Electric Generator to Solar

[BigTexOK]

Don't know if this is the proper forum, but since this is a project for my deer lease I'm gonna put it here. Mod's please move if appropriate.

I've been given a 3/4 horsepower, submersible water pump that is in good working condition. Is it possible to convert it to solar power?

Is that an expensive route? Can it be done by an amateur like myself?


Secondary question...where/how can I test well water to see if it is ok for drinking? Lot's of farming going on around my deer lease and lots of chemicals I assume. It is in Woodward County.

 

[oneof79]

Electricity from a solar panel will be DC, and you will have to store the charge in batteries. Somehow you will have to convert the DC to AC to run that pump.


The County Health Department gives out test kits for testing water for about 10 bucks. You put a sample of water in a cup, take it back to them, they will test and report back to you.

 

[criticalbass]

3/4 horses takes a ton of AC power. The cost (and size) of a solar rig big enough to even operate it marginally will water your eyes. Forget the submersible and start looking at windmills or hand pumps. Probably your best bet for limited use is the traditional hand pump. If you do go that route, learn about theft prevention. People really like to steal those.

There could be low power electric pumps that would work off reasonably sized and priced solar arrays. Been away from it too long to know, but the 220 is not a doable deal.

An even more primitive approach is a rope and bucket. I used one at several places I lived as a kid. Long skinny buckets hold a couple of gallons and require a pulley and some sort of rig to hold the pulley over the well. And, they are cheap and portable. You could leave the well covered, bring the rope, bucket and probably a tripod in, and have water when you are there.

Do get it tested. How deep is the well? How far down to the water? CB

 

[dennishoddy]

3/4 horses takes a ton of AC power. The cost (and size) of a solar rig big enough to even operate it marginally will water your eyes. Forget the submersible and start looking at windmills or hand pumps. Probably your best bet for limited use is the traditional hand pump. If you do go that route, learn about theft prevention. People really like to steal those.

There could be low power electric pumps that would work off reasonably sized and priced solar arrays. Been away from it too long to know, but the 220 is not a doable deal.

An even more primitive approach is a rope and bucket. I used one at several places I lived as a kid. Long skinny buckets hold a couple of gallons and require a pulley and some sort of rig to hold the pulley over the well. And, they are cheap and portable. You could leave the well covered, bring the rope, bucket and probably a tripod in, and have water when you are there.

Do get it tested. How deep is the well? How far down to the water? CB

What he said. The amount of solar panels to run a 3/4 hours pump will run around 10 grand or so. Then one must purchase batterys capable of handling the current and days of cloudy weather. Then an inverter has to be purchased.
I'd estimate 12 grand or so to get some water by solar. BUT! you would be helping the economy, going green and helping to cure global warming.:finger:
Either do What critical bass said (find a water well/nearby creek and bucket it) or buy a water tank that fits in the back of a pickup, and take water to it.

If there are deer in the area, they already have a water source. You might want to really scour the area and see if there is a seep coming off of a hillside?

 

[Shadowrider]

When I was working in extreme SE Colorado there were a lot of solar setups for stock tanks. What kind of pump is used for these? I'm curious. The whole solar setup didn't look like a whole lot, but if you are away for long periods, I'd be worried about it growing legs and running off.

 

[okiefarmer1]

I would test the water before spending any money. If all is good check with the local farm service agency to see if there is any money available for water wells or solar systems. Sometimes there is. Good luck.

 

[dennishoddy]

When I was working in extreme SE Colorado there were a lot of solar setups for stock tanks. What kind of pump is used for these? I'm curious. The whole solar setup didn't look like a whole lot, but if you are away for long periods, I'd be worried about it growing legs and running off.

Ok, I'm rethinking this.
In your original post you said a 3/4 hp pump that put me on a track that would require the equipment to do this.
Now with Shadowriders comments this may be doable.
Little Giant makes pumps that require a tiny bit of AC power to operate, and your only wanting to keep some watering holes full.
These pumps would operate from an inverter powered by a battery, charged by a solar cell.
In my opinion one does not need the water to run 24/7 but just an hour or so to fill a water hole using something like an aquarium pump?
There are cheap timers available a relay, and you would be in business. Now we are talking in the couple hundred bucks or so.

 

[Hobbes]

If you're going to do solar water pumps this is the way to do it:

http://www.realgoods.com/product/solar+power/solar+water+pumping/shurflo+solar+submersible+pump.do

It's 12 volts so it will run directly from a PV module, with no batteries.
It pumps slow and quiet, but it pumps all day long.

Of course it only runs in daylight but for your purposes you don't care.
You'll just pump water into a trough for the deer.
If it was for domestic purposes you would pump into a storage tank in daylight and draw from the tank at night.

Total cost, not counting the well drilling and casing, should be less than $2000

You might be interested in one or more of these books. I highly recommend them.
http://www.realgoods.com/category/books-media/sustainable+library/renewable+energy.do

 

[Shadowrider]

Ok, I'm rethinking this.
In your original post you said a 3/4 hp pump that put me on a track that would require the equipment to do this.
Now with Shadowriders comments this may be doable.
Little Giant makes pumps that require a tiny bit of AC power to operate, and your only wanting to keep some watering holes full.
These pumps would operate from an inverter powered by a battery, charged by a solar cell.
In my opinion one does not need the water to run 24/7 but just an hour or so to fill a water hole using something like an aquarium pump?
There are cheap timers available a relay, and you would be in business. Now we are talking in the couple hundred bucks or so.

That's exactly how they worked. The one I saw in pieces had a solar panel that was about the size of a sheet of plywood, so roughly 4'X8'. But I have no clue as to what kind of pump was used.

 

[cowadle]

http://www.nemosolar.com/dcsubmersiblepumps/


I have one of these I use with a wind turbine. works great and waters a lot of cows. they also offer a real good timer.