Water turbine to charge battery

[LefroyFisherman]

Hey guys,

i had to paddle back from our boat run today lol, our batteries apparently didn’t hold a charge like normal for some reason. Got me thinking, does anyone have any suggestions for a water turbine that is powered by the river flow too slow charge a battery? There has to be something out there that does that? 

[woodenboater]

ask and ye shall receive...https://www.waterlilyturbine.com

no experience with it but they also have blades that convert this to a small wind generator.

[Terry]

If there is enough  flow it could power your whole house 

[LefroyFisherman]

3 minutes ago, Terry said:

If there is enough  flow it could power your whole house 

I figured it could charge the battery while we are going down the river and then even as we sit on a bank to fish it's still in the water charging it more.

[LefroyFisherman]

4 minutes ago, woodenboater said:

ask and ye shall receive...https://www.waterlilyturbine.com

no experience with it but they also have blades that convert this to a small wind generator.

ya I found that one while googling, was wondering if anyone had experience

 

[BillM]

On 12/31/2021 at 8:46 PM, LefroyFisherman said:

ya I found that one while googling, was wondering if anyone had experience

 

It puts out a max of 2 amps, that's basically trickle charging.   I wouldn't expect it to do much if anything to be honest. 

[LefroyFisherman]

7 hours ago, BillM said:

It puts out a max of 2 amps, that's basically trickle charging.   I wouldn't expect it to do much if anything to be honest. 

Really? Even sitting in the river spinning for 6 hours while we fish? 

[Hack_Fisherman]

59 minutes ago, LefroyFisherman said:

Really? Even sitting in the river spinning for 6 hours while we fish? 

I think it would take 1-2 days to charge a big 12v deep cycle battery at 2 amps depending on its level of depletion. AGM batteries may take less though? I think they are supposed to charge faster. Maybe someone else can chime in

[LefroyFisherman]

14 minutes ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

I think it would take 1-2 days to charge a big 12v deep cycle battery at 2 amps depending on its level of depletion. AGM batteries may take less though? I think they are supposed to charge faster. Maybe someone else can chime in

Interesting, thanks. Found some Dakota lithium 200 amp batteries for 1700 bucks lmao! 

[Hack_Fisherman]

1 hour ago, LefroyFisherman said:

Interesting, thanks. Found some Dakota lithium 200 amp batteries for 1700 bucks lmao! 

There’s a deal…

is it just back up power you need to get back to camp/launch or are your thoughts to recharge overnight/off use at your campsite etc. 

I think these generators are mainly used to charge small usb devices - phones, flashlights etc

[LefroyFisherman]

30 minutes ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

There’s a deal…

is it just back up power you need to get back to camp/launch or are your thoughts to recharge overnight/off use at your campsite etc. 

I think these generators are mainly used to charge small usb devices - phones, flashlights etc

I was just looking for something to slowly trickle charge my trolling motor battery on the way down the river or while we are fishing so we have a full charge on the way back. 

[Bill]

Would a small solar panel charge quicker?

[LefroyFisherman]

24 minutes ago, Bill said:

Would a small solar panel charge quicker?

No idea was just wondering. Doesn’t charge much with no sun. The river always flows 

[DanD]

The size of the water turbine you'd need to charge a 12/24 volt system, even in a 5-10 hr. time frame, wouldn't be practical on the average size of an angler's boat.  

Possibly a small gas inverter generator?  Some of the newer small gens are very quiet, that installed inside a cubby you'd barely hear it. 

Dan. 

[wkrp]

Cute but pricey

[DanD]

39 minutes ago, wkrp said:

Cute but pricey

Agreed, but there's no such thing as cheap free usable electricity.

Dan.

[LefroyFisherman]

1 hour ago, DanD said:

The size of the water turbine you'd need to charge a 12/24 volt system, even in a 5-10 hr. time frame, wouldn't be practical on the average size of an angler's boat.  

Possibly a small gas inverter generator?  Some of the newer small gens are very quiet, that installed inside a cubby you'd barely hear it. 

Dan. 

Alright thanks 

[scuro2]

2 hours ago, DanD said:

Agreed, but there's no such thing as cheap free usable electricity.

Dan.

Working on that, solar panels installed. Another 6 years and I'll have cheap free usable electricity

[DanD]

11 hours ago, scuro2 said:

Working on that, solar panels installed. Another 6 years and I'll have cheap free usable electricity

Keep a running track of the costs of your original setup, then add any redesigns that you'll likely encounter; along with their costs. Once up and consistently running, add all your costs; including the hydro consumed while building the system. We won't even talk about your time building and collecting parts. Once all is said and done, calculate how long your system's savings will be to pay for your system. After that, if you can go completely off the grid, you'll have "Free electrical power" Then there comes maintenance?

