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The original was posted on /r/offgrid by /u/masterbard1 on 2025-05-12 18:33:20+00:00.
Hi Guys. like I said, this is a super low budget ( not even sure if it will work as intended) setup. I live in the jungle near Darien gap between Panama and Colombia. I inherited my grandma’s land which is quite rich in water and natural forest, but that’s about it. no electricity, closest road is a 40 minute walk from my house. no radio ( even AM), no cellphone and no electricity. I have 2 fairly large solar panels. and 4 lead acid batteries. it runs my 12v fridge, starlink and some lights but at night we have to disconnect the fridge cause the batteries don’t run all night. I bought a very cheap ( $40) seized generator. the engine was gone, but the generator part was in perfect condition. I removed the Engine and attached a pelton wheel to the axle . my plan is to generate electricity by spinning the generator with water instead of the engine. I am not an expert on the subject, but it should work ( according to me and a mechanic friend.)
the whole setup costs:
Pelton wheel $60 on ebay
Generator $40
200m 2" hose and $120 and 50m of 3" I already had.
50m #10 copper cable $50 (used)
misc parts and labor. $100
Inverter, solar controller and other setup I already have I also have a 120v to 12v power supply in case the 120vac works so I can keep my batteries charged through my solar controller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9th4jOI5_g ( I’m not a youtuber so please excuse all my umms) here’s a video of the setup in case you want to watch. suggestions and comments are welcome, please bare in mind I am no expert and I have a very limited budget, yes, I know there are better options but due to my location, I also have to add shipping to things which makes them close to impossible to purchase on my budget.