Water Wheel for Off Grid Property

[@edieboudreau9637]

Great idea.

[@MrRainCountry]

I'm hoping so!

[@huasonshine4120]

I have always loved the idea of a water wheel... When i was a kid i was fascinated by the wheel at Silver Dollar City, I have turned it around and around in my mind how to use it for power or work force... even to multi use it for power and workforce.

[@brandyyoung629]

So cool. I'm really excited to see how this project unfolds!

[@MrRainCountry]

It will take a little time but we'll get there. Thanks Brandy!

[@chrismaryb.7409]

Thanks Heidi and Patrick 😊❤❤

[@MrRainCountry]

😊

[@janebennett9062]

Look forward to update

[@lauritan66]

How interesting! I want one!

[@MrRainCountry]

Mee too! Hope it works as planned. Still lots to do.

[@debsblessed]

This is exciting! I can’t wait to see your waterwheel in action, I have faith that you can make it work. Shalom

[@MrRainCountry]

😁

[@Michelle_the_Dandelion]

That's awesome! I can't wait to see it finished!

[@MrRainCountry]

Me too! Thanks Michelle.

[@TM-ev2tc]

Good luck with your waterwheel.

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks!

[@maria_w311]

Hi Cody and Patrick 👋🏻

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks Maria!

[@debbiekrueger5576]

Good idea! I don’t know if this is an older video but hope to see it working! God bless! Thank you!

[@RainCountryHomestead]

It was shot a few months ago, Patrick's videos take much longer for me to get to and edit but no, it is not working yet, he still has a lot of work to do. There is an update to this though coming out in a couple of weeks

[@debbiekrueger5576]

@ thanks for responding! Hope it works!

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks Debbie. I am still working on it as I have time and ideas formulate with the materials I have on hand and parts we purchase come in.

[@tammyhill954]

I admire your ingenuitive (sp) mind Patrick! And your know-how!! I too can't wait to see it finished and working 😀

[@MrRainCountry]

I've never done anything like this before so it will be an interesting process.

[@tammyhill954]

Patrick, you and Heidi have logic. Logic goes a LONG way 😊

[@peopleunite3605]

Love it, great idea! Living water!

[@MrRainCountry]

Hoping it turns out like I hope! Thanks.

[@margaretpollard2179]

WOW! What a wonderful water source you have on the property. You're also blessed to have such a faithful helper in Cody. Looking forward to your working on this project! Shalom!

[@MrRainCountry]

Thank you Margaret. Defiantly a work in progress. The property this is intended for is far away from the power grid. Cody is good for harassing the local squirrels and they like teasing him.

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

Patrick, you are one of the best examples of a Renaissance man that I know of! Looking forward to updates on this experiment! Blessings! 💜

[@MrRainCountry]

I am an old buzzard 😊

[@trishthehomesteader9873]

@MrRainCountry Those are the wise ones that see the lay of the land and (mostly) the potholes. 😉

[@reibersue4845]

I live that you can look at a rusty old thing and imagine the possibilities.

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks!

[@blessedbloominghomestead9134]

❤😊 Shalom

[@MrRainCountry]

🤩

[@carolwright7503]

I wanted a small waterwheel to use under a rain gutter(or two)..some times we get lots of rain...since we don't have a water source on our property. But I can just hear those in my area yep one different kind of person.. Fantastic you are thinking of power with your (going to be) waterwheel..looking forward to seeing your results...

[@MrRainCountry]

On a small scale one could do that with a miniature Pelton wheel and generator. Depending on the rain one could trickle charge a small set of batteries for a phone charger perhaps.

[@xzkt]

What an interesting project Patrick. I can't wait to see what you do with it. The wheel appears to be set up to use as an overshot wheel but wouldn't an undershot wheel be easier to make? I know nothing about hydro electric power generation but creating self-dumping containers for an overshot wheel seems like more work than the simple paddles of an undershot wheel. Do overshot wheels operate with lower water flow than the undershot? Can't wait to see this project operating. I know whatever you do, you will have done your homework to get the best return for your investment of time and effort. Phil

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Hey Phil, good to see you, I have been wondering how you are doing :)

[@MrRainCountry]

Actually the structure you see here was made into a rotating planter. The construction process is roughly the same between an over shot and undershot wheel. The penstock or race takes a bit more doing as you need an elevated sluice to feed an overshot so you need a dam or considerable amount of drop to get the elevation I need to hit the top of the buckets so you are correct. The overshot wheel will be more productive in my situation and opinion due to the lower volume of water as the stream is seasonal. In my opinion one can realize more kinetic energy of the water because one has the ability to run the incoming water through a controlled trough and gate and utilizing the velocity (energy) to cascade into the buckets around "11:30 a.m. - 12:00 o'clock" and start leaving or dumping out of the buckets at around "3:00 p.m. - to 4:00 p.m.". The undershot looks like the energy would be in slower moving water and the bucket contact would be between 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. So contact time and application is my reasoning. I've not done this before so it's all a big experiment haha! The shape and volume or capacity of the buckets also make a difference. I found some 6" schedule 40 PVC pipe at the dump the other day and hope to build the water buckets out of them by cutting the pipes into 3' lengths and splitting the pipe lengthways on one side, warming and reform them into curved 22" cups. I want the wheel bucket capacities to be as much as possible due to the friction, resistance of the "stepping up" process of the sprocket and chain configurations as well as the resistance experienced through loading on the PMA generator. In addition to the bucket size I believe the wheel size has a huge factor as well and is key to overcoming resistance. If one has a smaller diameter wheel you don't have the leverage that a larger wheel would have. Similar to using a digging bar or peevee to leverage a log or large object. With that being said, I can't build the wheel too large that it overcomes the upstream drop I have to work with in relation to the wheel height. I'm kinda a fly by night kinda guy! Thanks Phil!

