Solar for my water pump

[SimplyForties]

When deciding where to put my garden I had to make a decision about close to electricity/farther from water or closer to water/farther from electricity. I water my garden by pumping water directly from the large creek that runs through my property. The best area for the garden in terms of sun exposure and flatness of land is right by the creek but fairly far from electricity (maybe 200 yards). Instead of running a really long line out there to run the pump, I'd like to have it powered by a solar panel on a pole (maybe charging a battery, which in turn would run the pump?).

I know it's doable, I just don't know how to do it! I'm looking for recommendations for sources of information that might help me figure it out.

Thanks for any information you might have for me!

 

[k0xxx]

I have no expertise on this subject, but it would seem that purchasing one of the Harbor Freight 45 watt Solar Panel Kits would be a possible way to go. It comes with clips to connect directly to and charge a deep cycle battery. You could build a vented, weather proof box for the controller and a battery, and not use the supplied lights. Then run a 12 volt pump for the garden.

There are other non-electric possibilities also where you could pump water to a raised holding tank, and then gravity feed it to your garden. Depending on the stream, a ram pump is a possibility. Even using a decorative type wind mill to drive a small pump (like the type Northern Tool & Equipment sells for use with a hand drill ) would work. It would put water into your tank night or day as long as the wind was blowing. The water tank could be as simple as a plastic or steel drum.

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

*Edited to correct pump link.

 

[xpc]

You need to answer a few questions first then we'll see what can be done.

1) About how far uphill from the creek is the garden?

2) About how much water are you needing at a time? run your hose into a 5 gal bucket and approximate the usage from there.

3) Nothing but a very expensive pump and PV system will give you any kind of pressure like a house hose, can you slowly pump a bucket full and then hand water?

4) Money available?

Depending on the rise over run a $50 pump might give you 10 psi (house is usually 50 psi) you can still kinda spray with that but not far. A U1HC golf cart battery ($100) will give you about 3 hours of pump time before needing a recharge, using a 15 watt pv cell ($70) would take a total of 12 sun hours to bring it back to full charge. Of course as posted by k0xxx a 45 watt pv cell will do it 3 times faster but also cost $220.

Note: High pressure pumps have low volume flow and conversely high volume flow pumps have low pressure unless of course you have many monies.

Edit:
Just had a thought, perhaps a gasoline powered pump would be much easier all the way around. $170 would give you 30 psi if on level ground at almost a gallon a minute. This is a clear water pump so you would need a good filter at the creek bed - that goes for any pump you may choose.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=98013

 

[patandchickens]

Water pumps are pretty heavy in their requirements for electricity (especially in their starting amps). I know I've priced solar systems for my less-than-30-foot dug well and it was into the many thousands of dollars.

I don't know how much rise would be involved in your pumping from the creek. If it is only *barely* uphill, you *might* be able to afford a solar powered system I guess.

If this is often a reasonably strongly flowing creek and there are no legal restrictions that contradict it, you might look into hydraulic ram pumps. I believe it is possible to make small ones DIY. Google.

Otherwise, I would suggest that the most frugal thing to do would probably be to dig a leadoff trench to the closest point to the garden that is "non uphill" from the stream, ie. take the water as far as you can on its own power, and then bucket it from there. (Or I suppose look into hand pumps, but bucketing might actually be less work )

Alternatively, get a gas-powered pump (just a couple hundred dollars) and pump directly to the garden out of the creek, or into a holding tank or cistern type thing, probably scrounged from whatever you can find in the way of pond liners, pool liners, old bathtubs, stock tanks, large plastic barrels, etc. (making sure that all of them are very child- and animal-safe). Then you can tap off water from them as needed for the garden. This is probably your best compromise between frugality and low labor input.

Also, designing your garden to require as little water as possible would help a lot (improve the soil, and plant in dense blocks or very wide rows rather than the common "one line of plants and then three feet of bare earth").

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[noobiechickenlady]

How handy are you or do you have a handy friend? How about a ram pump? No electricity required. Pump it to a cistern or series of barrels, then use gravity to water the plants.
http://www.clemson.edu/irrig/Equip/...onicpeasant.com/projects/rampump/rampump.html

 

[SimplyForties]

Thanks for the replies everyone! The creek is about 6-8' with a steep bank down from the garden plot. The pump I have is a 115v, 1hp transfer pump, which according to the package, is specifically designed for pumping water out of creeks for sprinklers and pumps 8.9 GPM. I haven't tried it yet.

I moved to southwest Virginia, where the average annual rainfall is 45", from west Texas, where our average rainfall was about 17", just a month ago. So, at this point I can't imagine ever having to water. In fact, I feel like I need to grow gills! In spite of that, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to water the garden sometime, just don't think it'll be that often.

Money is a factor but not the primary one.

Would it make better sense to get a small generator?

 

[xpc]

That size pump could draw about 1000 watts and 10 amps so solar would be too expensive, a generator though a bit inconvenient would be about $300+ for a 2500 watt one and is always handy for other emergencies.

The gallons per minute and pressure is directly proportional to the amount of rise the output is over the pump body and most are limited to around 25 feet of height. What does the nameplate on the pump say for amps? does it have a max head or lift specification?

My average rainfall is about the same here and also need to water because it is too inconsistent.

 

[SimplyForties]

That size pump could draw about 1000 watts and 10 amps so solar would be too expensive, a generator though a bit inconvenient would be about $300+ for a 2500 watt one and is always handy for other emergencies.

The gallons per minute and pressure is directly proportional to the amount of rise the output is over the pump body and most are limited to around 25 feet of height. What does the nameplate on the pump say for amps? does it have a max head or lift specification?

My average rainfall is about the same here and also need to water because it is too inconsistent.

It says 8.9 amps on it. I can find nothing about max head or lift. If I get a small-ish generator I can mount it on a little trailer and drag it up there with my lawn tractor whenever I need to water. That might work sufficient to my needs. Thanks!

 

[xpc]

That will draw about 1000 watts so a generator of at least 2000 watts should run it. The in-rush and starting current of that pump is gonna be around 50 amps (about 6000 watts) but is only for a fraction of a second. Just make sure you start the generator before plugging in the pump and if possible make sure the pump is not under load by leaving the intake hose out of the water, running it dry for the few seconds it will take to throw the hose back in the water will not hurt it.

So start the generator and let it run for a few minutes to warm up and to dry any moisture from the windings, turn on pump and allow to come up to speed (1 second) throw hose in creek. Doing this will require less starting current or watts.

Remember all generators should be started and ran monthly with a load like a trouble light to keep moisture from damaging the stator windings while in storage.

 

[SimplyForties]

Thanks XPC - I know nothing about generators so I'm glad to have that info. I think that's the way I'm going to go. I found a 3500w one at Tractor Supply for $300. One more thing on the list!