On Saturday January 29, 2011 I visited my uncles mill in northwestern Ontario. The Mill is located in the town of the Pinkerton, on the Teaswater River. We arrived at the mill at about 11:45am. The water in the Power channel was low, but the mill was still generating about 65 kWh, which is average for this time of year. We started the tour immediately. First stop was the millpond. The millpond is about 15-20 acres in size, and the damn is located at the NW. The Teaswater River flows from here past the town and around a large horseshoe where it connects to the Tail Race from the mill.
Here is a plan of the mill site I drew in my sketchbook. North is to the left, and the Millpond is to the south. The town of Pinkerton is to the west. The mill site is more than ideal for a number of reasons. The bend in the river allows for the power-channel and mill race to bypass the river. The falls over the Weir are can be seen and enjoyed from different parts of town and from the bridge the river keeps its picturesque quality. The mill is tucked in beside a hill next to the road. Most people in the small town don't actually know that the mill is generating electricity.
The Power of the mill is determined by the "head" head is the height difference between where the water enters the turbine and where it leaves. In this case the intake is located to the south of the road, it runs under the road passes through the turbine and leaves via the Tailrace at the northeast. The head available at this location varies between 15 and 16 ft and generates about 100-160 RPM
Here is a sketch of the mill I did while standing at the access road. The mills have been through a number of stages and additions since it was first built. The first mill to be built on this site was a Sawmill (1). A Gristmill was built about 5 years later, in the location of the current mill. It has burned twice since its first construction, and has been through a number of upgrades at each stage. The mill stopped functioning as a gristmill Sept 99' as it was unsustainable to compete with the larger more industrial milling operations of the modern day. My uncle purchased the property Nov 99'. He removed most of the milling equipment and storage, selling it off or re-using it elsewhere.
The existing building is erected on 2' wide stone and concrete walls that make up the ground floor. The 3+ stories above is a simple wood frame and timber barn constructions clad in Steel siding. The Hydropower Generation portion of the building occupies less than 1/2 of the ground floor. The 2nd and third levels are vacant save for some scrap plywood, canoes and rowboats. The other two buildings on the site are rented out to local farmers as storage space.
The Turbine itself has been in operation for the better part of the last half-century. I drew a diagram of the Turbine, gearbox, and Generator configuration above. The water flows into the turbine at the right of page, turning it and flowing down out to the tailrace. The Turbine is horizontal, and turns a drive shaft. Attached to the shaft is a flywheel. The flywheel used to power the entire building. By a series of belt drives it would link to pulleys and chains moving choppers, graters and grinders, and elevators. Now it acts more as a ballast than anything. The drive shaft continues through the wheel where it reaches the gearbox. The gearbox weighs about 2400lbs and has a 6:1 ratio. It multiplies the rpm of the turbine 6x before transferring the power into the Generator. The Generator has a 34" diameter and weighs 3400lbs. It’s rated for 600rpm.
The Generator then links to the transformers, and monitors in the electrical room, passes through a Meter and is connected through 2km of new 3 phase power lines to the Ontario power-grid.
Here is shot of the Turbine + Generator assembly.
I hope to get more into the numbers and potentials of the site in a later post.
References:
1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pinkerton/water_power_at_pinkerton.htm
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