1890 CMC Francis Turbine Power Table
- Thread starter DCPower
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DCPower
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CMC and Rodney Hunt built remarkable micro to small hydro turbines - in the days prior to grid power, there was a huge demand for little turbines to provide electricity, mechanical milling, compressed air and pumping … my friend Ron Macleod lives in Rodney Hunt’s house, a sawmill in the 1870’s that Hunt rebuilt in the early 1900’s. It has a dam, 36” penstock to the basement and several 6” Francis turbines that provided power, compressed air for shop use and to pressurize the domestic water and a fire suppression system, and there’s still a glass test rig where Hunt would mount new designed runners and vary head pressure and flow to evaluate runner and blade shape efficiency. No computer simulations - every design was real world tested. Allis designed the most efficient Francis runner ever made in 1915, which is still running in Idaho. 94% water to shaft.
My turbine is s 10” CMC Francis design, Ron made it 16 years ago. 2 hp on 9’ of head.
In 1790 there was a 2-5 hp water mill within a days walk of every 120 people in the USA, used for milling wood, turning and working wood, mulling leather and grinding grains. Access to a mill “was considered the difference between civilization and the frontier.” (History of industrial power in the United States)
My turbine is s 10” CMC Francis design, Ron made it 16 years ago. 2 hp on 9’ of head.
In 1790 there was a 2-5 hp water mill within a days walk of every 120 people in the USA, used for milling wood, turning and working wood, mulling leather and grinding grains. Access to a mill “was considered the difference between civilization and the frontier.” (History of industrial power in the United States)
memilanuk
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Cool. We've got some 'little' turbines at work... one Kaplan (1 MW) and two Francis (~31MW each). It's amazing the difference you get going from ~40 ft of head to 340 ft of head 
Both are early 1930's vintage, and definitely built to last. Still something special about the quality and 'style' of construction from back then, compared to freshly rebuilt turbines in our main dam(s) today.
I think some of it does tie back to what you mentioned about "no computer simulations"; nowadays designs are pared down to the bone, the absolute minimum material and effort to last through the warranty period. Back then, it was rules of thumb and add a little extra for good measure, and everything was massively 'overbuilt', by today's standards. That's why stuff from 100 years ago can still be operational today, with a little update/tune-up, whereas stuff from 20-30 years ago you're better off just ripping it out and replacing it.
Both are early 1930's vintage, and definitely built to last. Still something special about the quality and 'style' of construction from back then, compared to freshly rebuilt turbines in our main dam(s) today. I think some of it does tie back to what you mentioned about "no computer simulations"; nowadays designs are pared down to the bone, the absolute minimum material and effort to last through the warranty period. Back then, it was rules of thumb and add a little extra for good measure, and everything was massively 'overbuilt', by today's standards. That's why stuff from 100 years ago can still be operational today, with a little update/tune-up, whereas stuff from 20-30 years ago you're better off just ripping it out and replacing it.
DCPower
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