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Solar Water Pumping 

Solar photovoltaic (PV) pumping systems, and water powered ram pumps.

 

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Solar PV Water Pumping Basics

A Graphic Guide to Solar Water Pumping

Windy Dankoff

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 

http://www.dankoffsolar.com/

 

Home Power Magazine article, issue 46

Very good article on designing and selecting the components for a solar electric water pumping system.  Covers a wide variety of pumping head, flow, and system types -- helps you select the right pumping system for the job.

The Dankoff website has a lot of solar pumping information, specifications, installation instructions, pump manuals...

Solar (Photovoltaic) Water Pumping,
From Practical Action.org

http://practicalaction.org

 

 

Some good information on selecting and sizing a PV powered water pumping systems.  Covers types of systems vs depth and flow required.
 
Guide to Solar Powered Water Pumping in New York State

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

http://www.nyserda.org

 

A pretty complete and detailed guide to planning and implementing a solar powered water pumping system.
Also compares solar pumping to Diesel, wind, and gravity systems.
2004

 

Build Your Own Solar-Powered Water Pumping Station,
Jeffery Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine

www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago91.html

 

Good Backwoods Home article (issue 91) by Jeff Yago on building simple solar pumping systems.
Solar Water Pumping

Wind and Sun
http://www.solar-electric.com

 

Quite a bit of information on solar water pumping systems.  A general guide on solar water pumping and specifications for solar pumping equipment.

 

Solar-Powered Livestock Watering Systems

University of Tennessee Extension

Stock Watering PV 1640 (140K pdf)

Good paper on solar stock watering systems.  Covers types of systems, and sizing and designing system.

Much of this information could be applicable to a residential water system that uses a storage tank.

From the University of Tennessee Extension Service: http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/extension/ExtPubs/

Pumps and Watering Systems for Managed Beef Grazing

 

http://www.muextension.missouri.edu

 

Quite a bit of information on systems to provide water for stock, including some solar ones.  Piping and tank design, water requirements ...
Solar PV Water Pumping Systems
A Solar Powered Pumping and Storage System Suitable for a Household
From By Example


http://byexample.com/projects/current/submersible_well_pump/


Lots of interesting material on the ByExample.com website.

Very good article on designing and installing a simple solar powered well water pumping system suitable for one household.

The system pumps from 140 ft to fill a 1600 gallon water storage tank.

The Sun Pumps Submersible pump is said to pump from depths up to 230 ft at rates up to 2 gpm.   This might provide about 600 gallons on a sunny day from a fixed PV array.
Solar Water Pumping Makes Sense
Windy Dankoff

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 
Home Power magazine article, issue 97

Very good description of design and installation of a direct PV solar pumping system for a house.

Winter Cattle Watering with Automated Solar Pumps

Ken Kelln and Paul Hanley

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 

Home Power Magazine article, issue 98

 

A simple and elegant PV powered stock watering system that is “cow activated”.   PV panel and batteries power a submersible 12VDC pump that is activated by a motion detector.  System Cost $4200.

Solar-Powered Cattle Saloon

L. A. Wallin

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 

Home Power Magazine article, issue 54

Article about pumping water from a 400 ft deep well using a solar powered pump jack (mechanically powered piston pump at bottom of well).  Providing water for cattle in Montana.

Build your own solar-powered water pumping station

Backwoods Magazine

Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago91.html

 

A good Backwoods Magazine article on sizing and installing a solar powered water pumping system for livestock.
OtherPower -- Water Pumping

www.otherpower.com/otherpower_waterpumping.html

 

Solar PV powered water pumping system description with pretty good hands-on information, and some advice.
Solar Water Pumping and Supplementary Power for a Grid-Powered Home

Windy Dankoff

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 

Good Home Power article by Windy Dankoff on providing enough PV power to pump well water, and to supply a few other crucial circuits in case of power failure.
Pumping Water for Irrigation Using Solar Energy
H.J. Helikson, D.Z. Haman and C.D. Baird

University of Florida -- Extension Service

Pumping Paper (pdf)

 

Interesting 1992 paper on PV powered pumping for irrigation wire.  Good analysis of system.

Interesting reflector/tracking arrangement on the PV panels that increases panel output significantly.

