Check w/ your generator input. I tried micro several years ago using a solar charger. Much to my dismay, the solar charger required a specific input voltage in order to trigger charging to begin. It was an internal safety. I suspect you may be facing the same issue. If you could find the specific total voltage/amp combo needed to initiate charging, you can calculate your input gear to match it. Good luck!
If you put all the generators in series you will get more power. Each time you open the hose conection you are lowering the volume of water flow. Also the output of the generators are in alternating curent so you need to put a bridge rectifier on it to get dc voltage.
Appreciate the comment. Clearly I'm not a real expert on this stuff. I love making videos though and this seemed like a fun project to try out. Already pondering a part 2... Thanks for checking it out.
Nah it's more likely this is a permanent magnet brushed motor with commutation to make DC. Probably 50-70% efficient. Don't need any rectification, the commutation is already doing it.
nevermind, I watched an electronicsNmore video " How A Mini Hydroelectric Generator Works" and it actually has a 3-phase bridge in it. So not a brushed motor, but the circuit board seemed to be limited to 100mA, meaning the circuit board limits power to 1.2W.... If the regulator is bypassed so it just gets rectified with the 3-phase bridge, maybe it will produce more power.
tsbrownie "Mini Hydro-Generator, 12vDC (4K)" has potentially the same model generator. Better power but 4.5% efficiency after a flow and power test. Considering it converts very little pressure drop into electrical power, multiple turbine stages in series seems like the way to go.
Series connections increases the voltage, but not the current (amperage). To increase the amperage, these would need to run in parallel. The voltage output however would remain the same at 12V
Interesting. I didn’t consider doing that. You are right though. Time to get the multimeter out and run some more tests. Either way, charging that big battery will be a challenge going this route… thanks for the comment.
@@TinyIndustrial I agree but there will be a combination of series parallel that will give you the best result. I would start at putting each of the pairs of pumps in series, and parallel the 3 sets. If you're not sure what I mean ask, I am happy to help. A multimeter would be a help. And test it under load.
That cable for the current generator is for AC (120V-230V alternating current), what you get out of those micro turbines is direct current, normally it will not work. you need an inverter dc-ac. To measure their voltage, you need a multimeter, a tool that costs $10
Oh, you mean on the battery? No, the port I'm going into on the battery is the Solar charge port. It's expecting 12V off of a panel. There is an AC charge port on the battery as well, but that's not the port I was using. Thanks for the comment and for checking out the video.
You may not be supplying enough voltage if they are only putting out 12 volts. The input has to be higher. Try putting 2 in series (3 times) to double the power and then you will have 3 red/black to wire up and see if that works. If it doesn't try 3 in series and then 2 parallel.
Cool video and considering trying it myself! One question though, you've got the connectors you used linked, but I'm not seeing what you used for the white pieces between the splitter and the black double-female couplings. What are those?
@@TinyIndustrial Fantastic! Thanks, and looking forward to trying out your build and seeing what it can do with some modifications! Cool idea, great video, and thank you!
Reason your device is not charging is because I believe you need higher than 12V so maybe put 3 parallel rows, with each row having 2 in series, might work to charge it. Digital multimeter to test voltage, and can test amperage too. Find specs of what voltage you need, maybe it’s 18V. I think they each make 2.5W total, thing those batteries need 40W
According to the charger specs, it does accept 12V through the XT-60 input cable. The problem as I see it, is not the voltage input at 12v (because these little hydro electrics do output 12v) the reason they don’t recharge is the current is at 10 watts, approximately 220 milliamps. Based on the DC input from the solar charging spec, you will need 200 watts = 10x mini generators running in parallel. That roughly equates to 2200 miliamps (2.2 Amps). There is likely a minimum threshold of 2amps on the input for the charger to actually charge. At that rate , it will take 3-5 hours of constant water pressure to fully charge. You would be better off purchasing the the solar cells and charging it that way (as intended)
Yes, that was my takeaway as well, that solar would likely be (much) more effective. It was a fun thing to try out though. I'm happy that I tried it. :) Thanks for the comment.
try putting them inline on a longer span, it also needs a drop for head weight. it's not the water that moves the generator but the head height that does.
