Which Solar Pump is Better for Irrigation in Agriculture?

[solarpump123]

I want to buy a new solar pump for irrigation purpose but i am bit confused in selecting the good solar water pump and how much HP pump is beneficial?

[thastinger]

Do you need an in well pump or a shallow well pump?

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Well pump or surface pump?

Amount of lift and suction?

How many gallons per minute does it need to pump?

How many hours per day?

Solar direct or batteries?

Hour of insoltion available?

WWW

[hobertek]

how to choose good pump and how much HP

I want to buy a new solar pump for irrigation purpose but i am bit confused in selecting the good solar water pump and how much HP pump is beneficial?

according to the daily water flow and water head needed.

[MBExports]

if you are looking for well point pump then visit at <site link deleted> . they provide the best quality of pumps . i already buy the water pumps on this website.
---Mod Note: The site name, being suspiciously similar to your user name, leads me to believe that you are mainly interested in free advertising. Not allowed.

[redpv]

Solar powered irrigation system

I am interested in this subject as well. I have a water conditioner that has a self-clean cycle each week. Bought a 110gal plastic container that fills up during this cycle , with water I'd like to use to irrigate my garden instead of wasting it. I am in SoCal and being waterwise is a must. Water storage container will be at same level with the pump , maybe a little higher.

Purchased a 12V pump ( Eccotemp 03526-14A Flojet 2.9 GPM 50 PSI Water Pump) $55 on amazon. This is a demand pump ( RV type pump). It will be pumping water into a line that ends with a hose bib. An irrigation controller will be used to control irrigation times. The pump will run only when the irrigation controller will turn on ( begin watering cycle) and I don't expect to be running more than 1 hr total/day. I think I might be able to run it every other day to allow for more charging time, for the battery.

Pump specs:
Volts: 12VDC
Amps: 5.2A (fuse 10A)
Flow: 2.9GPM (11.0LPM) Max
Pres: 50PSI (3.4BAR) Max
Note: Low Pressure By-pass

Questions:

1-I understand I will need to buy a 12V battery (heard a riding mower type might suffice ) - will it be big enough or should I go with a car battery ( more AMPs) ?

2- I might be able to get a 110W/24V solar panel ( older model) at a very good price. Will I be able to use a 24V/110W solar panel for my 12V pump? I'd rather not buy 2 x 12V batteries. Panel will be in direct sunlight from 10am till 6pm.

3- If I would be to use a 200W panel will it allow me to directly power the pump? If not, what will it be needed to do this?

4- What charging controller will I need. Here are 2 controllers I found online:


4.a. Intelligent 30A PWM Solar Panel Charge Controller 12V 24V Auto Battery Regulator @ $18 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intelligent-.../201227982246?


4.b. Tracer 10A 12/24V MPPT Solar Charge Controller 1210RN $69 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tracer-10A-1...item20e9835753


Not sure if the system will actually work ( might end up with a bunch of parts) so keeping the cost down is important.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,

Lee

I want to buy a new solar pump for irrigation purpose but i am bit confused in selecting the good solar water pump and how much HP pump is beneficial?

[Mike90250]

I am interested in this subject as well. I have a water conditioner that has a self-clean cycle each week. Bought a 110gal plastic container that fills up during this cycle , with water I'd like to use to irrigate my garden instead of wasting it.......

Do you have to add bags of chemical (water softener salt) to the regen tank on your water conditioner ?

Be very careful what you do with that water, you may poison your garden.

Waterconditioners use salt or another chemical to regenerate, or reverse osmosis flush the filter with water. Either one, has waste water that is too full of minerals to be consumed by humans or plants.

[redpv]

Solar powered irrigation system

Do you have to add bags of chemical (water softener salt) to the regen tank on your water conditioner ?

Be very careful what you do with that water, you may poison your garden.

Waterconditioners use salt or another chemical to regenerate, or reverse osmosis flush the filter with water. Either one, has waste water that is too full of minerals to be consumed by humans or plants.

