fish pond pump -inverter sizing

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rama
rama Solar Expert Posts: 36 ✭
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
hi all,
quick question - for a 1hp rating fish pond air pump, how big of an inverter will I need? Say I am unable to get the actual rating from the manufacturer, is there a rule of thumb to follow?

I plan to use modified sine wave inverter and my research so far tells me a 1 hp fish pond air pump will require about 1500~2000w of continuous operating power, so 2K or 2.5KW inverter should be chosen?

Does this sound about right?
thanks
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,439 admin
    #2
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    Re: fish pond pump -inverter sizing

    It also depends on the surge current too... It is not unusual to plan for a 5x surge current or around a 10kW surge rated inverter (perhaps 5kW continuous rated).

    That would probably require a minimum of 500-600 AH battery bank (at 48 volts) to manage the surge current from the motor starting.

    If you can figure out how to soft start the guy--it may be a big help (VFD--Variable Frequency Drive)... However, if you are looking at an MSW inverter--you will have to work with the VFD supplier to ensure the one you are looking at will be guaranteed/reliable on an MSW inverter.

    The other question is how many hours per day are you planning on running that pump... If 24x7--that will require a lot of solar panels.

    If you are only planning on an hour or so per day--then would a smaller pump run longer would possibly address several problems.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Shadowcatcher
    Shadowcatcher Solar Expert Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: fish pond pump -inverter sizing

    Why not go for a DC pump? The host has them as well as others.
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: fish pond pump -inverter sizing
    Shadowcatcher wrote: »
    Why not go for a DC pump? The host has them as well as others.

    He (orig poster) is looking for an air pump, 1hp size.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • Shadowcatcher
    Shadowcatcher Solar Expert Posts: 228 ✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: fish pond pump -inverter sizing

    Ah now I understand. What I see around here (Upper Mid West) in ponds are the windmill driven air pumps and fountain water pump type setups.
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