The photo shows the solar panel fastened horizontally to a wood stand. The inverted black plastic tote contains a charge controller, 12-volt battery and the pump. The black box seemed at first to be too hot for the charge controller so we added some ventilation holes that let the heat out. We also put the charge controller under another smaller inverted box just so water could not contact it. Both boxes are simply set on the dock where incoming air can come easily through the cracks between deck boards.
The suction pipe shown here is one-inch but it had to be necked down to 1/2-inch to fit onto the pump fitting. Outlet is also 1/2 inch, Pex.
There is no pressure tank to this system, although it is possible to add one later if needed. The pump just has a built-in pressure switch. The pump instantly turns on when a tap is opened and turns off when it is closed. The pump provides four gallons of water a minute which will probably be adequate for the big cabin without needing a pressure tank. The shower, for instance, will require no more than 2.5 gallons a minute and we will likely use a water-saver shower head that uses just 1.8 gallons.
The line from the pump to the dockhouse is 100-feet and there is lots of pressure at the single tap we have inside. It remains to be seen if the pressure will be the same at the big cabin when it is finished next year. It will be about 200 feet from the pump and, more importantly, will be perhaps 10-feet higher than the dockhouse spigot. The height from the pump to the final destination, called the head, is critical for pump performance. If we find the pressure is too low at the main cabin we can always install a pressure tank somewhere in between -- like in the dockhouse or maybe in our new shed. Then the pump just needs to replenish the tank which provides its own pressure. It would be lovely if we didn't need the tank. It's just one more thing to have to plumb and to drain in the fall.
Our other solar appliance -- a Unique fridge -- didn't work as well as the water pump. We simply couldn't get enough solar charging through the heavy smoke for it to run without some generator assisted-battery charging. Two hours a day of charging seemed to do it. Early in the summer when there was less smoke the solar system worked fine. A lot of the problem is simply the orientation of the dockhouse and its position among the trees. The new main cabin will be in direct sunlight most of the day.
2 comments:
Very impressed you are using so much renewable energy vs. a gas generator or even propane tanks. Have you thought about a wind turbine or recharge battery banks or would that be more trouble than its worth. Hope the house made big progress this year despite your challenges with the fires. Share Pics.
Mike S
Our intention is to become totally solar or at least as close as we can get. Other cabin owners at the west end are already doing it. Small wind generators are prone to breakdowns, at least in my experience. They do, for instance, have moving parts. Solar has none.
We stopped on the house with the completion of the subfloor. It could be covered with tarps for the winter, walls cannot. Building the walls doesn't take much time, just a couple of weeks for me working by myself. The roof will take me longer and I may get help on that.
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