Extracting electricity from a domestic water system is a massive waste of time, but, there is one way to generate and gain electrical power by tanking the water. Water generates electrical current based upon the "head" or weight above the level of the generation system, water wheel, or whatever we use to generate power. I have developed a way to successfully generate electricity for a very nice electrical system that has enough current to work with solar and wind power so entire farms, homes, and businesses can be powered inexpensively for decades without much maintenance if done right and for less than $4k to $5k maximum.
Here is the beneficial method I have come up with and have literally constructed, little by little over the years as a bet by a friend of mine, as he said that it's impossible towork, while it worked and worked very well, and, I made $2500 cash for my bet since I knew it would work based upon an experiment i did at an earlier date with a 55 gallon drum filled with water raised up 20' in the air..
On the old farm I lived on, we had a 3000 gallon water tower for irrigation that was installed on the top of the ridge. The pipes running down from the ridge had several hundred feet of head "lift" to it and here is where my thought came into play. Regardless if I had a full tank and I put a generation system at the top of the pipe (on the bottom of the tank) , I would have the same water pressure, minus the water weight from the content of the pipe itself.
So, if I added one generator just below the tank, I would have the same net result in power, just the same as if I installed one at the very bottom. Well, I found that the water would generate just short of what was necessary to pump the water back up into the tank and I put two backward dc magnet motor electric pumps inline with each other to generate the electricity to pump the water back up into the tank, but, it was installed backwards, so the flow of the water and the massive pressure forced the impeller to spin with incredible speed, generating electrical energy. The first pump was feeding the next pump, creating enough electricity to pump the water back into the tank. I decided to get more pumps and install them inline, between the others, and, the water pressure remained the same at each position, all the way through the system. After all 30 of the pumps were installed, I installed a valve to regulate the pressure and found that a garden hose with enough pressure to get it just short of bursting was perfect to operate the pumps as generators to maintain the 120-150 watts each that they ranged between while spinning from the water pressure.
Each pump generates approximately the same amount of power between 120 and 150 watts of power at 120-130 volts ac under load, charging the batteries constantly with a total charge capability of 4050 watts rms without running the batteries down. With no electrical load on them, the generators produce 220 volts at full speed (6500) , but, with a load on them, they are capable of only 120 volts at 1-1.25 amps which is between 120 and 150 watts . I took the 120 watts per unit and rectified them to make dc voltage , then connected them through solar charge controllers and they charged several deep cycle marine batteries to later be inverted for larger load capability without ever losing electrical power, except for the time the ground got struck by lightning and the charge controllers were fried. Lightning rods cured that, but, the system generated more power than my wind and solar systems and is still operational to this day. I actually make a pretty substantial profit when i am asked to replace bad pump motors because nobody has a clue what I used to make this all work since they were small specialty pumps for appliances which were modified to operate as necessary and they save tons of money since the home and farm are completely off the grid being that I used wind and solar for many years previously. I installed a complete off grid electrical system years ago that uses a combination of water power, wind power, and solar power for less than $4k.
