acoliarti said:

David Andersen said:Unless you live by a creek, home made hydro power is a "pipe dream" for most people. Or is it? Anyone have any ideas how to make homemade hydroelectric power a reality for those of us who live in a rainy climate?

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Couldnt you just use the same motor as with windmill and convert it somehow to use water instead of wind?

Yes, you'd want the same kind of low RPM high voltage and high current motor you would use in a wind turbine. However, the  turbine blades themselves are different. You also have to take steps to protect the motor from the water. But in the case of a constantly flowing stream in the warmer months, as long as the "river flows" so to speak, you'll be converting the water current into electricity. The trick is going to be getting the turbine right.

David Andersen said:Unless you live by a creek, home made hydro power is a "pipe dream" for most people. Or is it? Anyone have any ideas how to make homemade hydroelectric power a reality for those of us who live in a rainy climate?

I suppose you could have a rain barrel that is filled by your gutters. Then you could put the water in a closed loop system where the water would flow through a turbine or some sort. Of course for this to work you'd need a pump of some sort. I'd actually suggest a siphon, which is mechanically (and manually) primed. Of course, the siphon has to be lower that the water source for this to work, and hydrostatic pressure (and gravity) would make the water flow down, but returning it to the source is problematic and would require an advanced return design.