The Hydro Turbine broke down!

[@Marlo_Stanfield-k1o]

I have just watched all the roundhouse videos and have just got to say you are the man! Basically done the whole lot by yourself and it’s turned out brilliant. You are informative polite and just seem like a great guy. Well done mate I’ll look forward to your new additions to your land.

[@martinkingori9598]

a subscriber all the way from Kenya and i must say your craftsmanship is on another level. having worked in the commercial hydro power sector, this is the best way to utilise locally available materials to better your lifestyle.

[@petew5272]

When I worked in the electronics industry, the criterion for bolt length was the there should be 1½ turns of thread showing out of the nut. I assume that the commenter who wrote that the Nyloc nuts should be fitted nylon ring downwards was joking!

[@briangarrow448]

I worked with a former Submariner who said the same thing you mentioned. Smart guy. I met lots of Navy Veterans when working in water and wastewater treatment plants.

[@nirvanapilot2306]

Agreed

[@DankMemesForAngryTeens]

You could put them on upside down but good luck getting them off again

[@bamtoday]

Hey Kris, you are easily one of my favorite channels and I'm always excited when I see one of your new videos post. Thank you for sharing even if mostly venting your frustrations, there's a learning lesson in all of this as well as inspiration for the rest of us. Keep up the good work!

[@canuckyank82]

You solved your problem well. Loctite and welds. Investigate a cast unit, or a 3d printed unit with no bolts.Tack welding will give you years of use. Get a backup unit that you can throw on while you repair current unit, for no down time. ☺ Excellent perseverance.

[@JockeSelin]

If it were my turbine, I’d replace all bolts and nuts with new stainless steel ones, then put a small tack weld on the nut/bolt to make sure they don’t unscrew. This way I could grind off the small weld if I needed to take a spoon off. Welding the spoons on might cause other issues, for example the metal (aluminium?) might not be suitable for welding and might end up cracking, or something. Looking forward to seeing what solution you end up going with.

[@KrisHarbour]

Nice idea. i like that idea a lot. thanks for the comment.

[@JockeSelin]

Cool! Looking forward to the follow-up and big thanks for the videos! Wish I had land with a stream. One day!

[@frodehau]

I second that. The spoons seem to be casted, cast aluminium or in this case possibly magnesium isn't the best thing to weld. If I had the choice I would have gone for red locktite in this application, but I don't even have that in my drawers right now. We make do with what we have, right? Locking the threads with a center punch works too, but it's not that easy when you have those nylon lock nuts.

[@JockeSelin]

Yes, if you can't weld, you can punch the nut/bolt, destroy the treads a bit. Another option is to use something like Nordlock washers. They are almost magical. www.nord-lock.com/nord-lock/wedge-locking/washers/introduction/

[@RubenLensvelt]

Aluminium and stainless steel sometimes cause contact- or galvanic corrosion. In that case I'd stick with plain galvanized nuts and bolts. So then the bolt won't end up bonded real tight with the hole. I also know that cast aluminium is really difficult to weld, but I've experimented with aluminium solder from aliexpress that could work. Soldering is a long shot though, the temperatures are very close together. Otherwise I like the idea of the weld on top of the nut too. Just grind the top part off of the nut when it has to come undone. Simple and effective. I'll remember that.

[@selador11]

You don't want to weld those. You'll introduce even more stresses into the aluminum. Then you'll get stress cracks. Not to mention imbalance problems. Good job on using the threadlock as a temporary solution! Now here's hoping the manufacturer sees this and does the right thing and sends you longer bolts.

[@sjobang]

selador11 - You're spot on. That is why e.g. an airplane chassis is glued and bolted, instead of welded.

[@eamsden1982]

Plus the material the spoons are made of might be a bit impure and not very weldable.. welding is quite often a bodge on something that wasn't built like that. Plus if a spoon breaks it's currently easy to replace 😉

[@charleslittle458]

For a temporary Band-Aid I would turn all the Nylock nuts upside down put them back on. More permanent would definitely be welding I like that idea you could also have longer bolts and double nut the other side where the nylox currently are. Great video I look forward to seeing more

[@gb8014]

Commenting for the KZbin algorithm. Good job kris

[@mikec5722]

Yep I seen it when you took it out. First thing I said bolts are to short. For any hardware aka nuts and bolts need at least 2 threads showing passed the nuts. Good catch I really enjoy your videos.

