Eavestrough Hydro Dam?

[Arlo1]

SO..... I have been looking at how to work the math. I tried a few things like my roof is 1800 sq feet approx and there is about 20 feet drop to the back of our property. And if the rain covered 20% of the roof 1cm thick with water it would collect 590lbs of watter and if that fell the 20 feet in 1 minute that would be about 1/2 hp...
Anyone have a better way to guess of its worth making a mini hydro dam from my rain gutters. On my house the rain gutters all collect and flow into the ground under the house then come out the back of the property in one single pipe very easy to tie into then to a very slow/low stream. I live in a rain forest and I plan for solar panels and wind generators etc but in the winter its rains a lot and it would be cool to collect free energy then as well.

 

[Harold in CR]

Have you gone to any Micro-hydro sites online, and checked out their charts ?? Most charts figure 60% efficiency, at best, in the total system. This is where I'm trying to use a small Automotive Alternator, to experiment with. Change it to perm magnet and it's pretty reliable.

There is a system that has "adjustable" perm magnet rotor. You can dial it in to get the best efficiency. Try Googling Harris Pelton Hydro. The guy is retired, but, there are guys using his systems, and, being you understand electronics, might be able to build up the adjustable controller/adjuster. Then, I could buy one from you. 8) :lol:

I'm trying to use a small stream to get about 100 watts output. Yeah, small amount, but, that's 2.4 KW per day :lol:

I have 25GPM @ 24' of drop, over 200 feet of run. Then, run wires back uphill. I want to use the AC output from the Alt, and, convert to DC at the batteries.

 

[Arlo1]

Ok thanks I will do some reading bacause I just wont to know if its even worht my time at this point!