Solar well pump?

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RanchMan90

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Has anyone here ever used a solar well pump? Looking at putting one in a remote location not feasible to run power to, not sure I have enough wind for a windmill either.
 
Yes. There was not much lift in the application it was used in. Two Coleman Chargers and three deep cycle batteries. At times we pulled a batteries just leaving one or two. We used an inverter to convert the 12V to 110 a/c to power the pump. Float switch on the tank and pressure switch actuating the little pump.
 
I don't have any personally but my dad has installed several for ranches that my buddies take care of. They seem to be working good.

They all set up cisterns to water troughs and the over flows off the cisterns go to stock tanks. My understanding is it is more economical to run small pumps almost non-stop. The bigger the cistern and trough the better. Its cheaper to store water than electricity.
 
Just the well cost me over $12,000. I am reading you're spending $1800 for the delivery system, from the link. $2,200 for the well?

It doesn't sound bad but I have a lot of questions. I have no idea how deep you are drilling etc.

You need a fence or barrier to protect your equipment and piping system. Calves will be curious. They love to chew wires.
 
backhoeboogie":16uhe2q7 said:
Just the well cost me over $12,000. I am reading you're spending $1800 for the delivery system, from the link. $2,200 for the well?

It doesn't sound bad but I have a lot of questions. I have no idea how deep you are drilling etc.

You need a fence or barrier to protect your equipment and piping system. Calves will be curious. They love to chew wires.
I hear that, it will be fenced off. Wells in my area are 60-100 ft deep, drilling is $22 per ft with a 5" casing. What am I missing?
 
Agree to the cistern, I am a big believer in having some reserve and a cistern will give you that. Around here most cisterns are 2000 to 2500 gal concrete "boxes", usually made for septic tanks, and are delivered and there is a hole in the top w/ concrete lid, so that a person can get into it; like a square manhole cover I guess. We put in a cistern at a house that didn't have a well and had water delivered by truck.
 
There are a lot installed in Australia largely replacing windmills. They seem to work with few problems, no batteries or inverters just the straight DC current from the panels. Some have solar trackers.

Ken
 
farmerjan":19ru87xo said:
Agree to the cistern, I am a big believer in having some reserve and a cistern will give you that. Around here most cisterns are 2000 to 2500 gal concrete "boxes", usually made for septic tanks, and are delivered and there is a hole in the top w/ concrete lid, so that a person can get into it; like a square manhole cover I guess. We put in a cistern at a house that didn't have a well and had water delivered by truck.

I think you can buy a 3000 gallon for around $1500 if I remember correctly. I would think that plus a good trough would give you several days with that many calves.
 
I have two solar pump setups on my place, from the good folks at http://www.solarpumps.com/, in Weatherford, OK. Would be happy to answer any questions you have. My wells are 200-240 feet deep, with static water levels in th 70 foot range, so I hung my pumps around 100 ft. Here is a picture of my second setup, which had cost-share support from NRCS.



The ditch on the far side is for a water line that gravity feeds two other tanks, the farthest about 900 ft away. Everything works like a charm; very happy with the setup.
 
Saddlebronc":2mh0a6ex said:
I have two solar pump setups on my place, from the good folks at http://www.solarpumps.com/, in Weatherford, OK. Would be happy to answer any questions you have. My wells are 200-240 feet deep, with static water levels in th 70 foot range, so I hung my pumps around 100 ft. Here is a picture of my second setup, which had cost-share support from NRCS.



The ditch on the far side is for a water line that gravity feeds two other tanks, the farthest about 900 ft away. Everything works like a charm; very happy with the setup.
Looking good. Which model is that? And how do you like it on cloudy days?
 
I have 4 Grundfos systems. Deepest well is 320' with 90' of water in the hole. That deal cost $30,000 start to finish. And it was a long, drawn out ordeal. But it gave water to 1/2 section of grass that the cows would not use. I've been very happy with my Grundfos solars but they aren't worth a crap on a cloudy day. I've heard the Lorentz's are better.

I've been told you get what you pay for with solars. I'd sure stay away from Sun pumps, Buffalo, anything the local Co-op sells.
 
RanchMan90":2iph8e7w said:
Looking good. Which model is that? And how do you like it on cloudy days?
Thanks...it's their N250RP2 system (http://solarpumps.com/products/complete-systems/n250rp2-1350-gpd), which is preconfigured to meet NRCS spec...and was approved with no issues.

Moderate clouds will slow it down some, but it still pumps. The larger panels in that system package don't require full sun to run this pump, which is part of the NRCS calculations requiring X gallons/head/day, on "average" weather days. I also have a controller which has a "minimum voltage" requirement to protect the pump. It requires a safe voltage level before it will engage the pump, so very low light conditions (including heavy/dark clouds) would shut it off completely.

Between the 3 tanks this pump serves, I have over 2500 gal storage, so a few cloudy days aren't an issue. My herd isn't big enough yet to even make a dent.
 
I have been very pleased with my Grundfos pumps. I have 2 wells that each pump into 10,000 gallon fiberglass storage tanks, the storage tanks supply water to several miles of poly water line and 17 troughs. I don't have any backup power, just sunlight, and I have never run out of water. I think I had about $3000 in each of my solar systems.
 

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