off grid solar system for deep well water pump

zeidyhall
zeidyhall Registered Users Posts: 1
Good afternoon, I am afraid I will have to ask that you speak as if I were a five year old, since i really know nothing about this subject.  Precisely why I have the following questions:
I have a deep well 1.5HP water pump in a farm in Costa Rica.  There is no electricity.   I need to run the pump for at least 4 hours per day (we get plenty of sun for that and I have been quoted 3 250W panels a 400volts battery plus a 5000 watt inverter.  I need the inverter to have the ability for both 220/120  since the pump is 220v but I want to plug a light bulb or two.   Where can I find the right inverter or better yet, what should i be looking for in an inverter. 

Comments

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    edited April 2016 #2
    Welcome, having the make and model of that pump will go a long way to a correct answer form us...
    A picture of the name plate works too...

    Caution, do NOT buy anything till you get a complete answer....  also the make model of Panels inverter , battery

    PS they left off a Charge Controller which you will need to charge those batteries... that are needed if you want an inverter...

     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,433 admin
    There is a a second option for powering pumps. Basically:

    Solar panels -> special AC inverter -> 3 phase motor -> pump

    Some discussions about VFD (Variable Frequency Drives)... Basically a variable frequency inverter with (typically) three phase output. Used to soft start motors (handy for 3 phase well pumps, or pumps with well head starting capacitor) and can also turn an AC motor into a variable speed motor (very handy for pumping applications).

    WELL PUMP and Inverter QUESTION

    Wind/solar for large scale pumping etc (out of my depth!)
    could use knowledge - using Gould jet pump - transfering from 230vAC to ? DC (new link/thread 10/27/2012)
    Help required to design off grid system (information on possibilities to connect "standard VFDs direct to solar panels) (new link 1/13/2013)

    If you can live with pumping only during the middle of the day, using solar + VFD + pump motor can be a really nice way to go. Finding a local person that knows where to find the "Solar VFD" and match it to the right pump may be difficult.

    -Bill

    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,731 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 2016 #4
    I have some clients in Playas Del Coco and if you are lucky your pump is a grundfos SQ or really lucky an SQE.
    Short of these you will have to state a budget because if your pump is a standard deep well pump it is going be very expensive to compare with just running a generator for 4 hours as you stated.
    Your parts list does not sound right, 400V for battery?
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Figure a running load of 2500W,  and a starting surge of 5-10 times that.  The inverter, batteries and cables have to be able to supply the starting surge,  or the inverter will shut down.    OR  look for a soft start pump. or a solar DC pump
    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

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