Rebuilding My Diy Micro Hydro Turbine (Bearings failed)

they had one the weather's supposed to be good for a few days so I thought I would change the bearings in the hydroelectric turbine these bearings are knitted something I'll bring you in and show you the problem okay so here is the problem quite a significant amount of play is actually wrapping around a little bit take this apart take it to the shed and do some maintenance on it and figure out the problem is I've got the new bearings in and hopefully will change [Music] okay so this is it after years use let's see if we can get you to guys see in there there we go you see this a lot of the surfaces are polished up there's a bit of grit and grime on some of it Thanks for seeing me the airs got distinctive but then that look good really it's just a bit stuck on getting it moved but it needs a bit heat I'm getting somewhere now with a bit of wedging action from some some cultures it is coming we'll just persist okay so it's off so here's that this is the first look I haven't done anything to this yet this is the first look to see how tight that the the hole is around the shaft they're very tight even a bit of quite a bit of silicon around it so this shouldn't have been too much water splashing and that fits against a very tight hold as well I'm the on the case I built say if it's water ingress you know there's another water seal behind here as well so you know I don't think it should have been that so that's a let's get all this taken apart we'll get it in the shed here is the Pelton wheel after five thousand hours of use 850 kilo hours so far very impressed very impressed indeed I've got no real where the spoons have just been polished a little bit very nice really nice I mean overall this is a cheap product so you know this isn't I had problems with it it's cheap but it's actually quite well-balanced and actually holding up very well I expected to see significant wear on these I I can foresee another three even four possibly even five years use out of one of these and they're like 25 quid so really that's very very impressive I do that welded on a little bit but wedging good off we're gonna clean all this up you don't wait together nice okay so in the shed so just like to say before we start taking this part the intention of this video is not to have a go at this product it is a very nice product it works perfectly for what I've been using it for and the person who sells them has been supportive about this and it's genuinely interested in my findings and I feel like if I find something there was a with this product he would change it so this isn't have a go at the products it's just to investigate what's actually happened here because five thousand hours seven months of use under not a significant load or too fast rpm they should have lasted longer that's all there is to say let's get it apart and and see what happened yeah easier said than done it's gonna jostle the camera around so I'll pull it apart and then I'll show you right there is one piece off and I can see water in there you can see stuff that's not good going on in there yeah we'll take it all apart just to be expected a so we'll take it apart and see if that sealers busted play not evident but water is actually getting to the bearings yet though so I'm gonna get this cleaned up a little bit get some cloth I'm gonna investigate further so it cleaned up as much as I can get it now I don't have a replacement seal so I'd like to uh to get this out without damaging it so you know give that a try now I get it from all sides with a little bit gear I can hear the suction braking he did say if I need one he can send me one and it should be replaced for sure but he's in America and as most of you probably realize I'm not yes it's out and it is full of water absolutely full of water so there's the seal completely intact hasn't been pinched or anything you saw the size of the hole the size of the hole was very small so it wasn't that there's like an excessive amount of water being splashed on it the hole was only the size of the shaft is exactly the same size of the shot but then this and then that goes into an even smaller hole in the case itself so I don't think that is an excessively sized hole that also had all silicon around as well so that shouldn't be an excessively sized hole the bearing the story the the seal is intact I'll clean it up further but it is intact I believe what has happened is a probably silty water has worn down the actual ceiling surface on the shaft maybe the shaft around there but it does look intact I can't see anything wrong with it but that is full of water you know that muddy muddy silty water so that's what's done it sure water in there guaranteed that's the problem bearings rusted they got silty water in them and a combination of corrosion and silt worn them down and that's why they've got excessive play so I think that that is it's not a balance problem it's not a I don't think it's a design problem because the guy said to me ask me some questions about it about how fast it was running and and how faster running how much power it was producing and stuff like that and you know wasn't I wasn't pushing its limits by any stretch it's running at about quarter of its capacity actually so yeah I think I think what we've got is a there's a problem of the seal I think the seal is the issue here there something's just falling out this year don't think it might be something still investigating the seal looks fine it really does gonna clean it all out but yeah no breaks in it right yeah yeah let's uh let's get this squeezed now I think I'd like to make a plate to press this out in the vise or something but let's get out and see those bearings what's going on with them yeah I'm thinking that this is a slight design issue with with the actual product I must admit