[@geoffreykail9129]

If you weld the spare one be sure to balance it for the weight of the welds. Otherwise you risk tearing up bearings.

[@donaldshields2483]

You do excellent work I enjoy watching you I wished I had to half of your knowledge keep up the good work

[@DaveDaveAlanAlan]

Love your videos. I look forward to the day I can do something similar!

[@eamsden1982]

Don't know if anyone else has mentioned it buddy, but those bolts are sets! Ideally you need bolts with a plain shank going through the unthreaded part of the spoon (tighter fit and won't allow the threads to cause wear). The bolts with a shank the right length for you would be longer so would need excess thread trimming off. I think this would extend the life of the wheel. Spring washers are not suitable for this application and welding would probably be a move you would regret. If you try to tig it and it's poor quality cast then you would blow a big hole in the spoon 😳 I think you've done the best short term fix. Bolts aren't stainless? Usually say A2 on the head if so. Stainless nuts on stainless bolts bind like it's been welded.. usually shear when you undo them unless greased during assembly.. plus stainless isn't as strong as grade 8.8 bolts! Happy generating 👍

[@nez3009]

edward amsden +1

[@artsmith103]

Some real help. Good for you!

[@RO-kn6cw]

Loving your can do attitude. Sure you'll figure it out you always do x

[@JamesRPatrick]

You can do what the builders of aircraft and race cars do. Drill a 1mm hole through both the nut and the bolt and put steel wire through the hole, then twist the wire to keep it in place. Or you can replace the nyloc nuts with regular, shorter nuts so that the bolt sticks out one or two threads. Then take a center punch and make a dimple near the edge of the exposed thread. The end of the bolt will deform outwards and prevent the nut from rotating. It's called staking, fairly common in arms manufacturing in designs that have strong impacts and vibrations.

[@Mrcaffinebean]

James Patrick that would prevent it from falling out but not from getting a little loose.

[@JamesRPatrick]

Look up "staked gas key". It's a proven industry standard.

[@seshmarls]

if done properly there is no way the nut/bolt can get loose the fastener will fail first

[@loos3cannon410]

Nice 👍🏼 tip hope I remember when the time comes

[@DjamesDarksneer]

Countersink the head of each bolt a bit so they thread through the nut correctly, that's the cheapest and easiest option. If you decide to weld the assembly you will also have to balance it otherwise it will just vibrate itself to death again. Should probably try to balance it regardless actually.

[@MalcOfLincoln]

Don't beat yourself up Kris. If the bolts had been long enough for the nuts to lock, this would never have happened. I sent you a message btw. Now, I've been amusing myself over the winter making an engine run with the spark lead disconnected. Hours of brainache, however I finally got it reliable. Only to miss a stupid mistake. Only found out today. Can happen to anyone. P.S. Don't weld those spoons. Good bolts the correct length with nylock nuts should be more than capable of holding this together. Just poor engineering from the manufacturer.

[@oscarzt1652]

MalcOfLincoln how did you get the engine going? raise the compression so it auto ignites?

[@praestant8]

This is why good pelton wheels are sold cast and not assembled out of parts.

[@kitchencone]

Perhaps they make these spoons for different wheels, but the design failure I see is the base arms of the spoon should be wedge shaped, 1/12th of a pie, so that each fits tight to its neighbour, before the bolts are even added. The spoons undergo cycles of load, and if each spoon base supported its neighbour, there is less work for the bolts to do to resist that cyclic load.

[@djmattc1978]

Really interesting video, thanks Kris.

[@HotAxleBox]

That's such an embarrassing failure. Thread lock may wear off over time with the constant scrubbing action from contaminated water, nord lock anti-vibration washers or even a simple double bent beam nut will hold that for years to come.

[@kls2020]

At a Hydro plant I worked at they had old pictures of an "Online " bucket pin (bolt) failure that lead to a Pelton bucket weighing hundreds of pounds coming loose and being thrown through the steel turbine cover housing skyward and crashed through a big window into the river outside . Bucket pins on these 36 MVA Hydro units were inspected once a year for maintenance at the time . Integral cast Turbines replaced these original turbines decades later eliminating bolts that can fail .

