The Power of Gravity - You might find this interesting.

[ResinRat2]

I’m not familiar with US system. In kgms, 1ton = 1000kg, math is easier.
In the above quote there is a math error. 2.3g/cm3 would be 2.3 tons/m3. 1 such ton would require only 0.43m3.

Instead of wet sand, one may better use lead. Or even steal. Gravitational batteries are still used today although not widely; check large bridges i.e. the famous London Bridge (before its refurbishment).

What?

Let's see, wet sand weighs about 19.19#/gal so a ton is:

2000#/(19.19#/gal) = about 104.2 gallons

A gallon is 3785 ml or 0.003785 m³

so (104.2 gal ) (0.003785 m³/gal) = 0.3944 m³ ... DOH!!

Leave it to a Chemist to screw that calculation up.

so 134 tons would be (134 tons)(0.3944 m³/Ton) = 53 m³.

OK so now is this right? I probably screwed it up again, but it looks OK to me now.

I also thought about lead or steel first, but I wanted to get as close to the same densities and be very, very cheap. You can't beat sand for cheap except with water, but the wet sand density is over twice the density of water, so I figured it was the best to use to get the most weight in the smallest volume at the cheapest cost.

Still, it is very disappointing for size vs. power storage.

Thanks for finding my error.

[ResinRat2]

So you can see this idea is very, very simple. I know there is nothing new here.Store excess energy from solar/wind into a mechanical battery composed of a shaft downward and a very heavy weight held by a cable. Simply raise the weight with excess power during the day, and reclaim it once the solar/wind activity ceases for the day by allowing the weight to again go downward into the shaft and turn a generator (maxing out the gear ratio to get the most energy possible from gravity's pull). No chemicals, no battery memory effect, no toxic lithium to dispose of, and no need to tie into the Electric Power Grid.

As simple a mechanical battery as a simple mind could conceive. I don't think you could get a patent on this one however, and digging the shaft wouldn't be too cheap; nor would the mechanical equipment needed to raise the weight. Can it be commercialized into something practical? Especially in our "green" era?

That was the whole idea behind it though.

Thanks for everyone's input and interest.

RR2

[brian334]

Mr. Rat,
I like your idea.
Sort of like a grandfather clock, only a lot bigger.

[brian334]

Mr. Rat,
Think flywheels for energy storage.

[fletcher]

Taking the same idea & tweaking it - have a barge in a tidal area - have the barge act like a pontoon i.e. four poles in the sea floor & guides mounted on the barge so that it rises & falls with the tides but doesn't move laterally - either run a cable thru a sea floor mounted pulley to land &/or a cable to a pulley above the barge then to land - have both for max work capacity - the land based cables lift a weight via a pulley on top of a tower etc to raise the masses gravitational Pe [to do work when released, say driving a generator] - the buoyancy of the barge lifts the land based mass up the tower as the tide comes in - having a dual system allows another mass to be lifted into position when the tide goes out & the barge falls, lifting the mass - free energy 4 times a day limited only by the scale.