Ram Pumps

Ram pumps use a flow of low head water to pump a portion of the water uphill

Hydraulic Ram Pumps

http://www.lifewater.ca/ram_pump.htm

 

Lots of information on ram pumps at this site. 
Build Your Own Ram Pump

Clemson University -- Cooperative Extension Service

Pump Plans

 

Plans to build your own pump, as well as ram pump theory of operation, design and sizing information.
Building a Homemade Ram Pump
Scott Lee

How to get articles from Home Power ...
 

Also here:
hometown.aol.com/slee529282/ramartl.pdf

 

Home Power Magazine article, issue 76

Good hands-on article on how to build a simple ram pump from hardware store parts.  Ram pumps use a flow of low head water to pump a portion of the water uphill.

Hydraulic Ram Pumps

Prepared by:
Gregory D. Jennings, PhD, PE

www.bae.ncsu.edu

This paper explains how ramp pumps operate, and allows you to size your ram pump.
Atlas Ram Pump Construction

http://atlaspub.20m.com/kits.htm

 

 

A company that sells ram pump parts and kits, as well as a book on ram pumps that is reported to be good.
Low Cost, low flow, home made hydraulic ram pump (no welding required)

www.judyofthewoods.net/ram_pump.html

 

A ram pump design adapted from other designs that is aimed at smaller water flows and simplified assembly.

Good construction detail.

Have a look around the rest of Judy's website while you are there -- lots of interesting material.

Spiral Pump -- A slow turning pump that can be powered by slow flowing creeks/rivers
Spiral Pump

http://www.earthgarden.com.au/waterwheel.html

 

The Spiral Pump - A High Lift, Slow Turning Pump, Peter Trailer
www.lurkertech.com/chris/eco/pump/tailer/


Wild Water Power -- more spiral pump information:
http://www.wildwaterpower.com/

 

 

This pump uses a rotating pipe coil to pump water.  It requires only moving water to power it.

The pump in the picture pumps 400 gallons per day to a tank 50 ft above the pump.



The Spiral Pump - A High Lift, Slow Turning Pump, Peter Trailer
Very interesting set of tests on a spiral pump.  Quite a bit of design and construction information is also provided.

Sometime I am going to have to sit down an figure why this works :-)

Hand Pumps
Bison Pumps

http://www.bisonpumps.com/photo.htm

 

 

Hand pumps for either primary or backup use.
For shallow or deep wells (up to 300').
Rintoul's Hand Pumps

http://www.handpumps.com/

 

A variety of hand pumps for wells all the way up to 250 ft deep.
Windmill Pumps
Suppliers of Windmill Water Pumps,
from WindEnergy.org

Aeromotor:
www.aermotorwindmill.com

Dempster:
http://www.dempsterinc.com/html/Windmills.htm
Manual showing details ... (pdf)

Ferguson Windmills Company:
http://www.windmills.biz/main.html

Oasis Water Pumping Windmill:
www.windmillpower.com

How the Windmill pumps work:
www.aermotorwindmill.com/Links/Education/Index.asp

These are some commercial sources for the traditional windmill driven water pump.  In these pumps, a high torque, low speed wind rotor directly drives a mechanical linkage to a pump located at the bottom of the well bore. 

These windmill pumps are simple and have been in common use for 120 years.  Some are 100 years old and still running.
 
Wind Pumping,
From Practical Action.org

http://practicalaction.org

 

A guide to wind mill water pumping.  Characteristics of mechanical vs electric powered water pumps.
Some design and sizing information.
Pictures of a Dempster water pumping windmill  along I-15

Look at pictures...

Just some pictures of a Dempster windmill water pumper.

Look at pictures ...

Freeze Proof Stock Waters -- that don't use energy
 

A whole section of solar and geothermal freeze resistant stock watering tank here...

Tanks you can build or buy that do not require electric tank heaters to be free of ice.

 
Swimming Pool Pumping
DIY Solar Pool Pump Project,
Rick Kehret

www.norcalsolar.org/...

 

Good description of the design and installation of a solar PV powered swimming pool pump.

 

Gary updated 7/27/07, 9/5/07, May 10, 2008

 

 


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