The tank system works like this. The tank is full to a level approximately 2 feet from the top. It gathered rain for years, so, when it was full, we painted the tank and tower white, added a natural antifreeze to eliminate freezing in the winter, as well, we covered and vented the top of the tank with riveted and sealed aluminum plates to eliminate massive evaporation and debris from getting in. The water has to be chlorinated to stop it from turning green and growing algae in the tank, and, it is a downfall since the pump's plastic housings get destroyed by the chlorination, crack from getting brittle, and need to be replaced every couple of years. Thankfully these pumps are very commonly used for household appliances and can cost as little as $22 each, but, otherwise the water would get really bad and if it leaked without chlorine in the water, it would probably bring disease to the farm below. The most expensive part of the project was to add Peak antifreeze to eliminate frosting of the water which would destroy the pumps, pipes, and hoses,
Anyway, the farm has a different irrigation tank now since the old aluminum tank had many holes in it from hunters taking shots at it over the years, but, I patched it so it would hold water again safely. Anyway, I took several hundred feet of service hose (heavy duty black garden hose for HVAC service and ran each hose in and out of each pump,
back out of the pumps other port and into another hose. There were so many sections of hose from the vast distance that I was able to install one pump in series at each intersection. Once we got to the bottom of the run, we connected more hose back up the hill , all the way up to the water level on the tank. The hose was secured ( tied off so it didn't fall back down the hill from the water weight), then, I opened the valve and the water pushed it's way down the hill and all the way back to the level of the water on the tank at the top of the hill, all by itself. We manually added/pumped new water into the tank to raise it higher than the pump on the end of the hose, to help the pump flow with ease and put a discharge hose from the pump (which was installed at the water level of the tank) into the tank. We energized the last pump from the small inverter off of the batteries which were precharged and started to pump the water in, and the system started generating the electricity flawlessly. It used the normal amount of power the pump was rated for without additional load. The water now started to draw from the tank and spun every pump inline backward, generating the voltages stated above. Now, if I used much larger pipe and had the money to use larger pumps and turbines per location, we would have a lot of extra electricity. The flow is identical, all the way through the system, and, gravity is used to bring the water back to the water level of the tank so additional force in not necessary to pump it all the way back up the hill, there is only the need to pump the water from the top level of water in the hose back into the tank, the rest of the water flows back to the height of the water in the tank all by itself from gravity without any extra restriction.
Now, if I am able to generate power like this, other methods can be used to utilize gravity to do the same thing. I am quite confident I haven't used the best, most efficient and powerful method, but, it was cost effective and allows the farmhouse and the farm's irrigation pumps to operate from the system along with the wind units and the solar panels. All together, with all of the generation on the farm, there is clearly more than 11kW total and absolutely no necessity for grid power ever. I just wish I had an easier way of generation for larger sums of power without solar panels use at all since they get covered with snow in the winter and are deemed useless at night time. My system can be used with much larger pumps at a small loss due to the drag created by their backpressure, but, with enough head, the generators have no choice but to spin since the water weight is so much greater than the backpressure on the impellers and shafts.
If anybody has any questions, please reply to this message. I do not like skeptics, so, if you are trying to purposely make me look bad, don't bother even replying. I am only trying to help those of you who have farms and the ability to build this to eliminate a $400-$600 monthly electrical bill. The same system can be built with any sized water tank just as long as the hose or pipes are filled and the tank filled to the top. I found that 1200 gallon plastic water tanks work best and are cheap , easy to handle and hoist, etc.
My newest 1200 gallon system on my new property that I built is good for 6700 watts and I will be attempting to add more pumps once I get more money since I have another 22 feet of pipe left to add pumps as generators to give more output. I have a 120' tall incline in my back yard which is the source of the head for my generation system. My tank is at ground level at the top of the hill, and, I have a stream at the bottom flowing steadily with year round water. My intention is to build two tank systems to generate power as we are supposedly not allowed to build or add turbines, waterwheels, as our town won't allow permits to be pulled for the construction of a water generating system as they say the stream is federally protected, but, the government says it is not. The DEP says we could pump 49,999 gallons weekly from the stream for irrigation, and, water wheels as well as turbines can be installed just as long as my property is on both sides of the stream, which it is in 2 locations, so, I may build anyway to supplement my power needs. The Army Corps Of Engineers are in charge of the bodies of water and streams in our area since they have dammed the streams and rivers after the devastating flood of 55.
It's funny, we have a metals processing plant that is built on top of the stream, and, they need to draw and pump the water in to process the metals, so, I think the town is assisting them to collect heavy taxes, but, I am quite confident the DEP knows nothing about their use and pumping of the water from the stream.
The owner of the factory walks the stream periodically and destroys all of the property owner's pump systems that connect to the stream, and, I now know it is illegal for him to do as he loses money on failed metal processing if we stir up the sediment in the stream. Our town tax office warn us we will be arrested if we touch the water in the stream, but, I have received written permission from the CT DEP which allows me pumping from the river for irrigation of up to 49,999 gallons for myu garden and lawn if needed per week.
