Cable Spool Waterwheel And Satellite Dish Pond

Cable Spool Waterwheel And Satellite Dish Pond FARM HOME recreation 29-5-20 Ken Allison wanted to set up a waterwheel in his backyard. A local retailer told him they sell for between $600 and $800. He looked on the internet and couldn't find anything cheaper. He found some free plans but they looked like too much work. That's when he got to thinking about the large piles of cable spools down at his local electric co-op. He contacted the manager who said to take whatever he wanted because they just break down the spools and burn them. Allison hauled two of them home. "I walked around one of the spools for a couple of days then decided I needed to cut it down by a third. It was just too wide," he says. Using a skill saw, Allison cut 24 in. off the 36-in. wide wheel. After that, he discovered that the depth from the edge of the wheel to the core was too deep for the paddles. To correct this, he added a second outer layer of cedar 8 in. from the spool's core and attached the 14 paddles to that. He attached two pieces of cedar together into an "L" bracket, then attached them to the spool using self-tapping screws and caulk. A weight lifting bar cut in half serves as the axle. He just welded a couple of plates on each side to run it through the center of the waterwheel. He made a 4 by 4 brace to support one end of the axle. An oak tree holds up the other side. "It was just standing there so I figured it might as well support one end of my project." So Allison drilled an 8-in. long hole in the tree and filled it with grease. After he finished that project, Allison created a pond using an old 10 1/2-ft. wide satellite dish that he'd been saving. He dug a 10 1/2-ft. wide, 4-ft. deep hole in front of the waterwheel and laid the dish in it. He painted the inside of the tan-colored dish blue. "It not only looks more appealing but also covers up a host of sins with respect to leaves and pine needles that get in," he says. A 1/6 hp recirculating pump that's rated at 950 gph pumps water up a garden hose to the water wheel which turns it and returns the water back to the pond. His wife and neighbors like the pond and waterwheel. "I haven't seen many other backyard waterwheels but when I do, they always catches my eye. I don't think I'm alone in the magnetism of a waterwheel. It harkens back to the days of grinding grain and wheat and running different tools. It's a part of our history." Allison also says that his project could be turned into a sideline business. He suggests putting one up on display and letting passersby stop by to look at it. He thinks it'll sell itself. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Allison, 13626 Spur Northside Way, Mansfield, Ark. 72944 (ph 479 928-5679; kenbara33@valuelinx.net).

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