They probably only make 1.5 v a piece which in parallel is only 1.5v, and the min voltage to charge those are probably 10-12v, so all in series it might be enough to start charging. Looks like you might have a flow problem too, you may make only 2 runs 3 in series to minimize flow, but you may need more pressure
exactly you need more voltage, I would sugest 3series 2 paralel configuration for the water to extract more power from each "string" by having higher flow and bigger resistance so more voltage
From other videos I've seen where they take such turbines apart they have had both rectifiers and voltage regulation in them. All the turbines connected to the water in series might do the trick to provide enough current for the battery to accept it. Assuming the flow and pressure is enough for the turbines to reach the required voltage. I don't think the pressure is reduced much by each turbine, the pressure required is probably mostly because that is what required to get the velocity of the water. I still wouldn't expect a lot of power though, it's unlikely to be enough to cover a DC to AC converter on standby with that trickle, so using it to recharge a power station probably requires a power station where that converter can be shut off, which I hope is the how they are designed. Electrically they should remain in parallell, if they're regulated to 12 V, and the power station accepts 12 V, the main issue should be to achieve the required current. LED lights can be very deceiving, they tend to become more efficient the less power they get, so they can make very little power seem like a disproportionately big part of their rated power. So, they're good for confirming/showing that there is power, at all, like you did, but not for assessing the amount of power generated just by looking at the intensity of light they put out, which one might assume.
The little hydros are putting out DC. I'm going in on the the solar panel input on the battery power supply. That 'should' work if they were putting out any kind of meaningful juice, no?
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Check w/ your generator input. I tried micro several years ago using a solar charger. Much to my dismay, the solar charger required a specific input voltage in order to trigger charging to begin. It was an internal safety. I suspect you may be facing the same issue. If you could find the specific total voltage/amp combo needed to initiate charging, you can calculate your input gear to match it. Good luck!
If you put all the generators in series you will get more power. Each time you open the hose conection you are lowering the volume of water flow. Also the output of the generators are in alternating curent so you need to put a bridge rectifier on it to get dc voltage.
Appreciate the comment. Clearly I'm not a real expert on this stuff. I love making videos though and this seemed like a fun project to try out. Already pondering a part 2... Thanks for checking it out.
Nah it's more likely this is a permanent magnet brushed motor with commutation to make DC. Probably 50-70% efficient. Don't need any rectification, the commutation is already doing it.
nevermind, I watched an electronicsNmore video " How A Mini Hydroelectric Generator Works" and it actually has a 3-phase bridge in it. So not a brushed motor, but the circuit board seemed to be limited to 100mA, meaning the circuit board limits power to 1.2W.... If the regulator is bypassed so it just gets rectified with the 3-phase bridge, maybe it will produce more power.
tsbrownie "Mini Hydro-Generator, 12vDC (4K)" has potentially the same model generator. Better power but 4.5% efficiency after a flow and power test. Considering it converts very little pressure drop into electrical power, multiple turbine stages in series seems like the way to go.
Series connections increases the voltage, but not the current (amperage). To increase the amperage, these would need to run in parallel. The voltage output however would remain the same at 12V
I think the voltage is too low. Wire it in series and try again :-)
Interesting. I didn’t consider doing that. You are right though. Time to get the multimeter out and run some more tests. Either way, charging that big battery will be a challenge going this route… thanks for the comment.
@@TinyIndustrial I agree but there will be a combination of series parallel that will give you the best result.
I would start at putting each of the pairs of pumps in series, and parallel the 3 sets.
If you're not sure what I mean ask, I am happy to help.
A multimeter would be a help.
And test it under load.
Also try them in different numbers running, you may get better output with less division as well.
Yeah, the lack of a multimeter to see what's going on is likely the biggest pitfall of the video.
Definitely a possibility.
Where can I buy this small generator?
That cable for the current generator is for AC (120V-230V alternating current), what you get out of those micro turbines is direct current, normally it will not work. you need an inverter dc-ac. To measure their voltage, you need a multimeter, a tool that costs $10
Oh, you mean on the battery? No, the port I'm going into on the battery is the Solar charge port. It's expecting 12V off of a panel. There is an AC charge port on the battery as well, but that's not the port I was using. Thanks for the comment and for checking out the video.
