Anyone tried to run a well pump on solar? I have grid power but considering lowering my bill plus making sure I have water available during outages. So could be something that uses Solar during the day then electricity at night or cloudy days. Live in SE Texas.

Solar wells have pretty much replaced windmills across much of the west and have been around long enough now that they don't have many skeptics left.

A solar well will not pump the same volume of water as an electric submersible and isn't an "on demand" type of set up. It pumps less volume but over longer time periods, a tortoise and hare situation.

The typical installation I have seen when used for residential is to pump into a large holding tank so you always have water regardless of if the sun is out.

My understanding was that start up amps requirement on a conventional well pump were hard for a solar system to match. Hopefully someone more "in the know" will chime in on the matter.

dead zip 01 said:

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Solar wells have pretty much replaced windmills across much of the west and have been around long enough now that they don't have many skeptics left.

A solar well will not pump the same volume of water as an electric submersible and isn't an "on demand" type of set up. It pumps less volume but over longer time periods, a tortoise and hare situation.

The typical installation I have seen when used for residential is to pump into a large holding tank so you always have water regardless of if the sun is out.

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this is the setup we use. 2200 gallon tank. Jet pump pulls from the tank to feed the house, barns, and pastures. Well pump replenishes the tank through out the day.

I have several diaphragm type solar pumps on ranch. Capable of about 1-1 1/2 gal/minute, the same as windmills. The lift capacity of mine are 110'.cost is about $2200-$2500 for the system, and I install myself.

I have one solar centrifugal pump lifting about 125' and producing about 9 gall/minute. Cost was about $8500 and I had it installed due to larger panel array.

I have found that over about 50% duty cycle really cuts down lifespan of diaphragm type pumps so set up centrifugal pump the same. I keep spare pumps on hand and when one goes down, it's easy to swap it out and send in to rebuild or replace. Centrifugal pump cost about $700 and diaphragm about $250.

I don't have batteries to run 24/7. I can keep troughs full by running at 50% during daylight hours only.

Only problem I've found with solar is that I really miss the popping and creaking of the old Aermotors, I only have two of them left, it's difficult to get folks out to install or move one. I can still service and repair one but getting up in years to be climbing towers to work on them.

Try Majik Well Pumps. I believe around the SA area. He makes pump kits specifically for solar. He then has a solar company to call to have the specific panels and pigtails you will need. Such an easy process. Ours Just feeds our little pond to keep the wildlife around. In 2021 it was $790 for the pump kit and $285 for the panels and pigtails. I am sure the prices have gone up though but was a heck of a deal.

Not to derail, but do they make a solar set-up that will pull it up from 400 feet? Most I have seen talk about 100-150 ft.

Don't know for sure, but I'd bet a centrifugal with enough panels could be capable of deeper lifts.

White well service around Pleasanton 210-215-8468 sold and installed the big one to me. Jason or Clarence.

jagsdad said:

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Not to derail, but do they make a solar set-up that will pull it up from 400 feet? Most I have seen talk about 100-150 ft.

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Mine pulls from 280' at a max of 13 gal/min but normally operates around 7 gal/min but as DeerDude said, they are expensive, mine was over $9k. Solar pumps don't last as long from what I hear in my area, Duval Co., as opposed to hardwired pumps.

AnScAggie said:

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jagsdad said:

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Not to derail, but do they make a solar set-up that will pull it up from 400 feet? Most I have seen talk about 100-150 ft.

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Mine pulls from 280' at a max of 13 gal/min but normally operates around 7 gal/min but as DeerDude said, they are expensive, mine was over $9k. Solar pumps don't last as long from what I hear in my area, Duval Co., as opposed to hardwired pumps.

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why not?

the only real difference is the current supplied to it.

It believe it has to do with the diaphragms used to lift the water and the DC motor. Both well company owners in my area, Jimmy Pawlik in George West and Bo Page in Alice told me that normal life of electric pumps were 20+ years and their experience with the solar pumps in my area was about half that.

I have been thinking about switching out our windmill with a solar pump. The company I have been checking into was RPS Solar Pumps. They sell self-installation kits as well.

Ive done four solar setups myself. Deep with low volume is no problem. Medium/ high volume isn't a huge issue. I have one that will pump about 45 gpm from 20ft and another doing 30 gpm from 100ft. It can get expensive if you start trying to do higher volume from deeper depths.

My local well company wanted $12k for a solar setup to pump 12gpm from 100ft. I sourced my own panels and did an RPS kit for $6k to pump 30 gpm from 100ft.

I reccomend RPS for a first timer. Their support and knowledge is pretty nice. FYI, they will negotiate down below their "sale" price.

RPS also offers controllers that will automatically swap between solar and 220.

The last three ive done have been cheap pumps/ controllers from alibaba, ebay, Amazon. The oldest is about 2 years but it's been flawless so far. The clamps, tape, hose barbs, etc that come with them are junk but you can get better stuff at lowes. These kits run $300-$600 without the panels. Maybe 30% of the RPS kits. I do still use high quality panels though. Expect directions and support to be little to none with the cheap setups.

Smaller/ lighter pumps at shallower depths are much easier to self service. Keep that in mind when deciding how much to spend.

When putting together a system, i like to use 1.5x2 the recommended wattage of panels. While not exceeding the max VOC rating of the controller. This helps for pumping in low light times and achieving max flow for more hours per day. Im using mine for watering trees, filling ponds, cleaning deer, washing equipment, etc. If you're going to have a storage tank setup, this won't matter as much. But, I still wouldn't go below 125% of the recommended wattage.

