General Technologies

Pico hydroelectric generation has been over looked almost completely. Most turbine designs do not lend themselves to low pressure operation. But there are a few, one in particular is the flat disk turbine patent #6,375,412 B1. I built a 6 inch diameter turbine 3.5 inches thick. With the equivalent of only 24 feet of head pressure on a 2 inch pipe (11 psi) it was able to power a car alternator’s field and produce an additional 200 watts. This is unheard of in the industry, normal turbines like Frances, and Pelton require a minimum of 50 feet of head pressure or more just to work at all.

This design can be adapted to even lower pressures if the size and spacing is adjusted accordingly. SO? Where’s the interest? People have been conditioned to think all the hydro power has been exploited and its just not true.