Cotowar
New Member
Okay, this was discussed in another thread, and I've been thinking on it a little bit and I have a few questions on a design I came up with and whether or not it would work.
Okay, basically here's my idea. Have falling water turn fly wheels, that will spin wires in magnetic fields and generate electricity. Also, some of the fly wheels drive cam shafts that operate a mechanical water pump (similar to those things they used to use in blacksmith forges) to get the water from below to above the fly wheels so it may fall again.
I was thinking a reservoir with holes in the bottom, connected to tubes containing fly wheels (similar in design to a flow meter in a water cooling system). the fly wheel can be geared to increase the output speed, and will spin tightly coiled wires through strong magnetic fields. I was thinking about using neodymium magnets for this, as they can be smaller and still have a good field.
A few of the fly wheels could operate light weight cam shafts that use pistons to push down on a bladder that has two one-way valves to get the water from below to above the fly wheels. If the bladder is put between to boards, a spring can be added to assist in refilling after the piston compresses it.
To get the water back up above the fly wheels to the reservoir, I think I'll use spiraled tubing, as it takes less work to get up a more gradual incline. The friction of the water in the tube is the only force opposing the motion in the lateral direction, and gravity is the opposition in the vertical direction. The distance will be longer, but the force required to move the water will be less, so if you use the right diameter spiral, you can move the water with less work. I'm using solid mechanics in this reasoning because I've yet to study fluid mechanics. Correct me here if I'm wrong.
if you fill the reservoir and tubes all the way, and leave a slight air pocket in the bladder, you can use nozzles to increase the flow rate over the fly wheels. You would have to start the pumping by hand, but I think this could produce a small amount of electricity and keep itself running as long as the parts were light enough for the fly wheels to turn.
I was hoping to connect the generators in parallel, and I read it can be done as long as they are in phase. I was thinking of using some sort of "Y" splitter to connect the generators, and I think this will increase the current.
Does anyone have any idea as to how well this would work? I'm not trying to make something that can run a house, or even a power tool, but if I could get a couple LEDs lit with it I think it would be worth my time. I have the money to buy all the parts I need, but wanted to ask opinions on if it would work or not before I invested into it. Any and all answers would be appreciated.
PS, you can also run this in DC depending on how you set it up. DC would be the way to go for running an LED, but AC is also possible.
Okay, basically here's my idea. Have falling water turn fly wheels, that will spin wires in magnetic fields and generate electricity. Also, some of the fly wheels drive cam shafts that operate a mechanical water pump (similar to those things they used to use in blacksmith forges) to get the water from below to above the fly wheels so it may fall again.
I was thinking a reservoir with holes in the bottom, connected to tubes containing fly wheels (similar in design to a flow meter in a water cooling system). the fly wheel can be geared to increase the output speed, and will spin tightly coiled wires through strong magnetic fields. I was thinking about using neodymium magnets for this, as they can be smaller and still have a good field.
A few of the fly wheels could operate light weight cam shafts that use pistons to push down on a bladder that has two one-way valves to get the water from below to above the fly wheels. If the bladder is put between to boards, a spring can be added to assist in refilling after the piston compresses it.
To get the water back up above the fly wheels to the reservoir, I think I'll use spiraled tubing, as it takes less work to get up a more gradual incline. The friction of the water in the tube is the only force opposing the motion in the lateral direction, and gravity is the opposition in the vertical direction. The distance will be longer, but the force required to move the water will be less, so if you use the right diameter spiral, you can move the water with less work. I'm using solid mechanics in this reasoning because I've yet to study fluid mechanics. Correct me here if I'm wrong.
if you fill the reservoir and tubes all the way, and leave a slight air pocket in the bladder, you can use nozzles to increase the flow rate over the fly wheels. You would have to start the pumping by hand, but I think this could produce a small amount of electricity and keep itself running as long as the parts were light enough for the fly wheels to turn.
I was hoping to connect the generators in parallel, and I read it can be done as long as they are in phase. I was thinking of using some sort of "Y" splitter to connect the generators, and I think this will increase the current.
Does anyone have any idea as to how well this would work? I'm not trying to make something that can run a house, or even a power tool, but if I could get a couple LEDs lit with it I think it would be worth my time. I have the money to buy all the parts I need, but wanted to ask opinions on if it would work or not before I invested into it. Any and all answers would be appreciated.
PS, you can also run this in DC depending on how you set it up. DC would be the way to go for running an LED, but AC is also possible.