I'm thinking that that water seal isn't sufficient I think it probably needs different seal fatter seal or two seals with a cavity in between with grease or something something like that to stop that water from getting in so I say that's that that isn't a problem design full that's or it needs like you know like a flange or something that goes on the other side with another seal on it something like that you know if you had instead of relying on a hole like that get through if it was designed so it came with a flange that went on the other side just just like a piece of aluminium or something with another seal in it like that and you pat grease between those two that could be something maybe but yeah that's that's that's what's happened here the guy did say that he hasn't had much feedback on these so you can't blame him for if no one's telling him the issue then you can't can't blame the can't blame it really I mean it has works well yeah let me I'm quite sure I don't want to be you wanna have a go for no reason because I said do you like the products but do you believe that it's designed for but I'm not I'm not an engineering expert but I I think that's design fault with the with the product okay I'm gonna have a go at pressing this now just seem there's a yeah a circlet down in here that needs to come out was krump pick that out there oh I hate these things [Music] circlip pliers are all well and good but you can can't always get them down into places I find the best it's just to get and there jump like that the clip off it didn't pin my out why out all that did have my safety squints engaged there so now I think we're ready trying figure out where pressing the shaft belt hello I'm got press I've got voice and just mounting this plate back on because there'll be a depressing easy accidents and edges to press against I'm thinking that you know if this was mounted the other way up so at the moment it's mounted on the side if it was if it was laying down then the water would be more inclined to to fall down away from the seal so that is obviously that would obviously help I know that's gonna be a suggestion comments and that is true however this product is designed to be used in this orientation that's why the water sales there you know he's designs br-2 used in this in this orientation I've seen it advertised and used in this orientation before I believe it I mean willing to sign crafted but I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures but I'll have a look and see if I can bring some up and put them in this video but I believe it is designed to be used in this orientation and the guy that actually makes these had a look at the videos I mean when I made this and you can say oh it's in the wrong orientation or anything I don't think that's probably is designed this way well though if it was the other way that probably would be better now in retrospect it's gonna put this on something like that and try and push this shaft out not gonna be easy that I think is actually coming out surprising me with some soft taps with a hammer I'm afraid I can't really set the camera off anywhere where it doesn't jump about but I am just coming I'm gonna have that out in a second so I'll get out and I'll sit you up again okay so there's there it is well there's the bearings very crusty here them very crusty shaft rather crusty too covered in water it's definitely our problem next job is to get these out so um it the problem is is that I'm gonna do this put it back together the same problem is gonna reoccur and without rebuilding the whole thing and figuring I mean I'm gonna pack a loaded grease in it and stuff and and and so on I might even try and put a slight tilt to it one way or another but uh but the chances are I'm gonna get this same problem again which is disappointing and I don't know what I can do about it pity if I had a full machine shop I would I would do life I suggested to make a flange on the other side with another water seal in it so that's not really something I can do with my tools I'm gonna get these bearings out replace them and we'll get another year out of it anyway and hopefully the the seller will will come up with a solution and we'll work together and improve the product and let's say this in the I'm gonna go at this product so I do like it I still like it yeah it's a it's got fault I think let's get this clip out safety squints engaged oh let's find some pliers for that I've got this set up with the an old paint can underneath because say doesn't hit the coils there socket just gonna knock these bearings up a little compression washer or spacer gym - and look at the state of them I mean they're sealed bearings as well just a lot of water's got in there and you can't really feel the play oh you can yeah that one's that one's got play that one's right there that one's fine so I mean there's a number of things could be manufacturing for I suppose we could take a steal off of these pop the seal out of that see what's happening inside of here look at that letter that will be the problem oh yeah that'll do it look at this one this one feels worse muddy grimy water oh no this one is the better one this one's still got a little bit of grease in there actually that's a crusty one shouldn't sound like that you shouldn't spin like that I don't know if you remember I did a video update video I was getting more power from it than when I first put it together that's why Allah no resistance from that bearing that's what's happened once all the grease and everything is gone you wear the balls down they spin actually more efficiently but you know with a load of play in it all right well that's definitely the problem we got to the bottom of it so hope our new bearings the right ones there's a new bearing if it's not the bad way they looks right let's get this open and we'll get