I have thought of tanking this weekly and selling it back to the factory as he destroyed my pump system. I'd like to file suit against him for the damage he created, but, I can kill his profits and make him pay rather than sue him. It'd be great to get $.50 cents a gallon for the water he relied heavily on. My property is 1/4 mile before his factory, so, why not?? He screwed with me, so, maybe it's time for me to get him back!
Marc
Here is the beneficial method I have come up with and have literally constructed, little by little over the years as a bet by a friend of mine, as he said that it's impossible towork, while it worked and worked very well, and, I made $2500 cash for my bet since I knew it would work based upon an experiment i did at an earlier date with a 55 gallon drum filled with water raised up 20' in the air..
On the old farm I lived on, we had a 3000 gallon water tower for irrigation that was installed on the top of the ridge. The pipes running down from the ridge had several hundred feet of head "lift" to it and here is where my thought came into play. Regardless if I had a full tank and I put a generation system at the top of the pipe (on the bottom of the tank) , I would have the same water pressure, minus the water weight from the content of the pipe itself.
So, if I added one generator just below the tank, I would have the same net result in power, just the same as if I installed one at the very bottom. Well, I found that the water would generate just short of what was necessary to pump the water back up into the tank and I put two backward dc magnet motor electric pumps inline with each other to generate the electricity to pump the water back up into the tank, but, it was installed backwards, so the flow of the water and the massive pressure forced the impeller to spin with incredible speed, generating electrical energy. The first pump was feeding the next pump, creating enough electricity to pump the water back into the tank. I decided to get more pumps and install them inline, between the others, and, the water pressure remained the same at each position, all the way through the system. After all 30 of the pumps were installed, I installed a valve to regulate the pressure and found that a garden hose with enough pressure to get it just short of bursting was perfect to operate the pumps as generators to maintain the 120-150 watts each that they ranged between while spinning from the water pressure.
Each pump generates approximately the same amount of power between 120 and 150 watts of power at 120-130 volts ac under load, charging the batteries constantly with a total charge capability of 4050 watts rms without running the batteries down. With no electrical load on them, the generators produce 220 volts at full speed (6500) , but, with a load on them, they are capable of only 120 volts at 1-1.25 amps which is between 120 and 150 watts . I took the 120 watts per unit and rectified them to make dc voltage , then connected them through solar charge controllers and they charged several deep cycle marine batteries to later be inverted for larger load capability without ever losing electrical power, except for the time the ground got struck by lightning and the charge controllers were fried. Lightning rods cured that, but, the system generated more power than my wind and solar systems and is still operational to this day. I actually make a pretty substantial profit when i am asked to replace bad pump motors because nobody has a clue what I used to make this all work since they were small specialty pumps for appliances which were modified to operate as necessary and they save tons of money since the home and farm are completely off the grid being that I used wind and solar for many years previously. I installed a complete off grid electrical system years ago that uses a combination of water power, wind power, and solar power for less than $4k.
The tank system works like this. The tank is full to a level approximately 2 feet from the top. It gathered rain for years, so, when it was full, we painted the tank and tower white, added a natural antifreeze to eliminate freezing in the winter, as well, we covered and vented the top of the tank with riveted and sealed aluminum plates to eliminate massive evaporation and debris from getting in. The water has to be chlorinated to stop it from turning green and growing algae in the tank, and, it is a downfall since the pump's plastic housings get destroyed by the chlorination, crack from getting brittle, and need to be replaced every couple of years. Thankfully these pumps are very commonly used for household appliances and can cost as little as $22 each, but, otherwise the water would get really bad and if it leaked without chlorine in the water, it would probably bring disease to the farm below. The most expensive part of the project was to add Peak antifreeze to eliminate frosting of the water which would destroy the pumps, pipes, and hoses,
Anyway, the farm has a different irrigation tank now since the old aluminum tank had many holes in it from hunters taking shots at it over the years, but, I patched it so it would hold water again safely. Anyway, I took several hundred feet of service hose (heavy duty black garden hose for HVAC service and ran each hose in and out of each pump,
back out of the pumps other port and into another hose. There were so many sections of hose from the vast distance that I was able to install one pump in series at each intersection. Once we got to the bottom of the run, we connected more hose back up the hill , all the way up to the water level on the tank. The hose was secured ( tied off so it didn't fall back down the hill from the water weight), then, I opened the valve and the water pushed it's way down the hill and all the way back to the level of the water on the tank at the top of the hill, all by itself. We manually added/pumped new water into the tank to raise it higher than the pump on the end of the hose, to help the pump flow with ease and put a discharge hose from the pump (which was installed at the water level of the tank) into the tank. We energized the last pump from the small inverter off of the batteries which were precharged and started to pump the water in, and the system started generating the electricity flawlessly. It used the normal amount of power the pump was rated for without additional load. The water now started to draw from the tank and spun every pump inline backward, generating the voltages stated above. Now, if I used much larger pipe and had the money to use larger pumps and turbines per location, we would have a lot of extra electricity. The flow is identical, all the way through the system, and, gravity is used to bring the water back to the water level of the tank so additional force in not necessary to pump it all the way back up the hill, there is only the need to pump the water from the top level of water in the hose back into the tank, the rest of the water flows back to the height of the water in the tank all by itself from gravity without any extra restriction.