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I just had to replace my solar pump after about 10 hrs due to deterioration from the sand in the well. Also added a panel and new control box to add power and better control.

Well is 280' deep, pump has been placed at about 240' deep.
12 gal/min avg, and I use a 6000 gal cistern with overflow into a pond. Cistern gravity feeds cattle trough and rv water *****et. Works amazing for about 9 months a year, kinda weak in winter.

ag94whoop said:

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I just had to replace my solar pump after about 10 hrs due to deterioration from the sand in the well. Also added a panel and new control box to add power and better control.

Well is 280' deep, pump has been placed at about 240' deep.
12 gal/min avg, and I use a 6000 gal cistern with overflow into a pond. Cistern gravity feeds cattle trough and rv water *****et. Works amazing for about 9 months a year, kinda weak in winter.

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Oh, spigot is what you were saying above that it filtered your bad spelling. Had me stumped for a bit. Haven't heard anyone call mexicans that in a long time. Carry on.

I assume you are mainly using this for irrigations and/or a trough / pond? I'd be looking mainly for home use but also irrigation of a few acres. It seems the solar specific pumps are the most efficient but are generally low flow meant to pump constantly all day. I guess for residential purposes you would have to get a storage tank? Would you need another motor to pressurize the tank or is gravity generally sufficient for home water pressure?

ag94whoop said:

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I just had to replace my solar pump after about 10 hrs due to deterioration from the sand in the well. Also added a panel and new control box to add power and better control.

Well is 280' deep, pump has been placed at about 240' deep.
12 gal/min avg, and I use a 6000 gal cistern with overflow into a pond. Cistern gravity feeds cattle trough and rv water *****et. Works amazing for about 9 months a year, kinda weak in winter.

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Was that supposed to be 10 hours or 10 years? If hours, was it helical? If so, try centrifugal. Also might try to raise it up some if you have the water height to do it. Sometimes the sand issue will resolve with time too.

MaxPower said:

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I assume you are mainly using this for irrigations and/or a trough / pond? I'd be looking mainly for home use but also irrigation of a few acres. It seems the solar specific pumps are the most efficient but are generally low flow meant to pump constantly all day. I guess for residential purposes you would have to get a storage tank? Would you need another motor to pressurize the tank or is gravity generally sufficient for home water pressure?

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Correct, they aren't designed to be "on demand". If you want it to be on and off, you'll need a storage tank. You might be able to get away without a booster but that's a whole different subject of gravity and elevation and PSI. Most people are going to want a booster pump but I haven't gotten into that.

CS78 said:

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Ive done four solar setups myself. Deep with low volume is no problem. Medium/ high volume isn't a huge issue. I have one that will pump about 45 gpm from 20ft and another doing 30 gpm from 100ft. It can get expensive if you start trying to do higher volume from deeper depths.

My local well company wanted $12k for a solar setup to pump 12gpm from 100ft. I sourced my own panels and did an RPS kit for $6k to pump 30 gpm from 100ft.

I reccomend RPS for a first timer. Their support and knowledge is pretty nice. FYI, they will negotiate down below their "sale" price.

RPS also offers controllers that will automatically swap between solar and 220.

The last three ive done have been cheap pumps/ controllers from alibaba, ebay, Amazon. The oldest is about 2 years but it's been flawless so far. The clamps, tape, hose barbs, etc that come with them are junk but you can get better stuff at lowes. These kits run $300-$600 without the panels. Maybe 30% of the RPS kits. I do still use high quality panels though. Expect directions and support to be little to none with the cheap setups.

Smaller/ lighter pumps at shallower depths are much easier to self service. Keep that in mind when deciding how much to spend.

When putting together a system, i like to use 1.5x2 the recommended wattage of panels. While not exceeding the max VOC rating of the controller. This helps for pumping in low light times and achieving max flow for more hours per day. Im using mine for watering trees, filling ponds, cleaning deer, washing equipment, etc. If you're going to have a storage tank setup, this won't matter as much. But, I still wouldn't go below 125% of the recommended wattage.

?v=1650308182

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CS78, would help me understand the bold? I have 6 electric pumps, 3 of which have to be run off a generator because they were windmills converted to electric without ever running power to them (and that is not an option because 2 of them are well over a mile from a power pole. I would like to switch the three generator run pumps to solar myself. I already have one solar pump that I paid to have installed but I cannot see paying over $10K for each to have them installed, when I can possibly get all 3 done for around the same price if I do it myself. Thanks.

CS78 said:

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ag94whoop said:

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I just had to replace my solar pump after about 10 hrs due to deterioration from the sand in the well. Also added a panel and new control box to add power and better control.

Well is 280' deep, pump has been placed at about 240' deep.
12 gal/min avg, and I use a 6000 gal cistern with overflow into a pond. Cistern gravity feeds cattle trough and rv water *****et. Works amazing for about 9 months a year, kinda weak in winter.

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Was that supposed to be 10 hours or 10 years? If hours, was it helical? If so, try centrifugal. Also might try to raise it up some if you have the water height to do it. Sometimes the sand issue will resolve with time too.

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10 Years

And yes Spigot

My cousin has replaced all the windmills on the family ranch with solar. He's using a Grunfos pump that has a selectable motor for DC or AC power. Not sure how long they last but he's had them for at least 10 years now and loves the system. Solar array on the ones I saw this summer was maybe 10' square. I think it was a Grunfos multistage pump but don't remember (although I should since my wife actually sells them!).