Hello ,in Burundi We need well water and the solar water pump so that it can help the poor community to cultivate in all the season even in Summer
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Dear Osuine_AKeza,
There is a high pressure low cost 12v pump that can be converted to solar that costs only about $20!
If you contact me at biodesigndiy@gmail.com I will supply more information,
Graham Knight
I have 5 200 foot wells, 200 First SOlar solar panels, and six pumps. 16,000 feet of PVC and 16,000 feet of elevated water.
it’s very complicated with lots of issues.
FIrst, Direct DC pumps have little power. I have an engineer who has helped me with this and I have pages of support files.
We invert all pumps to 110 as distance does not degrade power and voltage. Direct drive is a good concept but hard to achieve.
I have good $2700 Grundfos pumps and they burn up since each one has to invert DC to AC in the pump and causes heat.
AC pumps are cheap.
Then you have to figure out head depth, water depth and get the pump just right. Very few companies make the right products, I know who they are.
This is a cludgy way to communicate
If I can help, contact me at jay@wellnessrx.org
Jay Nielsen MD, Ohio. working in Haiti.
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Tests will soon be underway of the 12v $20 pump mentioned above powered by a car battery.
The next step will be to find a solar panel to keep the battery charged in all weathers.
We have discovered that the Internet firm www.u-buy.co. has branches in most African countries importing most items from the USA. Not only solar panels but also $20 12v pumps are found on their website!
Choosing the right solar panel will be difficult!
Has anyone enough experience to recommend a make?
Hello Osuine,
There are many options available for solar water pumping. Could you provide me with a little more information regarding your irrigation water needs? This will help me find the right pump size and panels that you need. How deep will the pump be placed in the well? Will the water be pumped higher than the ground level? Will the system be pressurized? If so, what is your target operating pressure? What flow rate are you hoping to achieve? Do you need to pump water when the sun is not shining? I hope to hear from you soon!
Thanks!
Elliott
Hi Graham,
Thanks for the recommend of u-buy.com. I’ve never seen this site before, have you successfully purchased items from them?
Could you send me the link for that exact pump? If I know the pump specs, I’ll try to help you find a good panel.
Thanks!
Elliott
Graham, any luck getting a pump? If the manufacturer offers a pump curve that would be helpful too. Rough wattage needed for pump will be found from:
Liters per second of flow X meters of lift from dynamic water level to top of tank X 20 to 30 will give a range of likely power need.
Example 1 liter per second lifted 20 meters will need 20 to 30 watts of pump power TYPICALLY, very efficient pump closer to 20 times, average pump closer to 30 times.
Solar panels will give in the real world about 75% of the lab rated wattage numbers. Panels get hot, sky usually has some haze, always some soiling of panels and rarely is sun perpendicular to panels. If you get 75% of rating for 4-5 hours a day that is about as good as it gets in most places.
I have 5 wells (150 feet with pressure head at 103) and 16,000 feet of 2" PVC in my farm in Haiti. I have 200 panels (100 watt).
Here is what I know. Do NOT use Submersiblew pumps with invertors like Grundfos.
Buy invertors that do 220, wire DC, keep it as short as possible
With 60 panels, 6000 Watt approx, I can pump from a 220 only DC only pump 11 Impellars at 116 gallons per minute.
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Jay, are you saying you use an inverter that keeps the current as DC instead of converting to AC?