[@TheLoudtrout]

Nord-lock washers, i defy you to vibrate those loose.

[@erikdenhouter]

I think in the '70 the first superglue on the market was Locktite. Unscrew every bolt 1/2 turn, put one drop of superglue (or the waterthin Locktite) on top of one bolt, so capillary forces suck it in the thread, and as fast as possible tight it as tight as you can. I think the damage on the spoon and the one longer bolt will unbalance the thing. You could do the same with the spoon at 180 degrees to counter balance.

[@jerrysmith3414]

big fan here love ur channel and your work is exceptional thanks for the knowledge

[@J9_j3]

use pneumatic hammer and aluminum rivets to permanently fix all paddles - more complicated and labor intensive but permanent. only rivet fatigue over fairly long time will eventually cause them to fail with the same results. also mushrooming (by peening) of the bolts ends can prevent nuts from working themselves off. this is less involved method and also pretty pemanent assuming you mushroom those bolts well up against the nuts.

[@tylerthompson3247]

Aluminum rivets should be good, also gets rid of the steel on aluminum problem keeping it from corrading

[@CassarolesDad]

A redesign of the “spoons” handle to be arrow shaped would add greatly to the stability of the paddles on the hub. It would align the paddles evenly on the hub for better balance and bearing life. The wear on the hub from the incident could be putting extra wear on the bearing now and it should be repaired and balanced. Just my 2 cents. Love the videos.

[@RolftheRed]

And if you don't have a pneumatic hammer lying around just use the "Ball" on a ball peen hammer and set the rivet Old school on some solid steel anvil made from rod to fit the clearance. The only downside other than not fixing balance issues is that you rivet may be softer metal than the cast spoons or hub. Humm... I still like the spot weld and drill slightly (to remove weight from heavy sides/spoons) on the hub to dial the "imbalance" issues sorted

[@frodehau]

The cooling fan is still on the generator, you loose some watts there. I also bet that there is a bit to gain by balancing the turbine, but I'm not sure how I would do that without a machine shop.

[@Nikel87]

Straight axle and a ball bearing without grease. Drill the heavy side or weight down the light side.

[@praestant8]

You don’t want to take off the blower for the coils. Bad idea.

[@LiamRoberts00]

Good stuff Kris.

[@thephantom1492]

In the aviation industry, they use lock wire, which prevent the bolts and nuts from even loosening. I would have done a combinaison of locktite and lock wire. Or just weld it.

[@d.t.4523]

It will need to be inspected regularly. Any mechanism like that would. Great repair though, good luck!

[@____________________________.x]

Problem is with welding is that if a vane fails then it's difficult to replace (unlikely I know), or maybe the manufacturer didn't fancy investing in a £1K TIG welder either. It would be nice if the assembly could be balanced perhaps? Eventually that sleeve bearing (?) assembly is going to wear unevenly with the vibration and will need replacing somehow. It's funny, I was researching online and noticed all the other Pelton wheels have the same short bolt issue as yours.

[@woodwater6104]

I suggest you pot the outer center hub (each side in separate pours) in two part epoxy after re-torquing all the bolts and checking spoon spacing. It will leave the spoon in a replaceable state as well as filling in all the little crannies that are inevitable with that type of construction. Some support will be gained against the force imparted to the spoon while in operation. Balancing should remain pretty close to original if you control the outer diameter of the potting material and space the spoons evenly. Just make sure the axis is plumb before pouring and the epoxy is fluid enough to self level.

[@fabianprettyfield919]

Add also a spring washer on one side after replacing the bolts with longer ones. The counter pressure will then hold it together.

[@FixitFrank]

May be overkill but lock wire drilled bolts may be an option worth investigating. Good luck !

[@chriswoolvin7284]

you can turn the bolts around nylock first, its harder to start the thread but works just as good

[@Orbis92]

Like MalcOfLincoln already said, the bolts are a bit to short. They have to thread into the inner plastic ring to self-lock. Maybe add some "loctite" to the screws, too. I would avoid welding, the spoons could move unwanted due to thermal expansion and you would probably unbalance the wheel with uneven welding. Btw, I really love your hydro generator project, it's kind of a dream of mine, too

[@KrisHarbour]

Did you not watch the video? I said most of what is in your comment in the video.......

