Trying to help my son - Hydroelectric

[Jason Wakelin]

Hi all, I am very new here, this is my first post. My son (11) is in grade 5, and has been given a project to build something hydroelectric that will power a lightbulb. Building the turbines seems fairly straight forward. But, my question is, is it possible to build a generator and transformer? If so, could someone possibly point me in the right direction please? Or, am I headed in the wrong direction? The whole point of this project is to understand how hydroelectric power works, and if the project is not constructed by my son understands hydroelectricity he will still get good marks. However, I would like to work on this project with him. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Jason

[insane_alien]

if you use the turbine to turn an electric motor you will be able to get a potential difference between the wires. it should be enough to power a light bulb.

[Martin]

Hi all, I am very new here, this is my first post. My son (11) is in grade 5, and has been given a project to build something hydroelectric that will power a lightbulb.

 

did they specifically say a light bulb?

 

what about a flashlight lightbulb? a couple of watts is easier to generate than 30 watts or 60 watts

 

for that matter what about an LED?

 

You used to be able to buy LEDs at Radioshack. And also they sold small DC electric motors for a dollar apiece. These were simple (permanent magnet) electric motors not much bigger than your thumb. They would generate a small DC electric current if you turned them.

 

Or they would run toys if you hooked the motor to a couple of 1.5 volt drycells.

 

DC low voltage components are probably simpler, safer, more forgiving than AC high voltage.

 

If you want to start cheap you might be able to get some mileage out of Radioshack.

 

My suggestions are off-the-cuff and may not be the best. Hopefully others will responds. I don't know if this is an appropriate solution for the SCHOOL project but if it were me and my 11 year old son (back then) I might break the project into two parts.

 

1. Have a weight on a string and have the hydroturbine wind up the string and raise the weight (visibly storing foot-pounds, or newton-meters, of energy)

 

2. then disconnect the turbine from the string-winding spindle and connect it to the electric generator and let the weight fall down, spinning the shaft and lighting the flashlight bulb.

[Mr Skeptic]

I think RadioShack's new motto is, "You've got questions, we've got blank stares." At least that was my last experience with them.

 

I think that the coolest thing you could do would be to make your own generator, and using clear materials so you can see the functioning. It's basically a coil of wire spinning inside a magnetic field. Building your own will likely be more expensive and more inefficient than buying one though.

build your own generator, instructions and video

[SH3RL0CK]

As the student is 11, I'd keep it simple (perhaps the do-it-yourself generator is too ambitious IMHO). If it were me I'd follow Martins suggestion; buy an LED and small DC motor at radioshack. Rig up some kind of turbine that can be turned by a garden hose (or a hole in a bucket) which turns the motor, generating the electricity to power the LED.

 

Once you have it working from the technical side, if your son and you have the time, you could then build an artistic landscape with a lake, dam, generator house, river below the dam, transmission lines to a house with the LED inside the house shining out the window, etc.

[swansont]

I'd go with the paddles hooked straight into the generator, and the water turning the paddles. Keep it simple. For that reason I'd also use a flashlight bulb and not an LED, so you don't have to worry about wiring it up correctly.

 

You can test how changes in the volume of water and the height of the reservoir affect things

[Jason Wakelin]

Thank you all for the suggestions! It has helped give us a place to start. Doing projects like this are a lot of fun for me too, kind of like being back in school for a second time. Thanks again.