You are right. Not all systems will allow you to use the regen water for irrigation. I have a single tank system that mainly removes chlorine and filters the water.... no chemicals are being added and it isn't a RO system. There are a few systems like this: waterboy, clarius.... Thanks for the warning!

[redpv]

Solar powered irrigation system

It looks like the better option for the charge controller is the MPPT one ($69) However, the max current ranting for battery is 10A and the battery I found is rated at 22Ah ( http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/E...ttery/21984263 )

Will this cause any issues? I suspect the solar charge controller should be rated at least 25Ah... the problem is that the price for such controller will jump over $100....

Lee

[Mike90250]

It looks like the better option for the charge controller is the MPPT one ($69) However, the max current ranting for battery is 10A and the battery I found is rated at 22Ah ( http://www.walmart.com/msharbor/ip/E...ttery/21984263 )

Will this cause any issues? I suspect the solar charge controller should be rated at least 25Ah... the problem is that the price for such controller will jump over $100....

Lee

Well, since your lawn tractor battery is not a deep cycle battery, and you will be replacing it fairly regularly when it fails, I would not worry too much about that.

When you need quality parts, you will have to pay for them, we never said solar would be cheap, but that it is less expensive to do it right, then to do it over and over.

[redpv]

Well, since your lawn tractor battery is not a deep cycle battery, and you will be replacing it fairly regularly when it fails, I would not worry too much about that.

When you need quality parts, you will have to pay for them, we never said solar would be cheap, but that it is less expensive to do it right, then to do it over and over.

Thanks for taking the time to reply! You've got a good point. The reason for trying to keep cost as low as possible if mainly because I don't known anything about this, just started reading, and didn't want to end up with a bunch of parts but never a working system....

What would you buy ? I already have the 12V/5A pump and the 250W (24V) solar panel and need to decide on a battery and a charge controller. Could you provide a sample for each component?

Here is a link to a nice solar calculator I found while doing my research http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools...alculator.html

Thanks in advance!

Lee

[redpv]

Solar powered irrigation system

Well, since your lawn tractor battery is not a deep cycle battery, and you will be replacing it fairly regularly when it fails, I would not worry too much about that.

When you need quality parts, you will have to pay for them, we never said solar would be cheap, but that it is less expensive to do it right, then to do it over and over.

Did the reading and I now understand why I need a Deep Cycle battery. Here is something I found ( seems to be available locally):

$76 EverStart Marine Battery, Group Size 24DC 12V
http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-...ttery/20531540

Marine Cranking Amps (MCA): 690
Amp Hours @ 1A: 101
weight 45 pounds


If I would be to buy this battery, would the charge controller below be appropriate ? If not what would I need to change: maybe get a 30A instead of 10A? Please explain.

Tracer 10A 12/24V MPPT Solar Charge Controller 1210RN $69 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tracer-10A-1...item20e9835753

Thanks,

Lee

[Mike90250]

Well, with your 24V panel, to get all the watts out of it, you will need a MPPT charge controller.
Morningstar has a pretty nice one,
http://www.solar-electric.com/invert...umpsochco.html
but it will start clipping power at 200watts. Derate your 250W panel by 20% and you have 200w. Morningstar makes good gear, and I would trust it at full power more than I would trust the 30a tracer. (which I have no experience with)

You will have to add up your loads and hours they run, to see if you can harvest enough power (200w max harvest 95% of the time) to meet the concurrent loads, AND charge the batteries with 20% recharging losses.

[redpv]

Well, with your 24V panel, to get all the watts out of it, you will need a MPPT charge controller.
Morningstar has a pretty nice one,
http://www.solar-electric.com/invert...umpsochco.html
but it will start clipping power at 200watts. Derate your 250W panel by 20% and you have 200w. Morningstar makes good gear, and I would trust it at full power more than I would trust the 30a tracer. (which I have no experience with)

You will have to add up your loads and hours they run, to see if you can harvest enough power (200w max harvest 95% of the time) to meet the concurrent loads, AND charge the batteries with 20% recharging losses.

Thanks a lot!