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Michael Qulek wrote:There are two different routes you can take here for a reliable system.
First, get a high-voltage DC pump that is wired to a series string of solar panels putting out between 30-300V of DC power. It is wired to the pump via a "pump controller" that regulates the amperage the pump receives. Grunfos makes a number of DC solar pumps with charts to decide how many watts of panels and how many volts to run them at for a particular depth. I think a good rule of thumb is that a lot of their pumps need at least 120VDC to run well, which would be four 60-cell residential grid-tie panels wired in series.
Secondly, design an AC system around the pump that you already have in the ground. That's what I did personally. I have a 1hp single-phase 240VAC Grunfos pump in my well that pulls about 10A at 240V. The problem with big submersible pumps is that they have what is called "high starting surge", or "inrush current" that is 3-5X the running amperage. Mine starts at ~9100W. This lasts only for about 500 milliseconds or so, but weeds out the cheaper inverters you see on Amazon that appear to be very reasonablely priced. They are reasonable for a reason. They don't have the ummph (the inrush) to start a big pump.
A good rule of thumb with AC appliances is to have 2X the amount of solar panels for whatever your biggest load is. So, for my big pump, I installed 4500W of panels (9 300W panels, wired 3S5P). This is fed into a Midnight200 charge controller that charges eight Trojan L-16 batteries wired for 48V. This in turn powers my split-phase 120V/240V XW+6848 inverter, which powers the pump. It has worked flawlessly now for 5 years, and I am very happy with the performance of my system. I have my panels on rotating mounts, so I can turn them Eastward in morning to start the pump at ~8:00AM, and Westward in the afternoon to keep the pump running till ~4:00PM.
The great thing about designing my system around the pump means that any other load in the cabin is easily handled. My system can seamlessly run the frig, freezer, toaster oven, washing machine, and just about any other normal household appliance completely transparently.
Angela Wilcox wrote:Hey Brad, I wish I could remember what type I have. It’s 600 ft deep and has been running off solar for 5 years now. A fellow in KY did the work.
Have you looked at Backwoods Solar? They have an online catalog and are super nice and helpful on the phone. They sell pumps that work with solar.
Best wishes!