Small solar pump house

[glenn kangiser]

It depends on where your water source is located.  That would run a pump that was not too deep.  Another way would be with battery storage, then with about 5 good sun hours you would have about .500 to .650 khw to use on something a bit bigger.

Low cost also limits it to small, so we are looking at a near surface water source and RV type water pump by your limitationss.  That could get you around 30 to 50 PSI at a gallon or two a minute, rough guess.  WW Grainger has some specs but I have to get to work soon.

[BiggKidd]

It depends on how far up and how far away you need to pump the water. I recently used a cheap 12V pump from Harbor Freight to get water from our creek. Had to come up about 45 feet and 230 feet long. So something like that might work for you. The only bad thing is the pump has to be at or near water level. If your intreasted I can dig up some pictures.

Larry

[Drew]

Our static head is down about 180 feet, so we use one of the Grundfoss AC pumps.  I can run it either on a generator or one of the Xantrex 1,500 watt battery packs and get just under 5 gpm.
http://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Technologies-Powerpack-500-Watt-802-1500/dp/B00005RHQQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1209567994&sr=8-4


The Xantrex is not a cheap solution.  I got mine by waiting around until it came down to $250.  It does have the 60 amp hour battery and the 1.5 kilowatt inverter which will run the pump.  It also will run my compressor or my circle saw for most of a work day before konking out and it goes in the back of the truck in one piece.  You pay for the convenience and the quiet, but some days it's worth it.  I can charge it up at home or on a little 15 watt PV cell with a 7 amp charge controller since we're not there every day.

This is definitely not a permanent solution, but it can let you "discover your pain points" before you design something like Glenn has.

BTW guys, I love all the posts starting with "It depends..."  Are you sure you're not consultants?  You sound like me at work!  Should we take a lunch and have a dialog about optimizing our synergies?  I know a Starbucks next to a Starbucks we could go to.   

[Bishopknight]

I have a natural spring running through my land, 200 ft from my housesite. The natural spring is at the same level as the housesite. I think a well tile will be all thats necessary. At most 12 ft deep.

I'm considering a solar pump that can only run when its sunny out as well as a couple hundred gallon cistern in my cabin.

This way I could augment my cistern with a rainwater catchment system.

[gandalfthegrey]

Catchment to cisterns is a great way to supplement your water supply.  You want to be careful of your roofing material to make sure you don't use anything toxic or potentially hazardous.  Also use some type of  filtration for drinking water.

[glenn kangiser]

Cool and High Tech, Drew. 

Nice power pack -- do you know the model or pecs of the pump-- seems like a light draw on the juice.