Weekend Project #308 - Hydroelectric Power

(The second part of my new ancient elements series: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water - How to Have Fun, Save the Planet, And Usually Not Mortally Wound Yourself in the Process)

Hydroelectric Power (Part 1)

**Not the farm system**

I know my last Weekend Project post was a bit dry, pretty rambling, and more than a little bit too long.  So I'm going to try and keep this one a little less wordy, and a little more fun.

For those of you who don't know, the farm is basically off of the grid.  The only utility we're hooked to is the internet.  Right now, all of our electricity is generated by solar panels.  This often works great, but as we're just outside of the rainiest city in the U.S., there are days (and weeks and months) where we don't get a heap of power off of the panels.

Therefore. we're now working on a pico hydro system.  Kalewa bought a turbine from ES&D that operates under high flow/low head conditions.  After that arrived, we were ready to go.  The plan was/is to build a temporary box to test the system for location, function, etc. and once that proves itself, we'll build a permanent box to house the system.

Of course, I had to start by drawing up some high tech plans.

That's right...  blueprints, baby!

After that, it was time to scrounge up a bunch of scrap wood and get the thing built!

Cross-section of my masterpiece

Oh yeah....  I'm thinking we won't even have to build a permanent box at this point!!

Then we ran the pipe, set it up, and let the water flow!

Ok.....    As you can see, it's a bit leaky.  Great Stuff to the rescue!  We shut it down, sealed it up, and ran it again.

Looks just like the plans!!

After 20 minutes of letting the Great Stuff set, we opened it up again, and it ran great!!

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we get to the great part of actually mixing electricity and water (always safe) and have fun with wiring!