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Solar panel for small pond bubbler?

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  • Solar panel for small pond bubbler?

    Hello all, I have recently purchased a small bubbler for my two ponds: (https://www.walmart.com/ip/127134425#about-item). The ponds are kind of in a remote part of my property and I was curious about powering this pump with a solar panel. Is it doable? I live in Western Washington and we get our fair share of overcast days but I am thinking that maybe a solar panel would work because the pump doesn't seem to have much power draw. Thanks.

  • #2
    Hello bikerider and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

    I believe a small solar/battery system could be built to run one of those bubblers although I am not exactly sure how many "watt hours" it will use in a day.

    The add states "3.3 watts / minute". That is a strange way to state a load because that calculates out to 200watts/hour. If that is true then you are looking at a daily 24 hour load of ~ 4800wh which is a big number.



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    • #3
      We went with a wind power (looks like an old fashioned windmill) air pump, even in sunny calif, could not get a electric pump and solar matched
      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


      • #4
        Originally posted by SunEagle View Post
        Hello bikerider and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

        I believe a small solar/battery system could be built to run one of those bubblers although I am not exactly sure how many "watt hours" it will use in a day.

        The add states "3.3 watts / minute". That is a strange way to state a load because that calculates out to 200watts/hour. If that is true then you are looking at a daily 24 hour load of ~ 4800wh which is a big number.


        Thank you . I would think it's draw would not be much but who knows, maybe that number is accurate.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Mike90250 View Post
          We went with a wind power (looks like an old fashioned windmill) air pump, even in sunny calif, could not get a electric pump and solar matched
          I've seen those. They are pretty cool. That's kind of why I went with this one. I can always run an extension cord for times when I really need to run it but wanted to check and see if solar was an option for me.

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          • #6
            If you can determine the true wattage it uses and calculate an estimated 24 hour usage then you can size your battery and solar panel wattage to charge it.

            The problem is the information they provide is questionable or at least misleading. It may only draw 3.3 watts which is pretty small and will not require a big battery or panel.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by SunEagle View Post
              If you can determine the true wattage it uses and calculate an estimated 24 hour usage then you can size your battery and solar panel wattage to charge it.

              The problem is the information they provide is questionable or at least misleading. It may only draw 3.3 watts which is pretty small and will not require a big battery or panel.
              Maybe I'll contact the manufacturer and ask them. That's cool that you can run a 110v item on a battery.

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              • #8
                3.3 watts is less than what a small aquarium air pump consumes. 7W for an incandescent night light bulb. I doubt a pond aerator is going to be that miserly, I have a deep water aquarium pump I use to aerate my water storage tanks with, (Tetra AP300) that I think takes about 15w AC only, it's a coil / vibrator / diaphragm style pump.
                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
                  Originally posted by bikerider View Post

                  Maybe I'll contact the manufacturer and ask them. That's cool that you can run a 110v item on a battery.
                  Well you will need some type of inverter that changes the battery DC voltage to 110v AC. But those air pumps seem pretty simplistic without electronics so you won't need a pure sine wave type inverter.

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                  • #10
                    The air pumps are simplistic, and would benefit with longer life with pure sine wave inverter. It's a simple coil that vibrates a armature with a rubber diaphragm that pumps the air.

                    With pure sine wave, the coil runs cooler, and the rubber lasts longer
                    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

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