Walking down a valley near Dolgellau after a mine hunting expedition I noticed a pipe crossing a stream.
This looked like it might be the inlet pipe (penstock) for a water turbine.
Following the pipe, which is mostly buried, downhill…
…led to the remains of a generator.
Nearby was a hut above a fast flowing stream.
Inside is a little Gilkes turbine coupled to a generator.
The label on the alternator is hard to make out, but it was made by BKB Electric Motors Ltd, still going under a different name in Cradley Heath.
The turbine is a ’Turgo’, a design patented by Gilkes in 1920 and still popular.
The section between the end of the inlet tube and the turbine is missing.
A spear valve would have been here, maybe controlled by the governor mechanism (white contraption with hinged arms on the right).
Inside, part of the rotor is visible behind a hinged deflector.
A Turgo is like half a Pelton but has higher throughput and faster rotation, meaning less need for gearing up when used to generate electricity.
Below the outfall is an older turbine - I didn’t notice a maker but it looks a reaction-type with an offset control rod for the guide vanes.
Many varieties of these were produced from the mid 1800s onwards.
Just another example of a little hydro setup not marked on maps - interesting in this case because it’s a type I haven’t come across before.
This looked like it might be the inlet pipe (penstock) for a water turbine.
Following the pipe, which is mostly buried, downhill…
…led to the remains of a generator.
Nearby was a hut above a fast flowing stream.
Inside is a little Gilkes turbine coupled to a generator.
The label on the alternator is hard to make out, but it was made by BKB Electric Motors Ltd, still going under a different name in Cradley Heath.
The turbine is a ’Turgo’, a design patented by Gilkes in 1920 and still popular.
The section between the end of the inlet tube and the turbine is missing.
A spear valve would have been here, maybe controlled by the governor mechanism (white contraption with hinged arms on the right).
Inside, part of the rotor is visible behind a hinged deflector.
A Turgo is like half a Pelton but has higher throughput and faster rotation, meaning less need for gearing up when used to generate electricity.
Below the outfall is an older turbine - I didn’t notice a maker but it looks a reaction-type with an offset control rod for the guide vanes.
Many varieties of these were produced from the mid 1800s onwards.
Just another example of a little hydro setup not marked on maps - interesting in this case because it’s a type I haven’t come across before.
