[paulsol]

Hi all....this is how we now have a  pressurised water  system on our allotment ...  any questions?


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[JayG]

Thanks Paulsol for your very instructive video. 

This is probably the best board for it to appear in to be seen by those interested, so I shall remove the 2 duplicates you have posted elsewhere.

[Wavertree Red]

Great setup Paulsol and excellent video.  What model is your pump?  What watt are your solar panels?  There's a 60psi model of the Seaflo I've been looking at, would you recommend that?  I'm just wondering about their reliability etc.

Thanks a lot.

[paulsol]

hi Red...the pump is a 17lpm 40psi 12v Seaflo(you pays yer money and takes yer chance..lol) on demand pump...but when pumping through 2 sprinklers and 4 sprinkler hoses the pressure drops and the sprinklers dont sprinkle....another domnside to this pump is that it is only rated intermittently and the thermal cutout trips after about 30 mins continuous full load pumping...but overall it does the job,,,i suppose if we were to purchase another pump it would be 25-30 lpm
the 3 solar panels are2w each and two 40-50ah batteries which also powers our Rule 220gph  automatic bilge pump in the rainwater drain...it rained heavily 2 nights ago and filled a 1000 litre IBC container!
i attempted to dig a borehole last year ...but thats another story..lol

[Wavertree Red]

hi Red...the pump is a 17lpm 40psi 12v Seaflo(you pays yer money and takes yer chance..lol) on demand pump...but when pumping through 2 sprinklers and 4 sprinkler hoses the pressure drops and the sprinklers dont sprinkle....another domnside to this pump is that it is only rated intermittently and the thermal cutout trips after about 30 mins continuous full load pumping...but overall it does the job,,,i suppose if we were to purchase another pump it would be 25-30 lpm
the 3 solar panels are2w each and two 40-50ah batteries which also powers our Rule 220gph  automatic bilge pump in the rainwater drain...it rained heavily 2 nights ago and filled a 1000 litre IBC container!
i attempted to dig a borehole last year ...but thats another story..lol

Sounds like a messy story  . 

I'm a total novice when it comes to electrics, so do you just leave the the batteries connected at all times?  How do you check for under/overcharging?  I want to run one hose or 2 sprinklers so sounds like its up to the task.  One more thing, where did you order it from as I can't find a UK supplier? Cheers.

[paulsol]

hi Red...ebay 251309090662.....same spec as mine....
as for the solar chargers ,they are only 2w each..i leave them connected continuously between the 2 batteries...they dont overcharge...if you use the pump often then get a regulated 20-25w  solar charger....the pump uses about 7a....about 84 watts for 30 min...so 6w charge over 7hrs to recharge..roughly
overall the system works very well..the pump hits 40psi then cuts out...the hose is then available for instant use...great!!

[Wavertree Red]

Thanks for the pointers Paul, appreciated.

Ste.

[Amilo]

hi Red...ebay 251309090662.....same spec as mine....
as for the solar chargers ,they are only 2w each..i leave them connected continuously between the 2 batteries...they dont overcharge...if you use the pump often then get a regulated 20-25w  solar charger....the pump uses about 7a....about 84 watts for 30 min...so 6w charge over 7hrs to recharge..roughly
overall the system works very well..the pump hits 40psi then cuts out...the hose is then available for instant use...great!!

For your info... Solar panels will only give their full output when the panel is directly facing the sun, as a rough guide a panel that is laid flat give about 33% of its max, a panel that is tilted up to face the sun gives 66% and to get 100% you need to have the panel tilted and rotated to face the sun at all times couple with this your plastic sheets covering the panels would reduce the sunlight on the panel by a large %. I would estimate that your setup is giving you about 1 watt at max.  get a volt meter and check the voltage, if the voltage is under 11.8 (off charge) your battery is flat and in danger.