Trying to Power a 1/2 HP Booster Pump and already killed a battery
claywd
Registered Users Posts: 6 ✭✭
I have this booster pump which fills a pressurized tank indoors with water stored in my outdoor storage tank. It only runs for a minute or so max maybe two to three times a day. My Idea was to power it with four of these batteries in parallel to create a higher throughput amperage using 4AWG wire. Charging the batteries was trivial so we won't focus on that part. I'm using this inverter for output.
Context:
Well my original calculations said that one of the batteries would power the pump for at least 10 seconds so I hooked it all up and gave it a go. The pump kicked on for about 1/2 -1 second and then it all died.... I disconnected the battery, hooked it up to a charger real fast and everything seemed fine. So I tried it again thinking maybe something came loose. This time, the pump didn't power up. The battery also doesn't take a charge anymore. That being said, I figured I must have overlooked some detail and need to provide more power. So I ordered more batteries... determined to make this work.
Problem.
I ran across a forum where someone was calculating something similar to what I needed to calculate and I think its saying I need to be able to provide 5 x 11 amps @ 230 volts = 12,650 watts for starting the booster pump at least for the first few seconds. Well, that's 12,650/12vdc= 1054A.... If all this is correct then...
Context:
Well my original calculations said that one of the batteries would power the pump for at least 10 seconds so I hooked it all up and gave it a go. The pump kicked on for about 1/2 -1 second and then it all died.... I disconnected the battery, hooked it up to a charger real fast and everything seemed fine. So I tried it again thinking maybe something came loose. This time, the pump didn't power up. The battery also doesn't take a charge anymore. That being said, I figured I must have overlooked some detail and need to provide more power. So I ordered more batteries... determined to make this work.
Problem.
I ran across a forum where someone was calculating something similar to what I needed to calculate and I think its saying I need to be able to provide 5 x 11 amps @ 230 volts = 12,650 watts for starting the booster pump at least for the first few seconds. Well, that's 12,650/12vdc= 1054A.... If all this is correct then...
- I can't supply that over 4awg... at least not for long
- The inverter I chose won't work for powering anything above 5k watts and I might have blown it as well.
- idk if batteries can discharge that fast but I figured one battery should be able to provide 72kA/s or 1kA for a minute. So I don't fully understand why the battery died.
Comments
Any, if you want to continue, we can... Or I can delete.
Take care,
Bill "moderator" B.
I feel stupid for not looking into the above sooner... 🤦♂️
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
-Bill
The pumps AC current demand has to be multiplied by a ratio of 20:1 for a 12V battery, roughly the run current should be ~4.6A, therefore the battery needs to supply 92A at 12V and significantly more on startup, perhaps 400Ah for a second or so. The 80Ah bank should have a maximum 80A, or 1C for each 24Ah.
Using a smaller pump is one solution, or a larger battery capacity, but 12V inverters are not user friendly and really shouldn't me made at such high wattage due to the high currents needed, moving up to 24 or 48V would be best.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.
https://www.amazon.com/Lifepo4-Lithium-Battery-System-battery/dp/B07TWDP8D9/ref=sr_1_32?dchild=1&keywords=200+ah+lithium+ion+battery+24v&qid=1613721973&sr=8-32
Actually works out cheaper as well, I linked a 24V 200Ah example, same cost for 12v 400Ah.
Whenever using solar it's best to have equipment like a pump working during sunlight hours, keeping it as small as practical, having a 1.5 hp pump working for a few minutes per day, or night, requires electrical support equipment to be sized accordingly. For example I recently installed a submersible 24V DC well pump with is own MPPT controller that is powered by a single 400W panel without batteries , it can fill a 1000 liter (260 gallon) holding tank in 2 hours in perfect conditions, a second 230V 150W on demand pump provides house pressure, everything including the demand pump cost ~$400.
Not knowing exactly what your particular requirements are I can't offer suggestions, other than to say, I think you need to rethink the whole exercise, there must be a better solution.
Second system 1890W 3 × 300W No name brand poly, 3×330 Sunsolar Poly panels, Morningstar TS 60 PWM controller, no name 2000W inverter 400Ah LFP 24V nominal battery with Daly BMS, used for water pumping and day time air conditioning.
5Kw Yanmar clone single cylinder air cooled diesel generator for rare emergency charging and welding.