Off Grid Home › Forums › Technical Discussion › Solar powered pump?
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February 22, 2008 at 12:00 AM #62391nick@off-grid.netParticipant
Someone sent in this email, so I am passing on their question to the group.
Hello,
My name is Justin Pearson and I work w/ Agri-Valley Irrigation, Inc., in Fresno, Ca. We install complete agriculture irrigation systems throughout the San Joaquin Valley. When we install these systems, we also install quite a few LMI Electronic Metering Pumps. These pumps are used mainly for chemigation purposes.
Recently we have run into a problem. What we have is a 6-tank (sand media filtration) irrigation system outside of Firebaugh, Ca. that will not be getting any power. The customer get enough water pressure coming straight off of the Westlands Water District meter meaning that there is no booster pump for us to tie into. It appears that we’re going to have to use a solar panel to power (1) LMI Pump and (1) Alex-tronix flush box. The LMI Pump that is to be used is a J54D, 12 V DC. Peak power consumption is 44W @ 3.5Amps. The LMI Pump will inject chemical 10 to 15 times per minute and will run continuously throughout the irrigation cycle. The Alex-tronix flush box will flush the system once every 6 hours, so 3-5 times a cycle depending on how long the grower irrigates. The electrical specs are as follows: 110-130 VAC input 60HZ, ½ amps. There is an Alex-troinx solar kit available for the flush box but it’s only a 5W panel so it wouldn’t be able to run both items. We would prefer to run them both off of one solar panel but if it can’t be done then we’ll have to go w/ two.
I’m not sure if you deal w/ this everyday but ANY help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.
February 26, 2008 at 12:00 AM #63862erneParticipantA 5-watt panel would not run this system. It has to have a battery that provides the power to a small inverter aka 110 volt (ac) the power (start up surge) to start a pump (for flush box) will likely be 2 or 3 times this ½ amp running (if a pimp is used to discharge) which would be 100 to 150 watts. The panel would likely trickle charge the system. If this kit wouldn’t run both I would suggest a water turbine in the water line. It would help to know if it just opens a door or pumps and how much total time it runs to complete a cycle.
March 20, 2008 at 12:00 AM #63876AnonymousInactive -
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