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Hello, I need help on well pump question

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  • Hello, I need help on well pump question

    Hello everyone,

    Here is my situation.. I have a 1hp 230v well pump..(5 yrs old) my well is 170 ft deep. I also have a 2ft clean water creek, 125ft from my house.. I am getting Solar backup in the event of an emergency. i have a 85 gallon bathtub that i would fill once every 3 days (or so) to use as my emergency water reseviour for drinking, cooking, bathing purposes.. So the pump only needs to be powered for as long as it takes to fill the tub.. once every 3 days.. I was planning on purchasing 2- 100watt monocrystaline panels, to charge up (4 to 8) 12v deep cycle batteries.. In an emergency, I actually only need power for an AA/AAA/usb- 12vdc battery charger, for flashlight, ipod, and Cfl lanterns. So I will be able to keep the 12v deep cycle battery bank pretty well charged..

    Would i be able to use an inverter, and run my existing well pump for 15 minutes every 3 days or so to fill up my tub? I read in a previous thread (with someone in a similiar situation, but not exactly) that i might be able to switch out the pump for a 1/2 hp 120v ac pump.. I am willing to do so if neccessary, but id rather put the money towards more panels or batteries.. Or, should i just purchase a seperate dc marine pump, and run it from the creek?
    I am fairly new to the Solar discussion, so please forgive my ignorance... I am ready and willing to learn all i need to know to protect my family..

    Thanks for the Help! Marco

  • #2
    The easiest and least expensive way to do this would be to stock up on drinking water if you can anticipate a blackout (Hurricane, Ice storm etc) Use the water from the creek for bathing flushing toilets etc.
    Get a portable jump start battery from the auto store and a marine pump for fresh water systems. Most are self priming to abut 5' Don't get a live well or bilge pump these won't work well if there is any height to be pumped up.
    Run the pump off the portable battery and charge from the one panel. Use the other panel for the other things. Hook another other battery to the other panel with an inexpensive charge controller and use auto plugs to charge the other things from that.
    Reasoning is that with 12V you would have to run huge wires the 125' better to take the battery to the creek and these are small enough and light enough to carry.
    NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

    [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

    [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

    [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

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    • #3
      Thanks Naptown!

      I appreciate the quick response!

      Been surfing around on the web since my original post, and found this as a possible solution. http://www.simplepump.com/ they offer a hand pump or 12v dc low power motorized pump..
      this seems like it would work.. As for the Creek alternative, on further reflection.. i'm thinking that in a survival situation, the creek might get polluted with sewage and/or waste, or might run low from overuse by others.. So i would rather rely on my well. Even If i had to hand pump, it would only take a couple hours every few days to fill the bathtub reseviour and thats not a problem to keep the family supplied w fresh clean well water.. I'm glad i found this forum, and i will be seeking advice from you all, as i setup my system.
      Thanks again!

      Marco

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      • #4
        a 1hp 230V pump, will require a LARGE inverter and battery bank to get water out of your well. You would be better served with a rotating generator (not an inverter-generator) .

        I'd expect you will consume 2,000 watts running, and at least 3 times that to start the motor. I guess that a 4,000 watt generator would be the minimun needed to start the motor, and a 5,000 watt would most likely have enough surge to reliably start it. Those begin to get to be large motors to hand start, and you may need an electric start model. For long term standby, converting it to run off propane may be a good idea, or you have to learn to rotate gasoline to / from your car to keep fresh gas to run it with.
        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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        • #5
          The only problem I see with the simple pump you posted about is freezing in the winter it appears the discharge is above ground.
          NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

          [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

          [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

          [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

          Comment

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