Thread: Microhydro unit for $100

Hi everyone,

My wife will be in Thailand in a few days and I want her to purchase a Microhydro unit.

Where would be the easiest place to do this from?

In Vietiane you would find it at the metal market I am told but what about Bangkok?

How many Kw?

Originally Posted by MeMock

Hi everyone,

My wife will be in Thailand in a few days and I want her to purchase a Microhydro unit.

Where would be the easiest place to do this from?

In Vietiane you would find it at the metal market I am told but what about Bangkok?

Don't know the answer to your question but can you really get a microhydro unit in vientiane for $100? That's about $1,000 less than the cheapest I've seen, although I've only seen them from US and UK suppliers.

only 150 w (not kw)

For $100 you can get a silly little 12v thing with just a few watts.

A decent house supply one will cost a lot more than $1000

If you had a large roof area and collected all the water so that it ended up in a single pipe, would it be feasible to run some kind on mini-hydro from that? Or is it just a really stupid idea?

I suppose it would work, but only when it rained.

what does it do?

do i need one?

Its a mini hydro doobywatsee and creates a small amount of electricity.

I want to fine out where to buy one in Bkk.

Originally Posted by MeMock

Its a mini hydro doobywatsee and creates a small amount of electricity.

oh.

don't think I need one of them.

Originally Posted by MeMock

I want to fine out where to buy one in Bkk.

why?

Because my Dad wants one in New Zealand.

Originally Posted by MeMock

I suppose it would work, but only when it rained.

Where I am it rains a lot, sometimes causing blackouts. Even if it could power a couple of lights it would be helpful.

Originally Posted by Smithson

Where I am it rains a lot, sometimes causing blackouts. Even if it could power a couple of lights it would be helpful.

Have you thought of a butane or kerosene (paraffin) lantern? A lot less trouble if all you want is a little light....

Originally Posted by buad hai

Originally Posted by Smithson

Where I am it rains a lot, sometimes causing blackouts. Even if it could power a couple of lights it would be helpful.

Have you thought of a butane or kerosene (paraffin) lantern? A lot less trouble if all you want is a little light....

I bet you're right, but anything renewable really appeals. Batteries are inefficient and polluting, so ppl have suggested using water tanks as a way to store energy. Besides catching rain, wind could be used to pump groundwater to tanks, which is then released to create electricity when needed.

Ppl are talking about all sorts of crazy things these days, including the possibility of petrol hitting 90B a litre.

I've had fair luck with solar: use it for my pond pump as well as pond spotlighting. Batteries are a bit of a hassle; but manageable.

I once had some lanterns that used rechargeable batteries and fluorescent lamp bulbs. You might get something like that and hook the charging circuit up to a small solar panel.

Do you have more info on the pump and pond spotlighting? The best I've been able to do with solar is the little lamps you stick in ground to light pathways. Although I haven't lost one yet, I'm sure they'd be popular with thieves also.

Time to bump this thread as unfortunately I never did find out where to buy one.

I am heading over soon and want to buy one and post it back to NZ. I will try and find a pic of it and scan and post it here.

What's your old man loosing his touch??

usually he would just knock something like that up out of scrap lying around in the yard...

Ain't gonna work,, Takes to much water to spin a Pelton wheel/Alternator to make enough electricity to be a feasible alternative.

BG, it isn't meant to be an alternative to anything. He wants it more as a toy then anything else. He is already building his own hydro set up which will power his house and put some back on the grid.

There have been 100,000 sold in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos recently so I didn't think it would be that hard to find one, was hoping that the TD readers would have seen them for sale around the place.

Not gonna work with no roof water, I have had a couple of Hydro systemsd for different uses, and have had friends that [powered homes with them.
You have to make a hell of a lot of power to send any back down the line, one guy I know has 150 KVA plant that does sell some back to PP&L in N. Calif. but he is running full 16 inch penstocks with over 200 feet of head.

Check this link for prices and requirements of hydro systems.

Northwest Energy Storage - Alternative Energy Solutions :::::::::::::::

BG.

Who said he is gonna use roof water?

He has a hydro almost completed which will run his large power hungry house and have enough left over to feed back onto the grid.

This little $100 machine that he is interested in is nothing more then a gimmick which will run one light, maybe 2.

Do you know where I can buy one?

Sorry to bump this but I know somewhere out there must know where I can buy one.