Misting Irrigation Solar Sadness

[Mike90250]

that pump pulls 9 amps when running.
the panel produces 1 amp, maybe for 3 hours on a good sunny day.

[wdbone007]

that pump pulls 9 amps when running.
the panel produces 1 amp, maybe for 3 hours on a good sunny day.

OOOOH, that makes sense. So it is definitely the panel then. The battery, I'm guessing, is dead, but I unplugged it and my alarm is set to go off after 4 hours. I will test the battery, but I am now thinking that we need another panel that can operate in tandem with the current panel and we should move them to a sunnier area (ie - tripod mount in the backyard). If this sounds like a good idea, a bad idea, or if you have any suggestions at all, they will be happily received.

William

[Naptown]

but the pump only runs about 15 minutes a day.

[wdbone007]

Actually, the pump runs for 7 minutes a day: 1 min @ 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm, 3:30pm, and 5:00pm
I am getting ready to check my battery.
1. Should I turn my multimeter dial to ACV and/or DCA?
2. Do I swap the red chord to the other outlet when I test the battery?
3. So what does that mean that my pump requires 9 amps and my panel is only capable of pushing 1, exactly?
4. Can my panel operate my pump if it is on for less time?
5. How do I calculate amperage?
6. What readings should I get from my battery, and how will I know if it is dead?
7. Can I use jumper cables and a car to jump the battery if it is dead?
8. Is this a realistic system, or should I just say to Hell with it and have an electrical line connected to the pump?
9. If it is realistic, would a larger panel output enough power (even if it only got 3 hours of direct sunlight per day) to charge my battery and run my system?

Thanks again, and sorry for all the questions.

William

[Naptown]

Actually, the pump runs for 7 minutes a day: 1 min @ 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm, 3:30pm, and 5:00pm
I am getting ready to check my battery.
1. Should I turn my multimeter dial to ACV and/or DCA? DC volts DO NOT USE THE AMPS SETTINGS ACROSS THE BATTERY TERMINALS
2. Do I swap the red chord to the other outlet when I test the battery? no
3. So what does that mean that my pump requires 9 amps and my panel is only capable of pushing 1, exactly? running not continuous
4. Can my panel operate my pump if it is on for less time? perhaps
5. How do I calculate amperage?
6. What readings should I get from my battery, and how will I know if it is dead? just post the voltage
7. Can I use jumper cables and a car to jump the battery if it is dead? USE A SMALL CHARGER INSTEAD
8. Is this a realistic system, or should I just say to Hell with it and have an electrical line connected to the pump?
9. If it is realistic, would a larger panel output enough power (even if it only got 3 hours of direct sunlight per day) to charge my battery and run my system?

Thanks again, and sorry for all the questions.



William

YOU NEED TO SERIOUSLY HAVE SOMEONE WITH AT LEAST A RUDIMENTARY KNOWLEDGE TEST THIS OUT. sOME THINGS YOU HAVE PROPOSED DOING ARE DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS
see comments in red

[Sunking]

Well I can tell you one of the problems. You have a 9 AH battery hitting it with a 10 amp load in excess of 1C. That battery may not perform well with that large of a load current. For one it changes a 9 AH battery into a 5 AH battery. The big issue is voltage sag which is not published because Battery Plus does not publish any specs.

The problem with Werker batteries is you have no idea who makes them. Werker is a Battery Plus exclusive label and they use a dozen different manufactures to make their batteries. Even varies from store to store, one model maybe made by 5 different manufactures and you never know what you are really getting.

If this were my system I would over kill it. I would be using a 50 to 100 watt solar panel, with MPPT controller, and an Odyssey or Concord 25 to 50 AH AGM battery.

[wdbone007]

I now possess the rudimentary knowledge required, so I will not be seeking any outside professional help aside from the good people on the boards at solarpaneltalk.com . This is all part of working for a non-profit charity group that has no extra money in the budget but really wants an irrigation system. If I die, then please tell local authorities to investigate all of the environmentally based non-profits in Marin County, because there is only one... Anyway, I did the reading on the battery and set the knob to DCV1000. The reading that I got was HV 014. What does that mean? I don't believe we have a small charger to charge the battery with, so does that mean that I have to take it somewhere to get it charged up? What then? Do I need to make sure that my solar panel has a minimal output of some amount? If so, what would that amount be? I am good at math, so if you will give me the formulas, I can probably do the figures myself. Also, will it work if the solar panel is only getting 3 hours of sunlight per day, or should I get an even bigger panel to account for that?

Thanks,

William

[Sunking]

This is all part of working for a non-profit charity group that has no extra money in the budget but really wants an irrigation system. If I die, then please tell local authorities to investigate all of the environmentally based non-profits in Marin County,

Would that be Marin County California? Ganja Growing capital of the USA. I bet you are Marin Gardens right? You grow Ganja under the guise of medical marijuana. Non profit my butt.

Love your product offerings. I want some of that Obama OG Kush, Green Crack, or Lemon Skunk Weed.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Sunking has it. Both the battery and solar panel are undersized. But I may not go quite as large as he suggests. I was thinking about a 25-30AH battery and 30-40 watt panel.

I would also replace that charge controller. 14V +- 0.5v. That's almost no control at all. At 13.5V the battery would never fully charge and at 14.5V you'll be damaging the AGM from overcharge. Get something at least halfway decient like a Morningstar Sunsaver so you have better control. Whatever you get make sure it has adjustable setting for AGM batteries if that is what you're going to use.


WWW

[wdbone007]

Thank you!

Thank you all so very much for your good advice and help. I think that I am going to be able to make the proper adjustments to get this thing going soon. The salmon would thank you all if they had the ability! Oh, and to think that someone in the medical marijuana industry would need to use solar energy and harvested rainwater is preposterous. Those people have money to throw away. Their industry is huge. We have no money, so improvisations must be made sometimes.

Thanks,

William

[wdbone007]

Still Sad

Hey again,
Well I thought that I had the answer and that all that was wrong was the battery was not full. I got a battery charger, and I fully charged my battery, which is 12v 35ah deep cycle battery. When I hooked it up, it did not turn my pump on. This is extremely frustrating at this point. Can anyone please tell me why my fully charged 12v battery will not close the circuit on my water pump? Is it a regulator issue or maybe a pump issue? The solar panel seems to be working properly, and my regulator and my charger both say that the battery is fully charged. Please help.
William

[Naptown]

Did you check that 12 v is indeed going to the pump?
I recall a timer of some sort.

[Sunking]

We cannot trouble shoot for you. You have to do that. Start with a volt meter. and it will find the problem.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

Are you getting power to the pump? If yes, then I'd suspect a bad pump.

If no, then start working backwards in the system until you get power. What controls the pump turning on ever 1.5 hours? What keeps the pump from operating at night?

WWW

[Geraldo29]

We cannot trouble shoot for you. You have to do that. Start with a volt meter. and it will find the problem.

thank you, I will do..