Why this buoyancy machine won’t work?

Question

(Check the video for a better understanding of the machine mechanism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIdn5zQTJAM&t=109s&ab_channel=RenewjouleLLC )

This machine has a different approach for submerging the balls into the water. Basically, the ball falls into the bottom water reservoir. The ball's kinetic energy makes it go through the water without the need for external force. The trick here is that the gate on the airside(G1) opens for the ball to enter while Gate on the waterside(G2) is closed so the water maintains its level and doesn’t go outside from the airside. When the ball is into the bottom reservoir, G1 closes and G2 opens to allow the ball to travel through the waterside.

With this approach, there won’t be energy lost during submerging the ball into the water. Which will lead to surplus energy generation.

Please tell me what I am missing because I don’t see why this machine won't work!!!

Answer 1

When G2 is closed and you push the ball in, some of the water is displaced. It will spill out the G1 door.

Close G1, open G2 and move the ball up the column. Since the ball is no longer in the lower tank, some water from the column has taken it's place.

After one cycle you have moved the ball around, but you have also taken a quantity of water equal in size to the ball from the top of the left-hand water column to the floor in the right column. That mass lowering drives your engine and limits how long it can run. Closing the G2 door removes the pressure issue, but prevents the water volume from being conserved.

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From a theoretical view, it is easy to take this (or many other gravity/buoyancy setups) and analyze the total gravitational energy at any point in time and any configuration. Just sum $mgh$ for all masses. It's more tedious, but you don't have to worry about forces or buoyancy or anything like that.

It's easy for folks to look at the moving ball and try to track it, but forget to track the water or other fluids. When you do track them (and don't forget that the water and the ball can't overlap), then it's "simple" to see that the energy of the water is important and can't be overlooked. Once that is accounted for, there is no mystery about how the system evolves.