Austin

Anyone here currently using a solar well pump?

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Wuzzat?

I can't imagine these things supplying a minimum, for health reasons, of 20 PSI (46' head) and 2 GPM.

nealtw

Wouldn't just depend on how much solar power you can supply?

Wuzzat?

Yes.

If you post some candidate systems we can cut through the puffery and figure out what the HO will really be getting. I doubt a 200W system will do it.
If you present yourself as a contractor you'll get less BS, but if you ask too many questions they'll bail on you. There are easier customers in the world that they would rather deal with. The idea is to get past the marketing people and speak to an Applications Engineer.

Pumps and water levels and pump depths and water depths are tricky - even some of Terry Love's guys didn't have it figured out. The formula, HP = head x GPM/3956 seemed to be news to them.

I learned the most about pump physics from a five gallon bucket and the new pond pump I bought. No flow meters, no nothing, just by looking.
There are four combos: bucket almost empty/topped off, pump with inlet at top/bottom. The pump outlet is always at the top edge of the bucket.

Austin

From what I've seen you have dual solar pumps, from the well to a holding tank and from the holding tank to the house.

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Wuzzat?

So the holding tank can act as a capacitor and I guess it gets fully 'charged' overnight when there is minimal water demand.

I guess the daily average should work out to 100 gals per person per day or slightly more, at >20 PSI and a few GPM. For a bathtub you might want 6 GPM.

With a solar system you might get 8% of the available power in sunlight, 15% from the panel and half of that from the pump/motor.

nealtw

There are a lot of outfits selling these kits, I am sure some have worked out the kinks. They even sell them for irrigation.