[@jerrysmith3414]

iam so glad you have a channel i have watched almost all of them .i like the hydro so you have model number or brand name on it ..id like to learn more bout hydros ..wind ,solor and water power is awesome .thanks

[@Nszewczak]

Strongly recommend lockwire. (search turbine lockwire for details) keeps bolts from waltzing down to the social club.

[@tannerg6076]

The spoons look to be cast, welding them would be difficult and would probably cause them to crack. The best solution I can think of is to get someone to tack weld the nuts to the bolts. They won't go anywhere then and you could still cut them off if you needed to replace a spoon

[@everestneverest9720]

make a simple friction welder for metals along the lines of frans reinvented friction welder for plastic (no seriously check it out) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGHdoaSencigppY then take some coke cans and practice friction welding them till you get the feeling for it then a final test on some thicker ali before you do the real thing, two new skills to add to your plastic/ali toolbox alongside making new "diy plastic string" and its wide uses the "handle wrap" kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnSkZKp6fL1sipI being probably the simplest one for most uses, it even shrink wraps tighter with applied heat

[@liongod1000]

Hi Kris, at some point those spoons WILL wear out as you water coming in contact with them have fine 'Dust/sand' which is abrasive and Chew them up slowly.

[@watahyahknow]

might need to ream every hole to an exact dimension and use hardened bolts and locktite , basicly preventing every movement between the components , the water pulsing across the blades prolly vibrates evething loose wonder if it helps if they make piecut parts on the mounted end of the spoons so they basicly butt against eachother making a full circle and cant move once there tightened

[@dell33ire]

Quick fix while waiting to get longer bolts would be using the thread lock as well as REVERSING the nyloc nuts so the nylon washer bites as soon as it's put on. Not an idea fix but you'd get some benefit from the nylon biting.

[@superpoof]

Since the bolts can't be replaced,you could flip the locknut over so that the nylon side gets full thread. Serves the same purpose,just other side down.

[@WesMarquenie]

Heico-lock or similar works great in high vibration. And I would use anti-seize instead of lock-tide. Any worries about galvanic corrosion? Stainless, aluminium and water can be a bit problematic.

[@SiviVolk2]

While you are waiting for new turbine I would suggest you to reduce the flow rate a bit. This should reduce the water force acting on the spoons and also limit turbine overspeeding when your batteries get full. Based on your production number (111 kWh from 24. of january) you could probably reduce turbine power to something like 100 - 150W and still have enough energy on average?

[@internet146]

Did you take a look at the bourdon tube of the gauge to see if its deformed? I guess you don't really need accuracy on it, just pressure indication right?

[@svennilsson8459]

A quick and dirty one: just put the nuts on the other way around, threading plastic locking part onto the bolt first, instead of like now the bolt not reaching the plastic restraining. The pressure against the wheel might even tighten the plastic a little better onto the bolt. Considering this a solution only because the bolts are on a thread anyhow in the wheel.

[@thegit8698]

Is it possible for you to put the nuts on to tighten in the direction that the wheel turns in instead of them loosening in the direction the wheel is turning in, like a left-hand thread on a pedal of a bicycle? One pedal has a normal thread and the other side has a left-hand thread because the nut would loosen off while pedaling otherwise, i love what you have done to get that water wheel up and running, very inspiring to be honest.

[@jamest.5001]

it would be nice if the spoons were pinned. or set in a groove. so they can't move . after they are in position. then the bolts would basically just keep the spoons from being flung off. I guess that would cost more money to make. at least nothing is broken!!! maybe you could put thread locker. on the spoon to hub surface. to kinda glue them on before bolting them on. good luck.

[@wickie2222]

Bolts aren't long enough, not coming fully through the lock nuts Also it may be worth putting the bolt nearer the center of the hub through from the other side to balance the longer bolts if this is a worry.

[@pingu99991]

So I think that the spoons are bolt on so that you can easily replace them if they fail... Is there a better solution than welding that you can think of so that you don't take that capability away?

[@bobmclaughlin8633]

Search for "balancing a motorcycle tire" here on youtube. I bet that the process could be done on the pelton wheel as well. I have built a balancing jig from some lumber, spacers, and a threaded rod, you could too. Worst case, you could check the balance yourself on your maintenance days, even if you didn't want to balance it yourself.

