what you think will happen sometimes doesnt

t00ls

so I finally decided to fully retire, and I have a lot of time to do nothing

I figured I would resurrect an old project.....I bought one of those windblue PMC alternators a few years back and thought I was going to make some wind power, but where I live you have to get up above the trees and 50+ more feet before there is ever any wind

not like just to the west of me where they have a tornado alley and the wind blows constantly....so I took down the generator and used the tower for a tv antennae ...but I dont ever watch tv

well a few more years go by and now I am sitting here thinking , man I could probably turn that generator into a hydro generator...so I bought a little box with the nozzle and a turgo wheel,.....could not find an arbor anywhere that would let me screw the turgo on the shaft ( probably didnt look hard enough) so I found an arbor  and a nut, then took them to a machine shop to have them weld it on....probably should have done it myself because they welded it off center

well I had the thing working after I rigged a smaller jet because the one supplied had a 1 inch hole....too big with low head...my intention is to have a ram-pump supply pressure through a 1/4 inch nozzle....like I said , it was working hooked up to a water hose from the house....made 51 volts

I thought maybe I could get it to spin more freely if I lubricated the bearings, so I took it all apart and put some red high temp grease in it...front and rear bearing.....got it all back together and the jet couldnt get it to spin.....I could spin it by hand but it was stiff

tomorrow I am going to take it back apart and take the grease out ...most of it ...and put some oil in its place

you would think lubricating the bearing would make it work better....and it will...just not with thick grease

lesson learned

if I finally get it working, I'll post a video...I may have to make another arbor though...unless I can find one

TTFN

Dave Angelini

Nice being retired, especially if it is from working for someone else! The old saying that when you do you find time for yourself

We have many stream power plants around us in the Sierra. I always enjoy going to them but there is maintenance and it is pretty contant.
One that I like going to is the only Museum in the world powered by water from an alpine lake. They have a guy on consult that is the bible for keeping the lube right. I think they use an  Exxon light oil product. it certainly is in the link below. Good Luck!

https://www.power-eng.com/articles/print/volume-111/issue-2/features/steam-turbine-oils-what-you-should-know.html

mike95490

With water, you will have pretty cool temps, so a lighter grease will be better.  The red grease is the cheapest stuff.  The moly grease is much better in my opinion.  Synthetic greases may work better for you too.

t00ls

found the problem....wasnt really the grease
some grass debris got in there and was creating pressure

after all now ...I'm not even going to use that wind blue generator
I bought a different kind off ebay from motenergy




supposed to put out a max of 4000 watts...I am going to slow it down to 2500 watts driving it with a turgo wheel
I may have to buy a classic to charge the batteries...dont think I will use a xantrex mppt for this

all I need now is some water with head pressure, which I am working on