figured and put back together and I'm gonna have to have a conversation with the seller see what the solutions gonna be sweet okay I'll probably see what bearing this is actually who makes it made in Japan MTN it's a good quality bearing no that's a that's a decent bearing that nothing wrong with that it's not cheap that okay put it back together [Music] [Music] case I've done a bit of research he says those about to put this back together I thought hang on this doesn't look right the way they sealed this round it looks like it's not right there it was the right way around but then those bits that came out I thought it was rubber but it's not it's the it's the spring from the seal it's meant to be round on the inside of there to pull it together and that has broken down corroded and snapped into lots of little patients so maybe that could have been it there's another part of it there it's all full of a junk and it's what say it will it came out in little bits so that's a try and repair that you're redoing the new one but then I don't think that is the reason let's be honest with you not I'm not convinced that that is the reason but if that did break and corrode and break then that's needs another solution as well doesn't it because that's on the outside where war is all the time so that should be a stainless steel spring so that could be could be rubbish seal maybe because if I had a stainless steel spring more suitable material that wouldn't crowd it away but I'm gonna try and get like a washer or something like an o-ring or something and see if I can fix that no I'm gonna do a bit of an experiment here I'm gonna make a ring around the inside of there out of a non-material that's not going to get corroded this is a piece of it's the same as that I can't remember what it's called this and then we'll tie it to copper wire and I'm gonna make that go in there cuz the chants starting to say it's pong in anyway because you know that as far as I can see I haven't fixed the actual room and found the actual real problem and I haven't got any way of fixing it really at the minute so I'm gonna take it apart anyway again probably if the guy wants to make some changes well off take your part and it didn't take long it's only an experiment with making one ring in there out of that copper wire squeezing it together so that you know that's not going to get crowd at this time and it applies that tension onto it all right I'm gonna make that snip it down and make it so it's not gonna pierce through here these sharp edges see if that as she helps too okay so I made this little ring here I've sold at the end together there's a copper ring and that it's gonna sit inside that seal and replace what the the spring did before I wouldn't be getting corroded I'm not singing they're quite tight but it's good so let's give that a try I think that is doing at least as much as that spring was also given the inside of this coat of paint because it was getting a bit crusty in there I've cleaned up the shaft as well so um we'll put grease all in here and then put the seal on squeeze it back together [Music] right I'm gonna see about using these two clamps like this and squeeze this on a bit I think it works I'm getting this lady just try to keep it even and there we go back together you've got a bit more resistance now in a pack a load of grease around this seal in it and everything and then squeeze it up against that plate or you populate it put some grease even around on here I'd silicon on there before but she didn't seem to do much so I'm gonna load a grease on there now got a first coat of paint on the box just tidy half of it nothing special just a bit spruce up so let that dry for a minute and then we put it back together and get it back on before the Sun Goes Down okay we're back together sounds better so get it fit I'm gonna spin it up and put some paint on this outside as well yeah well like it we're gonna lose some of the efficiency we gained is it because it was worn in before but that's okay bearings are changed it's not going to destroy itself I'm happy okay let's carry it back down and get it back okay it's all back together turned on so this give it a try [Music] we go working they played it they will see [Music] right [Music] there we go when plaintiff you know it's only a rough paint job it's all it needs is just to protect you so if you look good they only looks through then you ain't cooking yet they go Swedish and see if it's ER making some good power turn an artful so actually we're gonna check that we join up water it was working there we go hopefully you can see that can you yeah well 132 what's coming in just to show that he's working again but Jesus showing 25.6 for us because the 700 watt water here is on he in the water for bath later yeah there is a working so it cost 20 quid in bearings and about half a day of my time to do so it wasn't too bad we should get another year out of it but I'm going to talk to the supplier and figure out exactly if there's anything we can do to restore me from happening okay so hope you enjoyed the video and hope is informative I'm going to speak to the supplier and see about getting some solutions done for that problem and see what his opinion is on it okay and I'll probably keep you updated a future update if there's any reservations on the design that he does or whatever okay so hope you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching

Channel: Kris Harbour Natural Building

Views: 206,752

Rating: 4.8864074 out of 5

Keywords: hydro power, hydro, hydro electric, diy, kris harbour, eco power, green energy, turbine, micro hydro, water wheel, waterwheel, diy hydro, homemade hydro, pic hydro, off grid, off grtid pwoer, off grid power, off grid living

Id: Hf_amaw0t8Y

Length: 30min 21sec (1821 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 22 2019