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  • Small solar system

    hello!

    i need some help - I need to power a 6V water pump and a 12V LED strip for my hydroponics setup.
    Last edited by woodyyy; 05-23-2018, 02:15 AM.

  • #2
    What

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    • #3
      The lowest voltage battery system is 12V, anyway you can find / use a 12V pump? Otherwise, a DC-DC converter from 12V -6V would have to be obtained.
      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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      • #4
        Thanks for the reply Mike!

        Would this battery do? https://www.amazon.co.uk/HQ-Universa...ds=12v+battery

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        • #5
          And this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/ECO-WORTHY-...ds=solar+panel

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          • #6
            Originally posted by woodyyy View Post
            there is no way to know from the information you gave. All we know is you have a 12V light and 6V pump.
            You need to calculate the average and peak kwh used by the equipment.
            Also where are you located to help with generation? do you have a shadow free (all day) location to put the solar?
            OutBack FP1 w/ CS6P-250P http://bit.ly/1Sg5VNH

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            • #7
              I got your answer. You need a Gizmo.



              MSEE, PE

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              • #8
                No, that battery will barely run a small light for a couple hours.
                we need the info
                Pump: Voltage______ Amps______ Wattage________ (at least 2 of those numbers) and hours to run ______ (you may want to research the Head & Flow rate to see if it is enough)


                LIGHT: Voltage______ Amps______ Wattage________ (at least 2 of those numbers) and hours to run ______ (How many Lumens does it put out)
                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

                Comment


                • #9
                  Ok, sorry for not providing enough info - I'm new to solar!

                  Basically - I'm building a small hydroponics system (wooden frame is built) and am researching how to power the irrigation and lighting via solar.

                  I'm from the UK, and as you probably know we don't get much sun at all in the winter-spring but have quite a bit in summer. I have a very shadow free garden that gets the sun basically all day in summer (its currently summer) - I will not be relying on solar in the winter.

                  What my hydroponics system needs is a submersible water pump for the irrigation system and grow lights (LED strips) for night time light for the plants. The pump needs to be semi-powerful, and the lights need to be pretty bright.

                  Any suggestions on what would be the best options?

                  Thanks for all the help so far.

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                  • #10
                    *submergible water pump

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                    • #11
                      Also forgot to say - the lights need to be powered for around 9 hours at night and the pump will be on a timer to pump for 10 seconds every 5 minutes (in the day).

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by woodyyy View Post
                        - I will not be relying on solar in the winter. Any suggestions on what would be the best options?
                        Why even bother if you have grid power available?

                        You will be paying 10 times as much for power plus spending a lot of time maintaining the PV system instead of your plants.

                        Why do that and get only a partial year of solar energy for all you are going to spend?

                        What will the batteries do all the winter? You'll have to keep them maintained by using grid power during the winter or they will be ruined.


                        Dave W. Gilbert AZ
                        6.63kW grid-tie owner

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                        • #13
                          Try talking to "rural power systems" they seem to specialize in solar pumping stuff. There is also a forum here just for solar pumping.
                          Last edited by Bigbillsd; 05-30-2018, 12:14 PM.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Bigbillsd View Post
                            Try talking to "rural power systems" they seem to specialize in solar pumping stuff. There is also a forum here just for solar pumping.
                            If grid power is unavailable or very expensive to get to the loads then some type of "off gird" power system may be economical. But if the grid power is close then using solar to pump water is not cost effective. You just have to weigh the options and see which meets your needs.

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                            • #15
                              You might consider a cistern and a well pump that runs only during the day. Essentially, you'd be using pumped hydro energy storage instead of batteries. It might be cheaper and wouldn't have the limited life problem of deep cycle batteries. And you wouldn't need to worry about bacterial growth in the cistern because it's not drinking water.

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