Hydroelectric Generator Out of TRASH?!?!

The final product should look something like this, where the metal stakes would go into the ground at the river, the egg structure would act as the fan, being pushed by the water, causing the garden rod to turn, make the gears turn. The gear ratio makes it so that the generator will get more power, with the larger gear making the small gear turn faster, generating more electricity. At the end of the wires, you can put anything you really want to, it generates up to 12 volts. You can put a larger motor in there to get more electricity or a transformer.

Step 1: Collecting Materials

To gather your materials: (Left to right)

- Four garden stakes, hammered to form a right angle.

- 6 to 12-volt generator.

- Empty phone case. (I used this for a hexbug container earlier.)

- A tiny rectangle of clay for the filling of the white gear.

- 1-inch grey gear.

- 0.5-inch white gear. (In this picture the white gear already has the clay in it.)

- Large red egg, used for the base of the hydroelectric turbine.

- Garden rod as a rod to rotate with the red egg.

- Three small orange eggs with purple "stickies" at the end.

- Tape

- VERY strong glue

- Two small metal brackets.

Step 2: Build the Main Contraption.

This step is for the wheel or fan in a turbine, it will essentially spin with the river flow, generating electricity. You need the big red egg and the three small orange eggs with purple "stickies" attached. Tape and glue those on and glue the edges of the red egg together.

Step 3: Four Garden Stakes

Get four garden stakes and pound them into a right angle, as shown above. This will be used as your foundation.

Step 4: Rod

Take the garden rod and using strong metal cutters, cut through the side with the "twirly" part on it. You might want to strip off about half an inch on the end as shown in the picture for the gear. This is the rod that will rotate with the main fan to generate electricity.

Step 5: Generator With Gear

Take the generator and some of the clay, and plug up the hole in the middle of the white gear. Then, use some of the glue and glue the tip of the motor rod and then put the rod in the clay.

Step 6: Glue the Stakes Together

Take the four right-angle stakes and glue them together, in this case, I used a vise to hold these together firmly. Wait an hour for the glue to take hold. You can use a soldering iron if you wish, it will make the bonds much stronger.

Step 7: Attaching the Metal Brackets

Take the two small steel brackets and glue them/solder to the four right angle stakes. These small brackets will act as a place where the rod can rotate.

Step 8: Making the Circuit Container

Take the iPhone case and strip the inside, it should look like the first picture. Then, take one of the sides and drill two holes through both the outside container and the inside container. One of the holes will be used for the rod to rotate with the gear, the other hole will be for the wires to come out of.