Quote:
Originally Posted by Hersbird
There are 2 different potential energies involved. The height is the main but there is energy in the velocity of water as well. I remember the first time I encountered a ram pump lifting water without any power input. I thought it was some kind of perpetual motion machine or an optical illusion. You can have a stream on you property with only a few feet of elevation change but then lift a smaller portion of that water to a pretty good height above the stream without any input of outside energy.
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It's a very cool invention.HOME POWER Magazine used to cover some of the installs and owner experiences.My late neighbor 'crazy' Bob and I built an undershot water wheel on pontoons,which we tethered in Clear Creek.It turned,produced torque,and might have generated modest power,but flotsam was always a risk,easily capable of trashing our little engine.Floods,which are more abundant now,would just sweep any 'improvements' like it away.It's great though,that some live with conditions conducive to water power.
