Solar panels and battery(s) required for pond aeration

[drbob]

I have a little side business building aeration systems for minnow farmers been doing it since 1985. the solar powered unit was the first one I built and installed this spring. however I have utilized trolling motors in the past using a battery charger for a few years, The smog pumps move a ton of air and have found that they will run about 8,000 hours before they wear out. I have also used a 1/6 th hp motor on them too just reduced the speed. I also build diffusers for the air driven systems.

[SunEagle]

I believe you are right sun eagle. The system I installed uses a 30# thrust minkota endura c2 trolling motor, a plain old marine deep cell trolling battery and 2 230 watt 24 volt solar panels and a cheapo charge controller. It draws about 30 watts on speed 1 and 60 watts on speed 2 it runs 24 hours a day on low from may till October. It does an amazing job on a 1/2 acre pond with an average depth of 5 feet. it has run about 4300 hours this year. Not bad for a 109 dollar trolling motor. Its used on a fish rearing pond

Sounds like a workable system. Nice job.

[drbob]

I believe you are right sun eagle. The system I installed uses a 30# thrust minkota endura c2 trolling motor, a plain old marine deep cell trolling battery and 2 230 watt 24 volt solar panels and a cheapo charge controller. It draws about 30 watts on speed 1 and 60 watts on speed 2 it runs 24 hours a day on low from may till October. It does an amazing job on a 1/2 acre pond with an average depth of 5 feet. it has run about 4300 hours this year. Not bad for a 109 dollar trolling motor. Its used on a fish rearing pond

[SunEagle]

are you kidding

No. I don't believe you can get the proper amount of sunlight in NE Ohio or for that matter anywhere in the world for 12 hours so I have no idea how you can run a 71 watt load from solar pv for that long even if you track the sun.

The question is does the OP really need to run the pump for 12 hours. If 8 hours is a better time frame then there is a possibility you can do it just using panels without a battery.

[drbob]

The OP wanted to run the pump 12 hours a day. Not going to happen without batteries.

are you kidding

[kb58]

So how about the OP justifying the rational for the 12-hr window. Where'd it come from? I have a koi pond and know that virtually all the "rules" of pond keeping aren't - they're more like suggestions or rules of thumb. If you can run it for 6 hrs with only panels, or 12 hrs at 10x the expense, better have a good reason!

[SunEagle]

Agreed... A battery makes no sense in this application. There is a whole sub-forum here for DC pumping from solar, lots of good nuggets in there.

The OP wanted to run the pump 12 hours a day. Not going to happen without batteries.

[sensij]

a battery really isn't necessary then just mount 100 to 300 watts of 12 volt panels directly to the trolling motor and just let it run, I was thinking 24 / 7 operation and this is tons simpler

Agreed... A battery makes no sense in this application. There is a whole sub-forum here for DC pumping from solar, lots of good nuggets in there.

[drbob]

a battery really isn't necessary then just mount 100 to 300 watts of 12 volt panels directly to the trolling motor and just let it run, I was thinking 24 / 7 operation and this is tons simpler

[drbob]

I have built many lake aeration systems (200+)using automobile smog pumps driven by a 1/2 hp electric motor. Being from northern Wisconsin the purpose of the units was aeration to prevent winterkill of fish. What the aerator does is set up a circulation current to keep the surface ice free by drawing the warmer water from the bottom of the lake. The trick to make this work is to build a diffuser that will mist the air out like fog from a depth of 5 feet below the surface. A 1/2 hp motor will easily aerate a 5 acre pond if there was deep enough water and 10 feet is about right. Bear in mind the ice usually gets 30 inches thick here.
A quarter acre pond is a different matter altogether and summer aeration is different matter too. What you really need is something to keep stirring up the water to keep it from getting stagnant. An aerator will do that with air to create that circulation loop but in your case I would use a 12 volt trolling motor. These motors will run thousands of hours trouble free. Just set the motor deep enough and at a slight angle to pull the bottom water up to the surface. I have done this too.

[SunEagle]

Thanks for all the excellent responses and alternative. The HI-Blow 80 has outstanding longevity and quietness and is used in many pond applications Although the Amazon pump is much cheaper and without batteries, the system would be tons cheaper with the White Wolf suggested setup.

I am concerned however on the reliability and noise (not many reviews on Amazon) of the DC Amazon pump however and also see many linear current boosters advertised at a big range of prices and would not be sure on which one applies. So unless someone can suggest a link to a specific booster that will work with this pump,I am leaning towards the cc and battery system as SunEagle suggests and probably would be more comfortable with setting up the components.

Running electric is out for me because of distance to house and running a trench all around the septic system. Don't plan on setting up until the Spring so time to start saving money! Again thank everyone all for your knowledge. Now I have a pretty good idea on setup requirements and costs.....

I understand you feel that running a power line from the house to the pump would be costly but based on a lot of feedback it can cost you about $2000 to $2500 to build a solar/battery system that can delivery 1kWh. So with a 4kWh system you may be looking at a price tag of $8000 to safely build and install that system.

[ScottM]

Thanks for all the excellent responses and alternative. The HI-Blow 80 has outstanding longevity and quietness and is used in many pond applications Although the Amazon pump is much cheaper and without batteries, the system would be tons cheaper with the White Wolf suggested setup.

I am concerned however on the reliability and noise (not many reviews on Amazon) of the DC Amazon pump however and also see many linear current boosters advertised at a big range of prices and would not be sure on which one applies. So unless someone can suggest a link to a specific booster that will work with this pump,I am leaning towards the cc and battery system as SunEagle suggests and probably would be more comfortable with setting up the components.

Running electric is out for me because of distance to house and running a trench all around the septic system. Don't plan on setting up until the Spring so time to start saving money! Again thank everyone all for your knowledge. Now I have a pretty good idea on setup requirements and costs.....

[SunEagle]

Wy_White_Wolf, from the Amazon listing for that pump: "Suggestions for Safety 1.Voltage: Please use pure direct current ranges from 12.0V-14.0V(21.6V-26.6V). Running the pump in voltage below 12.0V(21.6V) or above 14.0(26.6V) is improper, which will damage the pump easily. " This seems at odds. Can you link to the 'linear current booster' you suggested?

Sounds like you have actual experience with this setup, so I'm sure there is no real problem...

You are correct without a constant regulated power source that pump may not perform well and can even fail.

IMO I would still add the CC and battery system or find another pump that is more tolerable to the fluctuations of power coming directly from a solar panel system.

[AzRoute66]

Wy_White_Wolf, from the Amazon listing for that pump: "Suggestions for Safety 1.Voltage: Please use pure direct current ranges from 12.0V-14.0V(21.6V-26.6V). Running the pump in voltage below 12.0V(21.6V) or above 14.0(26.6V) is improper, which will damage the pump easily. " This seems at odds. Can you link to the 'linear current booster' you suggested?

Sounds like you have actual experience with this setup, so I'm sure there is no real problem...

[Wy_White_Wolf]

I wouldn't advise using that air pump. If you want solar your better off using something that can be run solar direct. Such as :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W77D91Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1UGD84ACDJED6&psc=1

Get 2 100W 12v solar panels and mount them in a 60D pyramid with one facing east and the other west. Hook those to a linear current booster and then to the pump. They should have no problem running10 to 12 hours a day when sunny. No batteries to maintain and cheaper initial cost on the setup.

WWW