The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Buildings & planning => Topic started by: MoreTea on February 23, 2024, 04:13:45 pm
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Hallo
My spring has wandered away so I'm having to have a borehole put in
Unfortunately it can't go near the house (the track is too narrow for the rig to get here) so it has to go quarter of a mile away.
Luckily there happens to be an electricity pole not far from there - but I'm shocked at the cost of getting a connection to it so am wondering how faesible and straightforward it would be to run the pump from a battery powered by a solar panel or mini wind turbine
The pump will only be needed intermittantly as the water will be pumped into the tank above the house (near the ex-spring) and gravity fed into the house
Any advice very welcome!
Many thanks
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I have a borehole, quite a deep one (250 feet), and it has a 400W pump. This obviously isn't on all the time, and I've never measured the energy usage over time. I would be doubtful about using a battery and solar panels to power such a device, particularly in winter. I have 36 solar panels supplying the house and in the middle of winter, they can generate very, very little. I think you'd have a high chance of no water if you tried this.
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On startup the motor will draw 6-8 times the normal running current for a very short period. If you equipment can't deliver that the motor won't turn. Whether that results in it burning out I don't know?
You will be lumbered with a standing charge if you connect to the mains, but I think that's the safest bet long term. Mains electric panels and batteries (particularly0 are expensive and I doubt a 12V system will work. As said, in Winter they don't produce much, despite the sales claims. The solar powered electric fences around here always fail in Winter, despite the extra daylight hours we get.
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I've looked into solar pumps for various jobs before and its very rare that I can get them to work out from a technical perspective. I don't know what the quote is for grid power but for a stable solar solution I would guess you would need panels, inverter and batteries. That's probably 6-8k for an offgrid setup.
Hoe big is the tank and how often does it need filling? Could you fit an inline pump at the house end that sucks the water from the pipework? It would probably be a more powerful pump but less infrastructure
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my brother's firm PFS (Cornwall) has done loads of these
National Trust were the first customer for Ruan Moor, down at the lizard
Drop them a line
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Why has your spring wandered away?
Had someone diverted it?
If you have water rights you should be able to get it reinstated?
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https://www.pfs-uk.co.uk/renewables