Tapping a rivers energy via a water wheel?

Question

say I have property on a river, what would it take to set up a water wheel/paddel wheel to catch the energy flowing down the river? I've been looking at getting off the grid and I'm seriously considering something like this along with solar and wind. TIA, Dave

Answer 1

you will first have to construct a resevoir  in which to hold the requisite amount of water ,second this res must have at least an eight foot drop to the gate house ,a structure to regulate the flow ,at the bottom of the gatehouse you will have had to installed a turbine ,similar to the swedish built Leffel water turbine ,these come in sizes fron twenty hp on up to 125000hp .if you are to get totaly off grid this means you will require approximatly 135 amps total connected source -you will need a turbine capablr of 30 to 35 horse power cintinous to turn your generator at a constant 900 rpm for 60 hz power(higher rpm=greater water flow +higher head )what this means to you the user is that on a river that flows at 2500 cubic feet per second  you would need to have a headpool of at the very least 250,000,000, cubic feet or about an acre at 20 feet deep .the water wheel idea uses less water still but turns at a much lower speed ,so on a ten foot dia wheel with each space on the wheel holding approximatley 5 gallons of water you would need to have a mill pond that could supply the wheel with a constant flow of water to maintain the load

generators are available from various vendors that only require 56.25 rpm to produce 60 hz power ,in either cast the power producing unit will run in price anywhere from about $20.00 per kva to over $65 per kva ,depending upon the features ,and surplus you can get them a lot cheaper but you will need to increase the input speed

Answer 2

If the river has enough drop and flow there are many varieties of power generation you can use but beware of the regulators who worry you might kill a fish.

If you build one, do it quietly.

Answer 3

A lot of money and a turn generator

Answer 4

You be better of with a turbine. Water wheel could work with a gear box.http://www.bbc.co.uk/lifestyle/tv_and_ra...

http://www.reuk.co.uk/Permanent-Magnet-G...