BangRoad Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 (edited) Hello everyone, Any recommendations of a motor/gearbox combo that’s commercially available for running a waterwheel at a scale speed? I have previously used a multi ratio gearbox and motor from maplins (brightly coloured green and orange gears). This needed the speed reducing further with a resistor to get the desired effect from a 12v supply. Was quite noisy and the gearbox large. Does anyone know any improvements on this? Thanks Edited October 25, 2020 by BangRoad Typo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted October 25, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 25, 2020 Dependant on the size of the wheel could you arrange the motor with a small rubber sleeve running against the wheel rim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Try a Google search for "12volt motor gearbox". A good selection available. Motor speed can be reduced by fitting a light bulb in series. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted October 25, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2020 What is scale speed for a waterwheel ? (genuine Q, I've not idea) These motor/gearboxes on eBay come is a variety of low RPM: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6v-12v-24v-Speed-0-6rpm-130rpm-High-torque-Turbo-worm-Geared-motor-DC-motor/161096418532?var=460204787573&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908131621%26meid%3D59358a07ade24979a54d44d5abda56d3%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D303708088455%26itm%3D460204787573%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2380057.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%3Ac16f0fbe-16f2-11eb-a4b7-a682dc24595b|parentrq%3A6117b4011750a9bd34ec5486ffeb73a8|iid%3A1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 I would have thought that around 6-10 rpm would appear correct on a model 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangRoad Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 1 hour ago, doilum said: I would have thought that around 6-10 rpm would appear correct on a model I’d agree, but have seen so many windmills and water mills spinning seemingly out of control on layouts! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BangRoad Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 I have used these in the past with a suitable resistor but they run very noisy and was hoping to find something slightly more compact that can be hidden easily. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 57xx Posted October 25, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 25, 2020 32 minutes ago, BangRoad said: I’d agree, but have seen so many windmills and water mills spinning seemingly out of control on layouts! Add a PWM controller to one of the above motors and you can set it just right. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3A-6V-12V-24V-PWM-DC-Motor-Reversible-Variable-Switch-Speed-Controller-Driver-UK/402352133116?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item5dae0e53fc:g:4i8AAOSw4BhfFqHR&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACYBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkTboA95HSvGa1O5UmCCGJLp9mNSovmKkuVgQ21m3GkIMH67BCqZ7opMUL%2Byk4boRQ07d6LaOCHKbCCPeBC2yUfhSQKosJH6YFdgtZm2CpWpbU1p5BEtp5Km0UHO%2BRwDJs3FkPmAB55MMidqLmwK%2BrehLdhsvSKQDbQTrYldy3QFYhNr9DEFidkqS8dZbx6OCE%2FJ%2Bkd1FUFmX12fFQDzhvq4Sa6IkGJbvW3A6rulrCGbFd5hOnpFOxECnDyLibrbSbFCoFxvui8Oxa6%2F7pQrNux%2BS0bs4hA4%2F2%2BBG281bSHYjIkTShqDJLl1YaU1YQQ9Jz5ShrF%2FOwsezVTCCyo2DdgnAIlj37ruIH%2F%2F62lfmmN9qCqjhCBZf8DPjw19qihzuX4hFzvAxyVu42VsVBXjC56yhuqxJSt9QMrHztPlrCdH71nQq7Q9kUCa%2FCFaOgrebXV3Zi9BxWIeePDpMdtgIaFUOxhhn%2FlenafXCkF%2FT9R4YoQwgyfw2JT8iWB9MVinb35a3XhYzssiZyY2kdeh9qgV8khQCluQ4bO3zPuz7AWj77yw6qHuy4q4uCtnu7GyyKuQV%2BGwJ54VGC7HoaSB8FAT75m5VCaHuzlqZR5md%2FIq4FcioiZSiMM%2FhRpVUEu%2FQiwIFyUDt0gnd0X6GKSxJcuM7Zn7DD%2Fon2ntmTug2kCu6FvQfvAeO3SBxM5SaFQeogskZSRC6GkbAZLnTh6btTBWDdicNxrzkaxBCJtnDLM%2Fema5XCMx1I%2BZL38IbqrxEC|cksum%3A4023521331160e8cce685f484bf5816952bbd4dd0ce6|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 A High Level gearbox? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamsRadial Posted October 25, 2020 Share Posted October 25, 2020 Belt and pulley is not only the quietest you're going to get, but also should allow you to get some ridiculously low speeds with minimal losses due to friction. You should be able to turn suitable pulleys out of wood or plastic and use rubber bands for drive, or try the mamod type springy wire drives. I have experimented with making belts out of strimmer cord but it isn't happy with small radii that you would have to use on the motor shaft. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 10 hours ago, AdamsRadial said: Belt and pulley is not only the quietest you're going to get, but also should allow you to get some ridiculously low speeds with minimal losses due to friction. You should be able to turn suitable pulleys out of wood or plastic and use rubber bands for drive, or try the mamod type springy wire drives. I have experimented with making belts out of strimmer cord but it isn't happy with small radii that you would have to use on the motor shaft. Agreed. Rubber O rings might be a source of useful belts. As a belt connected motor does not have to be as perfectly aligned as one driving fine gears it might be possible to mount the motor in a rubber sleeve. Taking the fine gear option, look at the work of Giles on his radio controlled lorries, cars and cranes. These tiny units come from China at a ridiculously low cost and are extremely smooth running. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasabi Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Faller used to do a motorised waterwheel which did pump real water around. The motor was available separately. I'm not sure what is still available, and their motor will be more expensive than a Chinese option, but their site might be worth a look. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCB Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 The smaller the wheel the faster the RPM. The one in "The Eagle has Landed" film must have been doing between 30 and 60 rpm, between one and two revs per second. Obviously the Laxley wheel goes a lot slower. There are servo ,motor gearboxes with stupid reductions which operate central heating valves from a stepper motor and get chucked away, Handy if you have a mate who is a plumber, as I do and he gives them away. I have stripped loads of them for the intermediate gear which is really useful for all sorts of stuff. I will see if I have a compete one and if I can match a DC motor to it. Ideally the water wheel will be perfectly balanced and concentric and need negligible force to turn. Our local (12" to 1ft) Pub water wheel was neither and quickly stopped working, though it was fun to watch as the unbalanced wheel crawled round half a turn then raced forward only to slow again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 15RPM PM me and you can have it. K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted October 26, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 26, 2020 Here's how I did it a few years ago. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 These N20 motor/gearbox units from China via ebay can be had at various ratios - they are sold by their speed rather than reduction ratio. I used 2 in a loco and found 300rpm to be OK but you can obtain them with slower speeds too. Being 12V DC they can easily be throttled down with a controller. Very powerful for their size. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Those are the ones I had in mind. Install lighting to the mill in series to drop the voltage to the motor? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastglosmog Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 If it is still of interest, I have just been observing our local water wheel (about 10ft diameter). It was doing 6 rpm, under low load,but apparently can get up to 20rpm when needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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