YOUR OWN WATER-POWER PLANT
(Page 2 of 8)
Strictly speaking a water wheel is an engine powered by
water, just as an automobile engine is powered by gasoline.
The important power-producing elements of the wheel are the
buckets and the nozzle, and considerable care should be
exercised to see that these parts are made correctly. The
nozzle meters the correct amount of water to the wheel, and
forms and directs the jet against the buckets. Both the
inside diameter and the location of the nozzle with respect
to the wheel are very important, since the jet must impinge
upon each bucket at the correct wheel radius or lever arm.
It must also be divided equally by the center ridge of each
bucket.
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The function of the bucket is to convert the energy of the
jet, represented by its high speed, into mechanical energy
at the wheel shaft. To do this it must slow the water from
its high speed in the jet to practically zero speed when it
drops into the tail water. Maximum efficiency with this
wheel will be obtained if the buckets have the form and
size shown in the drawing. This shape acts to slow the jet
by turning it smoothly through 180 deg. The surface of each
bucket must be as smooth as possible. A mirror finish is
desirable on the inside, and even the back of each bucket
should be ground and polished to minimize spray.
Important also is the correct orientation of the bucket to
the jet. When the full jet strikes, the bucket should be
perpendicular to it. Both the nozzle and the buckets will
wear under the action of the high-speed water, at a rate
determined by the silt content and should therefore be made
easily removable for replacement.
Above all, buckets must be uniform. If you can get access
to a metal-cutting handsaw, cut the blanks according to a
single pattern. This pattern can be shaped so as to form
the end bevels automatically when the blanks are bent, and
the bending itself can be done in a jig or hammering form.
This jig may be made of a piece of pipe of about 2" outside
diameter mounted in hardwood endplates. Also provide a
holding fixture that will slide in the table groove of the
handsaw to assure that the slots for the end lugs are cut
and spaced uniformly. A holding jig should also be made to
line up the lugs and buckets for welding. On completion,
balance the wheel by laying weld beads along the backs of
any light buckets. Beads should be laid carefully and
ground smooth.
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