Anyone experiment with alternative energy?

[sprucebunny]

That's really great, Toxedo 

I'm going to build something like that.

[Fla._Deadheader]

 That is really cool.    I especially like that Cabin. Good job all the way around.  Thanks for showing all the photos.

  We NEVER get tired of photos and stories around here, true or otherwise.

  Bookmark this page, Fred ?? 

[OneWithWood]

Danny, thanks for the write-up and picks.  I look forward to hearing more about the set up.  Straight WVO sounds good to me.  That would mean I would only need to brew enough bio-d for my equipment.

Tux, great story and pics.  Thanks a lot.

[toxedo_2000]

Toxedo, that is waaaay cool.  (très fantastique!) 

I think micro-hydro is definatly the way to go if you've got the water to do it.   If you don't mind my asking, how did you make the 'paddles' like the one you're holding in your fingers?  Also, at how many RPMs does it run and how is it regulated?

Along the same lines, but I'm not sure if would be considered alternative energy, is the ram pump.  It's low tech (only two moving parts) and pumps water from point A to point B using gravity and hydraulic pressure.

I hope to do both someday.

Thanks to you and all the members
All explain How I made the paddles that I call spoons:
First a friend of mine who is a my blacksmith teacher, made a die to form a half sphere.
Then I put that on my press and made a lot of them


After that I used an other tool on the press to form ... I dont know how to call it... but it ressemble to a pair of bumps 



Third thing to do, was to fill the back of the spoon with weld, and carve one end in a "W" form. I also had to sharpen the interior fishbone to make it very sharp so the water jet would be cut in two when hitting the middle of the spoon. That action is made for every single 24 spoon. Time consuming since it is a carving job. It is made with different sets of files and small grinding wheels.


I welded all the spoon on a 5 inches cicle (made of an old saw) divided in 24


After that I put the wheel on the iron mill, and grinded it while it was turning. (sorry, no picture of that part of the job) I did that to equilibrate everything and minimize vibrations. You see, that wheel can turn very fast with the water pressure, up to 3500 t/m average with a nozzle 3/8 inch wide.

I did not invent that kind of wheel as you know. It is a "Pelton" wheel. An old concept and design. It is supposed to be the more efficient profile for that kind of watermill. I just looked at photos on the net, and tried to make the same. I could have buy the wheel for 5 or 6 hundred dollars, but Naaaa ! I like to do the things myself.

Next question ? 

Ho yes, somebody was asking how it is regulated. Well, the pressure is constant, and the nozzle is always the same giving a constant dynamic pressure. (68 PSI for now) That can be altered by moisture and algues forming inside the pipe, but i manage to clean it a couple time during each summer.
Toxedo
 One more pic
At the top, an intake (a plastic barrel with hundreds of small holes) is intalled to prevent any strange big thing to enter and clog the pipe. That pipe took 3 days to get up to the small lake. But at the end, it was there

[Radar67]

I saw this Pelton Wheel in Lead, SD. Thought the group might like to see it as well.



The diameter was about 60 inches. It was used to generate electricity for a gold mine in the early 1900s.

Stew

[toxedo_2000]

It is a really nice one. They can be very big. I saw a photography of one 35 feet in diameter !
Tox

[Corley5]

That is really    Talk about remote 

[Gunny]

crtree:

Ever think of building yourself a dome or Pod?  Extremely strong structurally and very easy to heat/cool (just be sure to build those vents big and high!)

I was building domes in west-central Michigan back in the mid-'70s and hope to let my youngest four help with another one this coming Spring.  I learned so much from those first few.

If you can ever find it, look for the old (from the mid-'70s) text called "Shelter".  Some of the most beautiful photos of what is called a "Pod" which is finished on the exterior with rustic shaking are displayed in it.  Prettiest wooden housing unit I've ever seen. 

Both are low-cost and relatively easy from the owner-built approach.  We had an octagonal window at our breakfast nook in the first one, with huge triangular skylights all over the place.  Cost us less than $2,000 back then, complete.  I can just imagine how nice either of them (dome or Pod) would look in that setting!

Best with whichever choice you make!

[Rockn H]

Tuxedo, that's a nice looking hydro setup you've built.  We've been trying to come up with some sort of hydro power for our camp, but the river we're on just doesn't have enough flow except during flood stage.  I really enjoyed the pics.  Keep'em coming.

