Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So I was thinking about how i could set up a system where there is no power. Solar Panels are an option but expensive and sometimes hard to get. What I came up with was using a "Water Motor". To turn an alternator. THe alternator could be hooked up to a car battery or directly linked to a DC pump. If you directly linked it to the pump you could put a valve like the pop bottle one used in BarrelPonics on it to time flows of the water.

That is an interesting site... but an expensive way to get free energy. I think the payoff would be a long time coming.

With a flowing stream nearby you probably have enough potential energy available to move water without electricity.
Something along this line might be an alternative to the pricey pelton turbine.

http://lurkertech.com/chris/eco/pump/tailer/

You might be able to modify a used torque converter (from an automatic transmission) to do the water wheel action; their turbine looks similar to a torque converter.

If you have any wind, you could get a windmill that pumped air or water. Travis Hughes of barrelponics fame is working on a system that uses very little energy -- using some sort of multistage air-lift pump to drive a system on very few watts. A solarcell, wind generator charging a battery and running a DC airpump seems the simplest to me, but I suppose a reasonable amount of energy storage could be provided by a pressurized air tank.
We used to have a wind-powered air pump for aerating our farm pond -- It was a very simple diaphragm pump with two check valves.

And someone just sent me a link with his sailwing design and simple pump made with PVC pipe, washers, and ball bearings. lemme see if I can dig it up

Please post Ems

Heres the message about the sailwings and pumps from Paul
www.reliancecommunityfarms.com

Joel,

Probably the easiest and simplest design is one that will use wind power in a direct mechanical mode. I have built such pumps using off the shelf parts.

The down side is you have to cut the fish way back because they need the O2 not because the plants need the water. The plants can go several days without watering because the gravel holds a certain amount of water. The fish on the other hand need the air within hours.

I have attached a couple of pics of sailwing pump.

The first is sailwing attached to the greenhouse.
The second is the inside of the pump mechanism. The pipe is 1/2 in CPVC and the washers are 3/4 in standard hose washers. I drilled a hole in the cap and use a .32 cal lead ball for the ball check.
The third is the barrel with .58 cal ball. The pipe is 1 in PVC.

This will pump up to 10 ft. head in a 3 mph wind.

How does the pump work? Does it bounce up and down or something?

Ems. couldn't find the info on that link????

I emailed him. I didn't want to post his email on the forum -- out of respect for his privacy. I did email him this morning asking him the same questions. I'll post answers when I get 'em.

Cool idea though -- I suppose with a few sticks of bamboo, some twine (or sinews) a few round stones and some small scraps of leather --- and some sailcloth or large leaves, one could build a wind-powered pump. Until I have to though, I'll probably stick with PVC -- it's cheaper than bamboo in Alaska anyway.

OK, Paul answered me with an explanation of the sailwing pump. Elegant!

His words quoted from an email:
OK, the thing works like a regular windmill but costs about $20 instead of $5,000. The wind pulls the sails around as it is a down wind machine (no tail), the bell crank spins around and moves the brass rod up and down about six inches (can be adjusted from 3-8in).

When the rod moves down the large .58 cal lead ball is forced down against the 1/2 hole in the bottom cap (this part called the bottom check) and the small ball .32 cal, is forced up letting water into the bottom of the sucker rod (this part called the top check). When the sucker rod goes back up the small ball falls to the bottom of the sucker rod cap covering the 1/4in hole and the suction pull up the .58 cal ball letting water flood into the bottom.

Now if this action continued water would shoot up out of the sucker rod at the sailwing mechanism. So I drilled six 1/4in holes in the sucker rod where I put the "T" in the 1in pipe to flow into the dump tank. Yes, I could have designed it with a solid sucker rod but would have had to make one more attachment down the pipe so just used hollow sucker rod with some holes drilled in to let the water out.

When I tested it in the stock tank using a much shorter section of pipe and the sucker rod being 2 ft. longer it shot water 10ft up in the air on each stroke.

Check out this site to know how windmills work. http://www.aermotor windmill. com/Index. asp


Paul the Skeptic
Joel,
I am attaching two pics that shows the entire mechanism minus the sailwing. the first is one exploded view and the second assembled. The sailwing goes on the end with the bolt threads. The piece of 1 1/2 in pipe welded to the angle iron at the bottom goes over the 1in PVC pipe. The 1/2 CPVC connects to the brass rod via bolt.

So the i/2in CPVC sucker rod is actually close to the same length as the 1in casing that also supports the sailwing pump mechanism as the CPVC sticks up about six inches above the piece of 1 1/2in pipe welded to the mechanism. Sorry I don't have pics of the whole thing together. It will be about 30 days before I get it assembled and up again as I moved and am reconstructing everything from scratch..

When I do get it back together I will publish a manual and attach it to the group with the rest of the manuals I have had Travis post.


....

Forgot the pictures of the windmill crank:

Was that me you were talking to, or one of the others that you've nicnamed Joel..? Or are you Joel as well

I think I've seen that windmill site before, it that from the site where they test there windmill by attaching it to the back of a truck and go driving?

EB, the dude from Scotland that makes them using car alternators?

Joel's name is Joel too.

I like the flow of Ideas here. Oh and DT I was not going to buy that water power machine. I actually have some plans to build one for about $20 i just forgot where i put them.