I know what you're trying for, but it's a hard long journey to accomplish what you're striving for. 

I built a wind generator out of a GM alternator; rewired it to become a permanent magnet generator. The plan was to install it on my fish hut and keep my 12-volt DC system charged. I was test running the system at my place of business. The system was working great. It cost me approx $500.00 + by the time I bought the rectifier, charge controller, and all the material that was needed to rewire or building of the load dump. Came in one morning and found that someone had cut the 3 phase cable from the generator to the rectifier. Which shorted out and burned out the controller. I closed my business shortly after that and everything has been put on the back burner. 

So take that also into consideration; things that are out of your control that'll add more expense.

You'll find that getting reliable free hydro, isn't cheep. 

Dan.   

[Hack_Fisherman]

I think OP that your cheapest bet is to buy a spare battery. You can set up trolling motors to run off of small generators, but it’s not a direct hook up. You need a converter (because 12v generator outputs are somwhere around half as much as AC in amps) 

of course, this is kind of crazy when a gas powered OB or kicker will cost less

[LefroyFisherman]

1 minute ago, Hack_Fisherman said:

I think OP that your cheapest bet is to buy a spare battery. You can set up trolling motors to run off of small generators, but it’s not a direct hook up. You need a converter (because 12v generator outputs are somwhere around half as much as AC in amps) 

of course, this is kind of crazy when a gas powered OB or kicker will cost less

Ya we normally bring 3 batteries with us, but it would be nice to only bring one or two since we are only in a 9 foot boat lol. Was wondering if there was a way to use something small too keep them topped up while we fish. 

[aplumma]

Here you go this has been around for 40-50 years now. 

Art

[smitty55]

On 1/8/2022 at 10:07 PM, scuro2 said:

Working on that, solar panels installed. Another 6 years and I'll have cheap free usable electricity

My neighbour up the road went with solar in an off grid home and after 7 years had to replace all his batteries which was around $7K. Plus now having a baby he found that the solar didn't provide enough power so he is now hooked up to the grid.

[scuro2]

On 1/9/2022 at 9:59 AM, DanD said:

Keep a running track of the costs of your original setup, then add any redesigns that you'll likely encounter; along with their costs. Once up and consistently running, add all your costs; including the hydro consumed while building the system. We won't even talk about your time building and collecting parts. Once all is said and done, calculate how long your system's savings will be to pay for your system. After that, if you can go completely off the grid, you'll have "Free electrical power" Then there comes maintenance?

I know what you're trying for, but it's a hard long journey to accomplish what you're striving for. 

I built a wind generator out of a GM alternator; rewired it to become a permanent magnet generator. The plan was to install it on my fish hut and keep my 12-volt DC system charged. I was test running the system at my place of business. The system was working great. It cost me approx $500.00 + by the time I bought the rectifier, charge controller, and all the material that was needed to rewire or building of the load dump. Came in one morning and found that someone had cut the 3 phase cable from the generator to the rectifier. Which shorted out and burned out the controller. I closed my business shortly after that and everything has been put on the back burner. 

So take that also into consideration; things that are out of your control that'll add more expense.

You'll find that getting reliable free hydro, isn't cheep. 

Dan.   

I'm not going off grid and am sending excess generation to the electrical company. I won't be paying for electricity any longer. You get credit for over production in the summer which you can use in the winter. Yes in the winter you will have to pay the transmission costs but the electricity will be free.

There is a $5000 grant for energy saving projects. Calculated out it's likely less then 7 years to pay for for itself. That's hard to calculate because I included enough panels for an EV car. No more paying for gas. I talked to the mechanic and maintenance is minimal on the 2015 that he services. With my gas car of a similar age I'm paying some real change to upkeep that car.

Edited January 11, 2022 by scuro2

[Big Cliff]

On 12/31/2021 at 7:24 PM, LefroyFisherman said:

Hey guys,

i had to paddle back from our boat run today lol, our batteries apparently didn’t hold a charge like normal for some reason. Got me thinking, does anyone have any suggestions for a water turbine that is powered by the river flow too slow charge a battery? There has to be something out there that does that? 

Ya, a little Yamaha 2.3 hp air cooled two stroke for about $800.00 . A spare liter of gas weighs less than a battery, heck the whole motor only weighs about 29 lbs. And a liter of gas will run it for hours.