[@fuzielectron5172]

Bob Mclaughlin exactly what I was going to suggest! I am sure the cups are replaceable to allow them to be swapped out for balancing during assembly if weight differences are too big to compensate with a little filing.

[@elliottslab]

wow who built that thing, wonder if you can get one that's​ just all one would save having any bolts or welds

[@lancedaniels]

Thanks for posting.

[@Taluvian]

I would not weld the spoons, you may want to remove them. I'd weld a ring on outside of the hub, turn welds smooth, cut notches for spoons to slide into, that way they have no backlash. Bolt the spoons on and locktite them.

[@loganv0410]

Welding very well may introduce balance issues. Be ready to check for that. Where did you buy the turbine wheel? And what is the piping system you used to feed the turbine?

[@QueenOfMissiles]

Rivets would work as a better solution than bolts. As they can be sealed on both sides from coming apart and removed with a grinder if needed.

[@beachlife1411]

Longer bults for sure and washers and lock tight would be best , nice set up though

[@jeremyhenderson163]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jeremyhenderson163]

I am curious about the currents you are receiving from the turbine,whether you are using AC or DC,what you are powering (house,a few appliances,etc.),and the names of the jet nozzle thing.

[@JoeMalovich]

The slots on the spoons where it slips over the hub are only long enough to allow the hub to be saddled tightly and as such the bolts aren't sufficient to clamp down on the hub. You should somehow cut the spoon slots 2x deeper and then balance the turbine. Or weld then balance.

[@KrisHarbour]

Hi joe, yeah i think getting another one and modifying it would be a good solution. they are reasonably priced so im not surprised really. maybe this video will get them manufacturer to sort out the problem.

[@boredfartless4221]

I'm not an engineering sort. Why would cutting the slot so it fits less snug make it a tighter fit?

[@JoeMalovich]

Bored Fartless bolts can then pinch the fingers tight to the hub.

[@christiangeiselmann]

Joe Malovich I think this would also ask for slightly thicker bolts perhaps.

[@kurupz]

It's aluminum, Almost any decently torqued bolt will cause it to bend and thus clamp. To elongate the slots is imo just added complexity for no gain if anything you run the risk of introducing faults. The only way to change it accurately would be to machine them and again for what imo is little to no gain. Also getting larger bolts would really only weaken the structure and unnecessary seeing as those bolts are holding up just fine and are dealing with the axial loads, they are simply loosening due to vibration which is probably just a balancing issue and a matter of course whenever things are moving. Welding would work but you run the risk of moving each spoon left or right as you heat up one side and not the other, then as you weld the other side the first weld will cool pulling the spoon towards it. You can mitigate this or just buy longer bolts I find the second option best again imo.

[@Spriggen1337]

nylon tape on the bolts to increase friction?

[@fuzielectron5172]

Spotted it right away, nyloc not catching bolts. I was surprised to see slop on the loose ones with two bolts! I didn't see if they were slotted on the carrier plate. Perhaps a solution would be to have a machine shop index drill the flange edge at each attachment point and also drill in the cup casting so dowel pins can be used to index the cups. If the nuts work loose then the cups can't "slop" about. I suppose the same effect could be done by cross drilling the flange between cups and inserting a roll pin/dowel or caphead screw over an eccentric washer. I'm just thinking the cups should be detachable for replacement and also I suspect they can be replaced/swapped about during assembly for balancing.

[@fuzielectron5172]

I think from memory (long time ago) these spoons are angle adjustable for performance, so many were loose you may have lost the optimum angle for catching the water and hence the 7watt reduction?

[@spoutniker]

Hello Kris, does your monitoring app allows you to push alerts? Maybe you can setup some from different parameters in order to be notified as soon as a potential problem happens.

[@KrisHarbour]

yes it does, but at the moment i would have to be connected to the network for it to work, but that would still be helpfull

[@DavidBaumgarner]

I would use locktite and get it back running... Bolts would be good tho. at least you can reuse the short ones. heh

[@wetdedstuocm]

Welding is good, however it might throw the balance off . Try the longer bolts and lock washers along with locktite and nylock nuts.

