Demos

Our focus has been to promote the use of small scale hydropower here in Bolivia. This was to include expanding our demonstration site and giving classes locally. More specifically it was to design and test a small turbine suitable for directly driving machines with waterpower. The resulting turbine we call the Campo Nuevo Watermotor. To the best of our knowledge it is the only turbine incorporating an on/off switch for power control. This one feature makes it suitable for driving machines directly.

Low cost was another Watermotor design goal and our machine may be the lowest cost per horsepower available. Other features are compact size ( 16 x 16 x 32 cm), high efficiency (80-85%) and simplicity (one moving part). In operation the Watermotor responds instantly to the power control switch, just as does an electric motor. We have tested the Watermotor for a period of months using it to drive a variety of machines. These include a table saw, joiner, grinder, abrasive disk, and drill. We have also used an air compressor, electric generator and grain mill. The Watermotor can be installed easily and at low cost, as seen at our demo site.

Little fall or volume of water is required to produce ample energy to run these machines. Low pressure, low cost plastic pipe is adequate. The flexible connections between the pressure pipe and turbine also simplify installation. The result obtained from our turbine encouraged us to design a somewhat larger model with greater capacity and power output. This allows substantial power to be obtained from even less height, by using a greater volume of water. This was the first model Watermotor entirely made in Bolivia. We cast the turbine wheel from recycled auto piston aluminum.