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Solar garden water feature help

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  • Solar garden water feature help

    First off, I am a complete novice when it comes to my subject matter, so do bear with me.

    I have a small outdoor water fountain, the water is circulated using a solar powered water pump.

    the specifications of the water pump are as follows:

    Operational voltage 6V DC
    Solar module 1.3W
    Water lift 0.5m
    Water flow 150L/H

    I have two issues with the above, the first issue I have is that the solar panel only delivers enough current to operate the water pump if there is full sunlight (which is a rare occurrence in the U.K), my first question is how can I upgrade the solar panel (on the cheap), to be able to provide enough current to operate the water pump in overcast weather conditions.

    My second question is would I be able to add a solar charged battery backup, also on the cheap to the above, to be able to provide 2-3 hours of run time after the sun sets.

    Any suggestions/ pointers/ help/ howtos are greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    upgrading won't be cheap. All the cheap panels are for 12V systems, and while your pump would likely be OK on cloudy days, if full sun came out, it would cook the pump.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

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    • #3
      Going with larger solar panel to charge a properly sized 6 volt battery would allow the pump to run if the sun gets blocked and for a few hours after the sun sets.

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