You may not be supplying enough voltage if they are only putting out 12 volts. The input has to be higher. Try putting 2 in series (3 times) to double the power and then you will have 3 red/black to wire up and see if that works. If it doesn't try 3 in series and then 2 parallel.
Cool video and considering trying it myself! One question though, you've got the connectors you used linked, but I'm not seeing what you used for the white pieces between the splitter and the black double-female couplings. What are those?
Ahh yes, good catch. I had to get those at Lowes. I think that this is what you are looking for though: amzn.to/4d9NJ4P
@@TinyIndustrial Fantastic! Thanks, and looking forward to trying out your build and seeing what it can do with some modifications! Cool idea, great video, and thank you!
Thank you! Hope it works out how you expect it to.
Reason your device is not charging is because I believe you need higher than 12V so maybe put 3 parallel rows, with each row having 2 in series, might work to charge it. Digital multimeter to test voltage, and can test amperage too. Find specs of what voltage you need, maybe it’s 18V. I think they each make 2.5W total, thing those batteries need 40W
According to the charger specs, it does accept 12V through the XT-60 input cable. The problem as I see it, is not the voltage input at 12v (because these little hydro electrics do output 12v) the reason they don’t recharge is the current is at 10 watts, approximately 220 milliamps. Based on the DC input from the solar charging spec, you will need 200 watts = 10x mini generators running in parallel. That roughly equates to 2200 miliamps (2.2 Amps). There is likely a minimum threshold of 2amps on the input for the charger to actually charge. At that rate , it will take 3-5 hours of constant water pressure to fully charge. You would be better off purchasing the the solar cells and charging it that way (as intended)
Yes, that was my takeaway as well, that solar would likely be (much) more effective. It was a fun thing to try out though. I'm happy that I tried it. :) Thanks for the comment.
try putting them inline on a longer span, it also needs a drop for head weight.
it's not the water that moves the generator but the head height that does.
You need a more of volume of water on that with high flow rate and upgrade also the generator to be able produce more electricity.
They probably only make 1.5 v a piece which in parallel is only 1.5v, and the min voltage to charge those are probably 10-12v, so all in series it might be enough to start charging. Looks like you might have a flow problem too, you may make only 2 runs 3 in series to minimize flow, but you may need more pressure
exactly you need more voltage, I would sugest 3series 2 paralel configuration for the water to extract more power from each "string" by having higher flow and bigger resistance so more voltage
More pressure would certainly help. Others suggested the same thing as you. Part II will happen one of these days. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Yup...
you need head height, it's the weight of the water that turns the generator, not the water itself.
Everywhere I see those mini water turbines I see them at 10w so you should be putting out about 60w.
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I'd try running them in series with an inverter, you will probably get it to charge then.
Will give that a try one of these days. Thanks for the comment!
From other videos I've seen where they take such turbines apart they have had both rectifiers and voltage regulation in them. All the turbines connected to the water in series might do the trick to provide enough current for the battery to accept it. Assuming the flow and pressure is enough for the turbines to reach the required voltage.
I don't think the pressure is reduced much by each turbine, the pressure required is probably mostly because that is what required to get the velocity of the water. I still wouldn't expect a lot of power though, it's unlikely to be enough to cover a DC to AC converter on standby with that trickle, so using it to recharge a power station probably requires a power station where that converter can be shut off, which I hope is the how they are designed. Electrically they should remain in parallell, if they're regulated to 12 V, and the power station accepts 12 V, the main issue should be to achieve the required current.
LED lights can be very deceiving, they tend to become more efficient the less power they get, so they can make very little power seem like a disproportionately big part of their rated power. So, they're good for confirming/showing that there is power, at all, like you did, but not for assessing the amount of power generated just by looking at the intensity of light they put out, which one might assume.
"...main issue should be to achieve the required current. " Totally agree. Thanks for the comment!
You need a DC charger to charge the battery
The little hydros are putting out DC. I'm going in on the the solar panel input on the battery power supply. That 'should' work if they were putting out any kind of meaningful juice, no?
wire the generators in series, not parallel (initially I said put, but then I realised some smart ass would put the units in series, not the wiring.)
Yes, that's an idea. Will have to do a follow up on this. Thanks!
Sure fire way to kill a lithium battery is run it dry and then put it away.....
All charged up again. The conventional route.