these are far enough back that they're out of the main flow to the runner, so the water there should be either fairly static, or just turbulence. Which isn't necessarily ideal in itself, and it might benefit from some kind of flow guide to orient the water onto the runner, tho I tried a basic version of this in Berlin carved out of polystyrene and didn't measure any efficiency difference at all.

[@n0tbadm857]

Nice video!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Cheers!

[@portroyal6886]

Awesome videos dude, but I'm surprised you haven't done a thermo power supply

[@p.d8423]

Best 3D animation I have ever seen. This detailed project may be a nice idea for an engineers practicum. I Would go for a simpler application on a farm. Nice, though 😊

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Thanks

[@anonymousperson8259]

Thank you for this video, it's like Science Channel's "How It's Made," but better. Also, what is this song? It's really relaxing and chill.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Where The Waves Take Us by Purrple Cat Edited lightly by me for length.

[@mjktrash]

Most of the components were easy to follow, what was NOT obvious was the generator wheel and some of the smaller PVC rings. Is there a component list to go along with this video?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Link to the full tutorial in the description. Generator is a wheel from a hoverboard / balance board / segway. PVC rings?

[@MrDingaling007]

I think the 0:43 mark. Looks like its to reduce down from the 6" pipe to the fan size at a guess.

[@mjktrash]

@@MrDingaling007 Ok, now I see, in re-watching it, I see how the pipe was split and a section taken out to make the reducers. Brilliant.

[@deepseawrath]

Can you make a video of a walkthrough of the animation program you used for this? And how you did it?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Modelled in Rhino, everything else in Maya. There's not really a specific methodology as such, just basic element and camera animation, etc.

[@DunOpondo]

This is crazy awesome 😂

[@Cesarkool]

What software did you use to make that animation? It's explained very nicely, good!! And thanks for sharing!!

[@Noreathibadey]

Water level is higher than the ground lever than the water flow to, so you don't need pump to push water.....

[@МаксимБалахонов-к7ж]

Это очень круто !!! и доступно !!!

[@Machiuka]

Very impressive video. With what app do you realized it?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

modelled in Rhino, animated etc in Maya.

[@marcin7118]

How much power [W] it can generate and how much Volts? I need min 200V DC to plug it (through bridge rectifier) to PV inverter

[@eliseeyao3192]

Merci beaucoup à vous pour le tutoriel, je veux savoir comment faire pour l'avoir nous sommes en Afrique précisément en côte d'ivoire

[@Евгений-р5ш3в]

Саяно-Шушенская ГЭС, блин! Но на 20 Ватт))

[@superfoodq]

I wish you guys has this for sale you would had buy it.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

I've been selling kitsets, but only available in the UK since Brexit made it pretty much impossible to post anything anywhere else unf.

[@spartacus9311]

Sweet !

[@Christianity-777]

Sir can I place an order of it?

[@anatineduo4289]

nice

[@gazopiesz30]

Can someone explain how much eletricity it produced? I have solar panels that produce 4 kWp, so would be great to somehow relate to that!

[@Mickeus]

You can run a washing machine, air conditioner, fridge, water heater, oven, and TV with a 5kw turbine system.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

With a 3m drop at 35 l/s flow it should produce 200W or 5kWh per day. More with more.

[@elijahluu7605]

How much maintenance does this project need?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Looks pretty robust so far, seeing as it's pretty much just plumbing parts well within their ratings, and one moving part.

[@amwtechnologies8723]

incrível. Parabéns pelo trabalho e compartilhamento. Qual software utilizou para construir a animação ?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Modelled in Rhino, everything else in Maya. AfterFX for comping.

[@justincase4812]

I can build the turbine, but I need help getting the perpetual flowing water 😂

[@jfbc6299]

Very interesting! I want to replicate this idea for a science fair at my university. I'm trying to download the 3D model from the website that you attached but it won't let me. Could you please tell me where other website could I found the 3D model? Thanks and greetings from Guatemala!

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

If your browser doesn't want to download the link, right click, 'copy link address', and paste that into a new tab. If that doesn't work email me.

[@SilverMist0121]

What is it for

[@tylernope2752]

Where do you get the motor? That thing alone is $50.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Depending where you are you can usually get a second hand hoverboard with two wheels for like $£€ 20-30.

[@zzz5824]

How deep did you put intake? To the bottom to give more pressure?

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

The max available pressure is the surface of the top water to the surface of the bottom water, so the depth of the inlet won't affect that, but you'll want it either deep enough to not suck air, or incorporated into some kind of elegant filter intake that I'm still in the process of thinking about.

[@PeacefulCountryLife]

Does it last a week before melting / putting out a fire / going out of parameters? :)

[@markawbolton]

My sentiments entirely. I would give it about a week.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

It's mechanically robust enough to be used long term, there would be potential risk of fire if you overloaded the coils by running more than their 10 amps rating, but long as you don't do that then there should be no reason for an electrical failure.

[@BasedOcra-extended]

How can you regulate the output voltage to something like 12v? I want to use this to charge my power station.

[@OpenSourceLowTech]

Possibly a buck converter but probably a charge controller. Specifically which will depend on your setup.

[@DarekNowak-he1cn]

👍