Pelton Wheel Model Display Julia Pfeiffer Burns Park
The Pelton Wheel Power system was installed in 1940 and utilized McWay creek with a flow of 500 gpm and available head of 160 ft to provide 6.1 kW of electrical energy to the main house. The wheel was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse (momentum) of moving water, as opposed to its weight like traditional overshot water wheel yielding a more efficient design. Pelton's paddle geometry was designed so that when the rim runs at ½ the speed of the water jet, the water leaves the wheel with very little speed, extracting almost all of its energy, and allowing for a very efficient turbine.
Pelton chose to use a double cup and direct the jet on to the junction between the two cups. This ensured that no water would miss the cup.
Pelton Wheel Model Display Julia Pfeiffer Burns Park
The Pelton Wheel Power system was installed in 1940 and utilized McWay creek with a flow of 500 gpm and available head of 160 ft to provide 6.1 kW of electrical energy to the main house. The wheel was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse (momentum) of moving water, as opposed to its weight like traditional overshot water wheel yielding a more efficient design. Pelton's paddle geometry was designed so that when the rim runs at ½ the speed of the water jet, the water leaves the wheel with very little speed, extracting almost all of its energy, and allowing for a very efficient turbine.
Pelton chose to use a double cup and direct the jet on to the junction between the two cups. This ensured that no water would miss the cup.