Aluminium Beer Can Waterwheel

Here’s how to make a Waterwheel using empty beer cans.

In a similar way that beer can be made using only 4 ingredients (Malt, Hops, Yeast and Water) this waterwheel can be made using only 4 ingredients too (Beer Cans, Aluminium foil, Tape and Running Water). The water is required to make it work rather than to build it so you could say it can be made using only 3 ingredients.

Make 6 water catchers out of beer cans by cutting out a top side section and then removing the aluminium from the top end. Use some tin snips and pilers to remove the top end piece. The side sections were removed with a craft knife and scissors.

Remove the aluminium from around the end bit - where the drinking hole is, so the water will drain out of the can at the bottom of its cycle. Tin snips helped with this.

Arms to support the cans are also made from aluminium beer cans, by making tubes. These were made by rolling up aluminium sheet obtained from beer cans and securing with packing tape.

To make the tubes: Follow steps 1-3 to on making aluminum tubing

Three tubes were made and then joined as shown with a small triangle in the centre for the axis. You probably won’t get the cans exactly equal distance from each other but try to come close.

The axis is made from aluminium foil - crunch it up and compress it against a hard surface until it forms a shape which will go between the tubes and acts as an axis.

The arms are secured together with packing tape to make a triangle around the axis with arms going outwards for the beer can water catchers.

Attach the water catching cans with tape. I found due to the arms not being exactly in the same plan, the cans needed to be positioned slightly off centre of the tubes they are on, for them to all line up. Duct tape is a good enough choice for attaching the cans, although packing tape would probably work too.

Drill a hole into the centre of the tightly crunched up aluminium foil axis and fit in length of dowel (or another aluminium tube) for the water wheel to rotate on.

There you have it; a waterwheel made from beer cans. Place it under running water and watch it spin!

Here's another design using beer cans to create a small electric turbine: Hydro Electric generator