[@yugaindiranmarimuthu7310]

Careful when welding the new ones.. they might make the turbine not balanced if the welds are not balanced.. 😀

[@johnmontague69]

Dang! When Kriss said LOCTITE I had just finished watching Wranglerstar unboxing tools and the LOCTITE Corgi van lol. Awesome videos Kriss. I'm amazed at how much knowledge you have. ☺

[@KrisHarbour]

I used to watch his channel but i cant anymore....its just all clickbait and advertising. i get offers to do stuff all the time but im going to keep this channel corpo free

[@frodehau]

Good!

[@____________________________.x]

Clickbait is all youtubes fault, and honestly I don't mind upfront advertising if it helps to grow a guys channel. People forget that they are not paying for the content here, but some poor guy has to spend hours editing it all and investing in video equipment.

[@frodehau]

One word: donations. I donate to several youtubers, some earn a good month's pay just from that. But they do work hard for it, so it's not for everyone.

[@johnmontague69]

Your still young Kriss, Cody's been grafting since he was a boy and he's not getting any younger. All he's doing is keeping the wolves away from the door and doing whatever it takes to keep him and his family safe and secure. The state of Canadian housing markets and the countries debt, you can't just single 1 guy out for clickbait and advertising. He's been doing it for 10 years and knows the in's & out's of how to make his channel work for him. It's a Business he's running not a charity. Same as thousands of others on KZbin, they don't want to be slave's no more workin for the man and I don't blame them. He's nearly got 1 million subscriber's and 300.000 hits per day, he's obviously doing something right. He's got his haters his Trolls and loads of envious jealous devious people who just want to see him fall. When you get to his age I'm pretty sure you would want a easier life yeah? Anyways, your channel is cool and I hope you keep making interesting videos and sharing your knowledge with everyone. Take it easy.

[@donaldasayers]

Another thought, your bolts should stick through the nylock nuts by at least 3 threads or the nylock insert won't work to lock the nuts.

[@ChuckUnderFire]

Thinking through it... those “interchangeable” spoons are nice if you ever think you’ll do any balancing or repairing of that turbine, but welded would hold up better obviously. Wonder if the wear you pointed out affects the overall balance, resulting in the 7w loss?

[@KrisHarbour]

i cant see many reasons to want to change the spoons. but i can think of loads of reason for it to be very strong and durable. i think that 7w loss is almost certainly related to balance and the dents on the spoon.

[@ChuckUnderFire]

Did you ever work out the mud trap issue you had building at the intake?

[@liongod1000]

Hi Kris, at some point those spoons WILL wear out as you water coming in contact with them have fine 'Dust/sand' which is abrasive and Chew them up slowly.

[@exi]

That dent might accelerate wear on that bucket a bit but not much. They are designed to be abrased up to almost nothing. You can file that dent down so it will cut the water a bit smoother if the hammering from that other bucket distributed material to the sides. My guess on that design is less for the replacements of individual buckets but more on that casting a whole pelton wheel instead of just the buckets is a whole lot more expensive and therefore costly. My company sometimes casts whole pelton wheels for big power plants (high grade steel, not aluminium). For the mud trap: did you think about just using a 2-8mm drill bit and putting a whole into it at the bottom? I'd start small and work my way up the drill size if it clogs. In case it doesnt work: cork it.

[@QALibrary]

can you get another one under the warranty?

[@moomastico]

Wedgelock washers mate you can get them in stainless steel, they'll work a treat for this.

[@YPOC]

There is no reason in the spoons being threaded. A screw can not apply any clamping force between the spoon and the disc that way. It will only put stress on the screw between the outer threads of the spoon and the nut. The spoon must have a simple through hole so that the clamping force will be applied between the bolt head and the nut.

[@Nikel87]

Is the wheel balanced? You can do it easy by yourself with an axle and a ballbearing. Clean the bearing from grease and use wd40 instead to make it even more accurate. Just drill the heavy side or weight down the light side.

[@GeraldMMonroe]

I'm wondering how many solar panels it would take to equal the output of that hydro. Since the solar panels appear to be a lot simpler and more reliable. But they only provide their rated output for a few hours a day equivalent.

[@KrisHarbour]

its not the panels its the batteries need to keep the power on at night, batteries are expensive and with this setup mine are always full and will last a long time. also solar dose almost nothing on misty cloudy days, and we get alot of those.

