Novice needs help.

[John B.]

I want to set up a dc solar system to pump water from my spring into a water tank. This is all new to me. Any help would be appreciated. Here is some info:

The 1500 gallon tank is 60 feet from the spring. There is a 3 foot gradual drop from the tank to

the spring so the pump will be pumping uphill and then 5 feet up to the top of the tank.

I will be using approximately 25 gallons per day from the tank. This might increase if I decide

to later expand my vegetable garden or plant some fruit trees so it might be better to go with 50

gallons a day just to be safe.

I want to set up a small tank to catch the runoff from the spring's cistern (was thinking

about a 35 gallon tank?) Should i use a submersible pump or a surface pump? The run off flow

from the cistern is about 1.3 gallons per minute.

I'll probably need some type of float switch in the main tank to shut down the pump when it

fills.

The questions that come to mind are:

1. How much horsepower should the pump have?
2. What diameter pipe should I use?
3. How many watts does my PV panel need to produce?
4. How big does my battery need to be?
5. Any links to the products I need to buy: pump, catch tank, pv panel & battery would be helpful.
6. Aside from the wire, am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[LETitROLL]

I want to set up a dc solar system to pump water from my spring into a water tank. This is all new to me. Any help would be appreciated. Here is some info:

The 1500 gallon tank is 60 feet from the spring. There is a 3 foot gradual drop from the tank to

the spring so the pump will be pumping uphill and then 5 feet up to the top of the tank.

I will be using approximately 25 gallons per day from the tank. This might increase if I decide

to later expand my vegetable garden or plant some fruit trees so it might be better to go with 50

gallons a day just to be safe.

I want to set up a small tank to catch the runoff from the spring's cistern (was thinking

about a 35 gallon tank?) Should i use a submersible pump or a surface pump? The run off flow

from the cistern is about 1.3 gallons per minute.

I'll probably need some type of float switch in the main tank to shut down the pump when it

fills.

The questions that come to mind are:

1. How much horsepower should the pump have?
2. What diameter pipe should I use?
3. How many watts does my PV panel need to produce?
4. How big does my battery need to be?
5. Any links to the products I need to buy: pump, catch tank, pv panel & battery would be helpful.
6. Aside from the wire, am I missing something?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

I have a shurflo revolution series 4008 pump 12v 3.0gpm that i have been impressed with, they are available for ballpark 65 to $99. I pump about 40 gallons at a time 300' with 45' of elevation gain through 1/2" pipe and it does fine, you may be able to get away with even less pump, I average about 25wh to 30wh to move the 40 gallons. Your exact panel size and battery need will depend on the exact pump you get and its run time/draw, and also your solar isolation for the worst month you expect to run it in (easily available online). In rough numbers (adjust for your exact case) a 100w panel and a 50ah battery would be in the basic ballpark. A timer might be another option depending on your water system needs, you could calibrate it to come on twice a day and pump up roughly 20 gallons each time, it would be near the pump, and probably simpler/cheaper than a float 60' away with the needed wiring.

[John B.]

Thanks for the response. This sounds like a good set up for my situation. Also, I think i will use the timer rather than the float switch.

[Amy@altE]

Solar pumps are not rated by HP. You need to look at the graph and find one that matches the head (height) and flow (gallons per minter (or liter)). The specs will tell you how many watts or amps you need your solar panel to produce. Oversize what they say by at least 30%. The specs will also show what size output it has. Probably 1/2" or 3/4". Do not design it with batteries, just store water in the tank, not power in the battery. You will thank me for this. Get a Linear Current Booster (LCB) or some type of pump controller and attach a float switch to it to turn the pump on and off. Make sure you get the right type of switch, pump up or pump down, to work with the controller (some work backwards with the controller, ask the sales rep for help). If you are sucking up from the stream less than maybe 5', a surface pump would be fine for you. Build a little enclosure for it to protect from the weather.

I haven't double checked, but I'm guessing a Shurflo 2088 will do the trick for you.