Now, if I am able to generate power like this, other methods can be used to utilize gravity to do the same thing. I am quite confident I haven't used the best, most efficient and powerful method, but, it was cost effective and allows the farmhouse and the farm's irrigation pumps to operate from the system along with the wind units and the solar panels. All together, with all of the generation on the farm, there is clearly more than 11kW total and absolutely no necessity for grid power ever. I just wish I had an easier way of generation for larger sums of power without solar panels use at all since they get covered with snow in the winter and are deemed useless at night time. My system can be used with much larger pumps at a small loss due to the drag created by their backpressure, but, with enough head, the generators have no choice but to spin since the water weight is so much greater than the backpressure on the impellers and shafts.
If anybody has any questions, please reply to this message. I do not like skeptics, so, if you are trying to purposely make me look bad, don't bother even replying. I am only trying to help those of you who have farms and the ability to build this to eliminate a $400-$600 monthly electrical bill. The same system can be built with any sized water tank just as long as the hose or pipes are filled and the tank filled to the top. I found that 1200 gallon plastic water tanks work best and are cheap , easy to handle and hoist, etc.
My newest 1200 gallon system on my new property that I built is good for 6700 watts and I will be attempting to add more pumps once I get more money since I have another 22 feet of pipe left to add pumps as generators to give more output. I have a 120' tall incline in my back yard which is the source of the head for my generation system. My tank is at ground level at the top of the hill, and, I have a stream at the bottom flowing steadily with year round water. My intention is to build two tank systems to generate power as we are supposedly not allowed to build or add turbines, waterwheels, as our town won't allow permits to be pulled for the construction of a water generating system as they say the stream is federally protected, but, the government says it is not. The DEP says we could pump 49,999 gallons weekly from the stream for irrigation, and, water wheels as well as turbines can be installed just as long as my property is on both sides of the stream, which it is in 2 locations, so, I may build anyway to supplement my power needs. The Army Corps Of Engineers are in charge of the bodies of water and streams in our area since they have dammed the streams and rivers after the devastating flood of 55.
It's funny, we have a metals processing plant that is built on top of the stream, and, they need to draw and pump the water in to process the metals, so, I think the town is assisting them to collect heavy taxes, but, I am quite confident the DEP knows nothing about their use and pumping of the water from the stream.
The owner of the factory walks the stream periodically and destroys all of the property owner's pump systems that connect to the stream, and, I now know it is illegal for him to do as he loses money on failed metal processing if we stir up the sediment in the stream. Our town tax office warn us we will be arrested if we touch the water in the stream, but, I have received written permission from the CT DEP which allows me pumping from the river for irrigation of up to 49,999 gallons for myu garden and lawn if needed per week.
I have thought of tanking this weekly and selling it back to the factory as he destroyed my pump system. I'd like to file suit against him for the damage he created, but, I can kill his profits and make him pay rather than sue him. It'd be great to get $.50 cents a gallon for the water he relied heavily on. My property is 1/4 mile before his factory, so, why not?? He screwed with me, so, maybe it's time for me to get him back!
Marc
Comment