Recommended 12v -220v pure sine wave 60hz 1500watts 4000 watts split phase inverter.

TellGRBill

Please tell me what you think of or recommend an inverter for powering a submersible 1/2 HP water pump in a 95' deep water well with a battery bank consisting of ten 12v 100AH wet open cell batteries

BB.

All things being equal (which they rarely are)--10x 12 volt @ 100 AH batteries would support a maximum sized inverter of around 3 kW:

• 12 * 100 AH * 1/250 Watts per 100 AH (at 12 volts) = 3,000 Watts suggested maximum inverter output (another FLA battery rule of thumb)

And 1,800 Watts is a good max inverter rating for a 12 volt battery bank... Based on typical 12 volt wiring AWG and length.

Others here have more experience than I running well pumps on inverters...

-Bill

Horsefly

My 1/2HP 120V well pump had an inrush of (IIRC) 35A @ 120VAC and a running current of about 14A @ 120VAC.  That inrush is over 4kW, not even allowing for the inverter inefficiency. That argues against a 12V system, so maybe a 24V or 48V system would be better suited. A 3kW inverter would probably be OK, but for an induction motor inrush you should probably stick with a low frequency inverter.

TellGRBill

Good evening fellow solar electric generation people  

I appreciate your patience with me !

 I have been remembering advice on this forum saying that I should find a better way to run our submersible well pump than using a 12v-220v inverter, suggesting that a cistern storage system, with a 12v RV pump might work better than trying to run the 220v submersible pump with a 12v-220 volt inverter.  I at first thought I found a nearly new 12v - 220v inverter for $100 from a neighbor that was supposed to provide 1500watts constant and 4000 watts surge power. Well, those were the figures someone on this forum suggested was what I needed.  However, as I asked questions of the seller, they stopped answering.  Then I found an inverter with the same rating that also had a chart that included the rating for different items, from an electric shaver to a 1000 watt motor. The motor could not be run by the 1500 - 4000 watt inverter, according to the chart, as I understood it.  I have spent many hours and days searching for a way to use our 12v solar system to run our 220v submersible water pump, without spending a fortune.  I have decided that I will use our 120v available power line or our generator, to run our220v submersible water pump to fill a ten 50 gallon plastic barrel cistern to store water when it looks like it will be necessary, and use that water for washing purposes.  I plan to place the barrels in our basement, when  filled, treat the water with a measured amount of chlorine, have an activated charcoal filter in the water line, and connect the cistern to the house water system with valves to insure no water from the cistern flows into the well. We also have another well that can be used  for drinking and cooking purposes. That well has a hand pump, and is also run by a windmill.  It's nice to have choices. Many people on earth don't have many !