Running my well pump

[chickenpie]

I am hardening my house. I am interested in finding a schematic that uses batteries and solar panels to keep my well pump running when off the grid. I think I need to use something called an inverter. I am looking for something that I can hand to an electrician and have him install.

[333]

Peace,

Talk to some electricians in your area, make nice nice and see what they recommend. You will need some things you may not have thought of although there are companies who will set you up right with free literature.

BHM has plenty of advertisements on this subject, articles as well. I have referred requested them myself and the literature was very helpful.

333

[chickenpie]

Are there any companies you would recommend?

[12vman]

Instead of keeping your well pump working, You might want to consider a way of storing some water at ground level. It's easy to move once it's above ground with solar power..

The issue is getting the water out of the well. It would take a bunch of solar power to support a well pump. This could be done with a generator, Large enough to operate the well pump, To fill some kind of water storage tank. (Maybe in the basement or garage) A well pump would fill a pretty large storage tank quickly at free flow. Once the water is at ground level, It could be moved easily with a small solar power set up throughout your home using a DC pump..

You would have a small fortune trying to operate a standard well pump with solar power..

[kawalekm]

Take a look at Rex Ewing's new book "Power With Nature". He specifically talks about powering his well pump alternatively. You should know that most common well pumps run on 240 VAC while most alternative energy systems are a multiple of 12VDC, or 120VAC with an inverter. Ewing specifically addresses this problem by combining two 120VAC inverters in series to provide 240VAC for the pump. This requires a relatively big system in the range of 15-18 thousand dollars (his estimate). You might go significantly cheaper if you go with 12VDC only solar water pumping system that goes into a tank. You need to know important data like the depth of water, what is your daily water needs, and where you'll store it. A solar system that pumps about 500-1000 gallons/day will cost about 2500$ from estimates I've seen on the internet depending on how deep down your water table is.

[12vman]

"A stream of water the size of a wheat straw, If contained, (24/7) Can support 10 head of cattle"

That's my theory.. 8)

[eeyore]

Is that not what a SolarJack pump does? To use solar for a water pump, you would need to use the solar during the day and batteries at night to pump water all the time. And you would have to have a holding tank for days when the batteries are drained and the sun is not shining. You might want to read this article http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago91.html

[12vman]

Yes, Sir.. Exactly my point. A small stream of water can turn into a large amount over time if collected and stored..

[clemsparks]

I like this topic as my wife's family has a place we'd like to take off grid (at least that's a long-term goal) that has a well. IIRC it's around 100 to 150' deep.

What sort of low volume/high endurance pump would you recommend using to pump from the well to the storage tank? Particularly a DC pump...

After that, it should be really easy (as you mentioned).

Thanks
Clem

[12vman]

I messed around with some pumps this year.. 8)

I took a small bilge pump with a maximum lift of 20' and connected that length of hose to it. I then connected a Surflo diaphragm pump input to the hose from the bilge pump. (all 1/2"I.D.) The bilge pump became the "Booster" pump to lift the water to the Surflo. The bilge pump is submersible so it can be lowered below the water level in the well. The Surflo isn't so you must keep it above the water level..

You can push water farther than you can lift it. The Surflo can make around 40lbs. of pressure at a flow of around 3gpm. With the bilge pump "pushing" the water to the Surflo, I'd bet you could get a decent flow from a well at 100' using 1/2"I.D. pipe..

You would need to measure the water level in the well carefully so the Surflo never went under water. With the 20' of pipe on the bilge pump to the Surflo would give you some room to play with..

I moved water from my cistern to the house in half the time as normal with this set up. I never put it in a well but I'd bet it would work..

Both pumps together uses less than 5 amps @12 v.d.c.
Don

[ChoochCharlie]

My brother in law is an enviro tech and samples deep wells every day with 12 volt car battery power. Talking around the campfire last week the topic of water pumps came up and he turned me on to these.

http://proactivepumps.com/mega_monsoon.html

The Mega-Monsoon wields unbelievable pumping power! It is capable of pumping up to 200 feet from ground level by simply connecting the pump to our revolutionary Low Flow With Power Booster III Contoller. This Controller increases 12 volts to a constant 24 volts, (with higher amperage than the Low Flow with Power Booster II Controler.) In return, the Mega- Monsoon will make your next groundwater sampling event go much quicker when it comes to purging a well. And with the Low FLow With Power Booster III Controller, the field technician now has the ability to controll the flow of water being discharged from the Mega- Monsoon thus, keeping up with EPA groundwater standards for Low Flow Sampling.

The Mega-Monsoon's reliable design is suitable for continuous sampling or purging of groundwater wells.

Mega Monsoon Pump Chart

PUMPING DEPTH IN FEET GALLONS PER MINUTE
3 4.75
10 4.25
20 4.00
30 3.50
40 3.00
50 2.75
60 2.50
70 2.25
80 2.00
90 1.85
100 1.75
120 1.25
140 .65
160 .40
180 .30
200 .15
210 N/A

POWER CONSUMPTION: 480 WATTS (MAX)
VOLTAGE RECOMMENDATION: 24 At Source
MAXIMUM AMP OUTPUT: 20 AMPS
MEASUREMENTS: LENGTH 28” ...... DIAMETER: 1.5”
CONSTRUCTED: PVC PLASTIC & STAINLESS STEEL
DISCHARGE OUTLET: 3/8" OD OR 1/2" OD (WITH BARBED TIP ENLARGER)
SUPPLIED WITH: 210 FEET OF HEAVY DUTY 10 GAUGE WIRE, WITH THREE PRONG MALE ADPATER AND MOUNTED ON A HIGH IMPACT PLASTIC REEL

2 gallons a minutes at 80 feet. Not bad on 12 volts. High watts though.
Would this work for your applications?

Im digging 12volts low constant flow to an above ground vessel. That is the plan in my opinion.

[HockeyFan]

Thanks for all the good information. I'd never thought of approaching this from a holding tank that is gradually filled, and then not needing so much solar power to pump from there. Great idea.

[Catalpa]

Hey Don, have you ever heard of the newer constant pressure submersible pumps that some drillers have started using on wells? I'm just wondering...the idea of the system is to have a pump running constantly at low rpms that ramp up with more demand and then ramp down...would that kind of pump be easier to connect to a solar source?
Cat

[12vman]

Catalpa..
I'm not informed on this type but if it requires A.C. to operate, you would still have the same issues as with any other A.C. pump..

Do you have a link? ;)
~Don

[burnin_up_in_AZ]

run my well pump, down 315 feet and up 25 feet to water tower with two outback inverters and as little as 1250 watts. one inch water pipe. gravity feed from tower to house. 500 gallon tank above and 1000 gal spillover tank below. pumps seven gal. min. using 240vac. seems like a good system.

[OffGridBunker]

I had the exact same situation, another forum recommended Wholesale Solar for pumps (http://www.wholesalesolar.com), and they had an engineer on staff who designed the exact system I needed, which is now working better than expected. Before I bought, I also ran a price check with some other companies, and they beat out the competition on most of the components (if you need batteries you might buy local, the freight was high and I found some later that would have done...live and learn).

[Michael32170]

http://www.homepower.com/home/