[@GeraldMMonroe]

Well, what about a hybrid approach? Convert a Honda generator that has electric start to propane, then rig it to auto-start when the batteries are low. (and auto-shutoff). Costs you fuel but it might not be very much fuel if solar usually covers you.

[@KrisHarbour]

it is a hybrid approach, solar and hydro...... i dont really see what your saying? it would be better to not have the hydro and run a generator?

[@Matthlanning]

Have you ever looked in to 3D printing a pelton? I don't know if I'd be any stronger but I would guess you can get it a lot more precise and balanced.

[@rastlach]

Don't weld the spoons on, just put a spot weld between the two nuts on each spoon. even a arch welder should be enough for that. You should only need a pea size bead and that will do. The spoons will wear out over time and by being able to take them off with a simple bang of a cold chisel bobs ya uncle (sorry that might be Aussie slang).

[@AndrewBryantPianoTuner]

Great job.

[@sunriseseven4366]

What happens with the snow melting and loads of rain we have had? Does it cause flooding problems to the generator house? , though I know you did say it's not a stream. Thanks. Good luck with everything! Amazing what you have achieved. Pat

[@KrisHarbour]

It did get pretty hight, the water was right up to the hight of the opening but it never went over the sides or anything, its a gravel bottom so i can always just dig a bit out so it isnt an issue

[@mioffgrid4837]

Glad it was an easy fix!

[@DustyKorpse]

Bish bash bosh job done! :)

[@ardon3499]

Wonder if you could've just turned the bolts upside down....? Feels like I've had that same problem on other things once or twice.

[@dadafan5921]

I like your solution, Kris. LocTite is okay, but the long term of a strong spot weld sounds good. Just thinkin': What about standard nuts and then a small locking spot weld on them? A replacement then would just mean breaking the spot with a grinder and removing the nut... also, lots of little spots might even out the balance... dunno.

[@KrisHarbour]

the guy below you beat you to it. you both had the same idea. a very good idea i might add. :)

[@frodehau]

Still stainless, not that easy to do on the cheap in the garage. You would likely have to go to the local smith to get it done. Would you be comfortable with running a stick welder of the inverter btw?

[@leexgx]

Just the bolts are not long enough to over reach the end of the locking nuts, as they should be slightly sticking out of the locking nut (welding should not be needed)

[@docalaska4069]

replace the lost parts then lock the nuts with Lock Tight nut to bolt and nothing else. Better than a welder in this case.

[@edwarddouglaspierce]

interesting - i assume they are using the bolt length for balancing purposes....

[@cougar1972xr7]

looking at your setup maybe you need to set a second turbin so you can switch if one goes down you can switch to the second unit

[@christiangeiselmann]

This video, and the others, are phantastically instructive. (And well made.) I am amazed. - As for the bolts: where did this turbine wheel come from? Looks like some Pakistani or so child labour was involved, for being so carelessly assembled? - Other question: I did not see you balancing the wheel assembly. Did you?

[@christopherlenahan3906]

Replace the bolt opposite the one you replaced with a longer one. The speed of that turbine unbalanced by even a few grams will hammer out your bearings much quicker.

[@iwantmypot]

Would solder work? It would be a lot easier than welding.

[@NeilPost71]

Small castle nuts?

[@rogergregory5981]

Is the turbine vibrating any more than normal

[@DukeOfChirk]

Is the part still under warranty?

[@KrisHarbour]

No its just an eBay purchase, i dont really do warranty i would rather just fix something or learn from it and get something better.

[@fredricknietzsche7316]

I bet you can get a deal on the back up unit!

[@atman5230]

Is it an idea to put some chemical metal between the cups,near the bolts?

[@KrisHarbour]

i did think about filling it all up with epoxy

[@UKsystems]

Where can I get one of these peloton wheels?

[@almath9987]

As a engineer I wouldn't weld, would get a whole wheel cast then machined and balanced no need to worry about nuts and bolts.

[@prjndigo]

Added weight to it. Next repair try alloy sheath to reduce the spinning mass.

[@matthiasBdot]

Oh no! ...I'll jump in my time machine and warn you back then when you were assembling it...

[@sebby_cnc]

exactly the bolts are to short which in turn makes the nylon locknut not work properly

[@zpacer88]

any updates mate? was wondering how it goes