[@darleneschreiber9415]

Interesting! Thank you!

[@harmoneecatcher2281]

Like I always say … we’d have a much better world if every woman had a Patrick! Love this project 🤗

[@MrRainCountry]

I'm a work in progress and have a long way to go, thanks for the encouragement!

[@kellymae2421]

Will be an interesting learning process to watch 👍

[@MrRainCountry]

We will learn together. I hope it works!

[@SharonRandolph-o3u]

I love water wheels ,

[@MrRainCountry]

I do too. Hope the project turns out.

[@SharonRandolph-o3u]

@MrRainCountry there is a old old historic grain mill , Bollinger Mill, burfordville, MO, it is water wheel operated , of course they don't use it anymore , but it's in tact, the theory and the inivation and production is simple genius 😉 and a pleasure to watch, then they make the kind to catch salmon in Alaska is awesome also

[@MrRainCountry]

@@SharonRandolph-o3u This old tech is pretty neat. I've seen some of those old grist mills refurbished and brought back to life and actually grind grains.

[@sonyaakins8740]

Wonderful idea! I’m excited to see how it turns out

[@MrRainCountry]

Me too! It might take a bit as I come up with parts for it and brainstorm.

[@kerryschwidde2344]

Great idea. Thank you for sharing.

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks Kerry.

[@kerryschwidde2344]

@MrRainCountry your welcome

[@ALMOSTHEAVEN304]

Cheap and quick windmill conversion to hydro

[@ceciliafuentes3299]

Awww the puppy 😊

[@MrRainCountry]

Yeah, he's happy to supervise.

[@valerieescabi6104]

Heidi God is good all the time. Hallelujah.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@MrRainCountry]

He sure is! Thanks.

[@karladavidson5186]

I have been waiting to see what you are going to come up with.... Looks like a great start.

[@MrRainCountry]

I'm tinkering with sprockets, chain, straitening the drive shaft and have figured out how to attaching the drive shaft to the wheels so far. Thanks for the interest!

[@karladavidson5186]

@@MrRainCountry I hope you are recording it. ( I know that can be a pain sometimes) but I am wanting to watch to whole thing!

[@emilyb5972]

Cool. I would do the shaft first & buckets . & Then balance it like a tire. Nice creek! 😊Great idea.

[@MrRainCountry]

I had to take a severe bend out of the shaft I will be using and figured out how to attach the hub to the shaft. I am figuring out how to take the "wobble" out of the wheels and will build out from there. After doing some straitening and seeing what kind of spacing I have to work with and the wheels are strait as I can make them I can build out the water catchment to match. I found some 6" schedule 40 PVC pipe I plan on re-forming into 21" buckets. Engineering on the fly and on the cheap...well as cheap as I can anyway.

[@defendressofsan8948]

Ty!

[@MrRainCountry]

Yw!

[@ALMOSTHEAVEN304]

Working on the same idea River behind my house A Riding mower transmission will work wonders for RPMs Dual PMA and Barsha pump to water the garden

[@MrRainCountry]

Great idea. I actually considered that but the old riding mower I have has a bad transmission. Working with #40 sprockets and chain. After I get done with this thing it's going to be heavy. I used stainless chain thinking it would be more robust and easy to replace and less drag or friction than belts or gears. Although stainless chain might wear faster than carbon steel the corrosion will be negligible. I can keep extra chain and linkage on hand for replacement if needed. That's the plan anyway. Thanks for the input! Hope your projects work out great.

[@ALMOSTHEAVEN304]

@MrRainCountry i hope you have enough water out of that creek to push the weight of the wheel. I will have to build a floating dock for mine. The River can take mood swings from 10 foot to 20

[@MrRainCountry]

@@ALMOSTHEAVEN304 my creek is seasonal. I haven't done a flow test because it is up and down but has a constant flow throughout the winter, spring and fall. I plan on having 36" wide buckets to maximize the weight and opposition to the resistance due to friction and step-up resistance with the sprockets. I have quite a bit of flow during the darkest months. My plan is to have a hybrid system benefiting more hydro in the winter months and solar during the lighter side of the year.

[@his-sweetie]

😊

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks!

[@TeeFlory]

❤️🙏

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks Tee!!

[@lindachandler2293]

❤

[@MrRainCountry]

Thanks Linda.

[@chickgirl1776]

😀

[@swiminclay]

🥰

[@MrRainCountry]

😊

[@pammohler3253]

🌸🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🌸

[@alenaB]

🥰🤍

[@MrRainCountry]

☺

[@sacredwondersmaine3310]

What is the permit/code process in your town/state/ area to install the water wheel? Have you begun the process? +JMJ+

[@debsblessed]

This is exciting! I can’t wait to see your waterwheel in action, I have faith that you can make it work. Shalom

[@RainCountryHomestead]

Double post but that is ok, I liked them both, haha!

[@debsblessed]

@ I lost the first one lol, so I put in another. I think I just need a nap!! 😂

[@MrRainCountry]

@@debsblessed 🙃You're alright Deb!

[@debsblessed]

@ thanks for noticing 😂😂😂

[@MrRainCountry]

@ 😲