[toxedo_2000]

You could see it in action. Just go to my web site at http://www.tuxedoproductions.com/page4.html
It is a Quicktime film I did when I installed it.
Toxedo

A senior moment.... I had posted that link before
   

[Saki]

Man there has been some great stuff on this thread. Thought I would throw my little dab of knowledge in. Onewithwood and anybody else interested, there was an advertisement in one of my recent Mother Earth News magazines for a biodiesel generator kit. If I remember correctly, it could make 40 gallons of BioD a day with approximately 1 hour of hands on time and for a cost of 60 to 70 cents a gallon. Fuel was supposed to be usable for trucks, tractors, heating oil, kerosene, etc. Hang On... Found the ad is from Biodiesel solutions www.makebiodiesel.com Phone 877-358-6400. I generally like a lot of stuff from Mother Earth - gardening, forestry, alt energy, etc. I do think sometimes the get a little bit further out there than I am comfortable with, but are a good resource and they have had LOTS of alternative energy articles in the last couple of years. Lots of Luck

PS great photos of the Beaver aircraft. Got to take in the Canadian Bushplane Museum in Sep 05. It was amazing to me to see all the history and technological changes over the years. One of the most amazing facts I remember was that of the 1600 or so beavers made, over 1200 of them are still in service somewhere in the world. Was well worth the trip to The Soo to take it in.

[toxedo_2000]

Tuxedo, that's a nice looking hydro setup you've built.  We've been trying to come up with some sort of hydro power for our camp, but the river we're on just doesn't have enough flow except during flood stage.  I really enjoyed the pics.  Keep'em coming.

Do you have a significant elevation ? Or an important current on the river ? Some systems I saw are kind of floating devices with a propeller like the old steam boats, (you know these big wheels heach side, I dont know how to name it in english). It is a bigger installation tough.
Tox

[crtreedude]

Actually - teak thinnings under 8 inches are often nearly free - like 25 cents each. They make great fence post and log cabins! You aren't looking for anything particularly wide since insulation means nothing.

I like to keep it really simple - then I don't have to build it!

I want a cabin down by our river so bad I can taste it - right after the peacock bass pond!

[twistedtree]

My house in VT is 100% solar.  It's a 200 year old farm that never had power until a few years ago when I installed solar.  It cost about 1/2 what running in power lines was going to cost.  In situations like this, solar is a no brainer.  I hope to add a small hydro system in the next few years.  We have lots of water in the winter, but very little sun.  Then summer is just the opposite, so the two systems would complement each other nicely.

[wesdor]

twistedtree,

I'd be very interested in more details about your solar system.  We just finished a passive solar home and would like to consider active solar if we could find a system that is cost effective.  The down side is that we have electricity at the site already, but we would be willing to look at other alternatives.

So far it looks like the cost of electricity each month will only be about $30, but that is only after 1 month of living there. 

[theonlybull]

nice setup there tux.     how do ya like yer r44?  nice birds,  friend of ours just picked on up this summer, dang nice for a piston powered chopper...   my old man's got a rotorway exec, with 500 hours on it now 

[toxedo_2000]

Thanks theonlybull
I like the R44 Astro a lot. I could not find best for the money. I had it for more than 6 years. Just sold it tough. But I bought a new one, a R44 Raven I, and I'll pick it up at Torence in the middle of march.
I love it so much, I had it in my living room with my woodmill

 Just kidding. It is the living room of my little shop in my hangar.
Tox

[Coon]

Very nice system toxedo.  

I have been thinking more about the solar system that we are going to be putting in in the spring.  I've been thinking that since we have so much wind (about 6 out of 7 days) that I should put up atleast 1 wind turbine that shouldn't be too hard to build.

Do you have any more pics and could you describe in some detail on your wood heater that is shown in your pics.  Loookssss interesting........ 

[toxedo_2000]

Very nice system toxedo.  

I have been thinking more about the solar system that we are going to be putting in in the spring.  I've been thinking that since we have so much wind (about 6 out of 7 days) that I should put up atleast 1 wind turbine that shouldn't be too hard to build.

Do you have any more pics and could you describe in some detail on your wood heater that is shown in your pics.  Loookssss interesting........ 

Thanks coon
If wind is really not a problem, a wind turbine is for sure the solution. The solar is expensive, and to pull the best of it, you need to have a system that automatically orient the panels where the sun is at his best. That system is more expensive than the panels 
What pic of a wood heater are you talking about ?
Tox

[Danny_S]

Here is a couple links to some good general information on homemade windmills.

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_103233/article.html

http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/default.asp