Hydrogenerator, Harris Hydro, single nozzle

Operates efficiently on heads of 10 to 600 feet
Operates efficiently on flows of 10 to 250 GPM

The typical American household consumes about 12 thousand watt hours per day (not including electricity to power heating loads), or about 500 watts on average (though this can be reduced to about 300 watts or even less, through careful conservation measures and by eliminating waste). There are times, however, when as much as 10,000 watts are needed, as when a refrigerator or well pump is started. An A.C. system cannot store energy and must be sized to meet this peak demand, requiring up to 40 times as much water as a similarly useful D.C. system. Smaller size saves money. Micro-hydro systems are matched to the average demand and extract power the way that nature provides it, slow and steady.

HOW IT WORKS: The Harris system is an efficient, durable battery charging pelton turbine. It is especially well suited to produce usable power from springs and creeks that are too small to sustain the same level of useful power from a conventional A.C. generating system. Water is collected upstream from the hydro and piped downstream to where the turbine is located. As a rule the greater the head (the difference in elevation between the collection point and the turbine is called the head), the better. Because D.C. power can be stored in batteries, these small systems operate 24 hours a day collecting energy, a little at a time, to be delivered "on demand" from the batteries as the need dictates.

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Harris turbines are available with up to four nozzles!

The multiple nozzle arrangement allows much more water to impact the runner resulting in greater output at any head, and more usable power at lower heads. Multi-nozzle systems include a PVC penstock and individual ball valves on each nozzle.

The pelton type runner is lost wax cast of silicon bronze. The wheel is 70 - 90% efficient, depending on nozzle size and head pressure. The bucket shape allows high efficiency for nozzles and provides a flow range of over 100/1. The wheel has a hydraulic diameter of just over 4.00". Each wheel is individually balanced.

How to determine Output
Turbine output is determined by four factors:

Head, or vertical drop from source to turbine nozzle: Head can be measured with a transit or level and a measuring stick of known length in successive steps, or a quick pipe can be assembled from numerous garden hoses and the pressure can be measured with the hoses full of water. This, too, can be done in successive steps. 0.43 P.S.I. = 1 foot of head: 2.3 feet = 1 psi

Flow in gallons per minute passing through nozzle: A temporary dam can be built to measure flow. By timing the filling of a container of known volume the flow can be determined. Care should be taken to not dry up creeks, but to leave enough water to maintain natural environmental balances.

Diameter, length and condition of feeder pipe: Generally, single nozzle systems with under 2000 feet of feeder pipe require a 2" pipe. A two nozzle system needs a 3" pipe and 4 nozzle systems require a 4" pipe. This will keep pipe losses under 25%. Please inquire about specific pipe losses for your site.

Turbine efficiency: Alternator systems are between 30% and 60% efficient.