How to Make a Waterwheel - Simple Micro-Hydro (using a Bottle, Metal Hanger & Bolt) DIY

in this instructable i'll show you how to make a simple micro-hydro waterwheel. easy and fun project to make! you'll probably have everything you need to make it at your home.

above is a 2 minute video showing the water wheel chugging away ...and the full build. definitely worth watching

How to make a Waterwheel. Items: plastic bottle, metal hanger and a small bolt. fast smooth running waterwheel - made with common household items. details: use a 2 or 3 liter plastic soda bottle, one standard metal hanger and one 2 inch bolt. future video will show this hooked up to a small DC motor producing electricity and running a LED bulb.

1.) 2 or 3 liter plastic bottle. we'll use that to make the plastic wheel

2.) standard metal hanger (that holds the wheel)

3.) one 2 inch bolt

i cut the plastic wheel from the bottom of a 3 liter bottle. as a guide, i took a one liter bottle and placed the bottom of it up to the bottom of the 3 liter bottle and cut around in a circle. see pics above. because the bottoms of those bottles are wavy - it makes a great small plastic water wheel. the water will hit each of the "contours" or "waves" in the bottle forcing the wheel to spin fast.

see pics above for how i bent the hanger

i just drilled a small hole in the center of the plastic wheel and inserted a small 2 inch bolt. then just place the bolt into the grooves

for the full effect, watch the video. it shows the wheel chugging away at different speeds and the startup