Help building solar powered pump for drip Irrigation

Harout · October 2016

Hello,
i need help putting together and building a solar powered pump to provide water for a drip system on my small farm. I plan on getting four 50 gallon rain barrels that will be filled up by a reverse osmosis system (150-200GPD), i will then need to pump the water from the barrels into the drip system at around 20-25psi. I have 8- 25"x2.5" foot beds. Each bed will have three 1/2" drip emitter tubing running down the bed, either 1/2gph or 1gph depending on how i set up this solar system. If i do 1gph emitters i would need 10.5GPM for 20-30 minutes, if i do 1/2GPH emitters i would need 5.25GPM but would need to run the pump twice as long 40-60 minutes. i can also split up the 8 beds into 2 zones so would need 5.25GPM with 1GPH emitters for 2 cycles of 20-30 minutes. i need help choosing a pump and solar panel kit. Also would want a battery backup for shady days. Also gravity feed wont work because i can only have the barrels 1-2 feet off the ground. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Here is a pump I have been looking into.
http://www.seaflo.com/en/productDetail_460.html

https://www.amazon.com/SEAFLO-Water-Diaphragm-Pressure-Pump/dp/B01CO5N38E/ref=sr_1_46?ie=UTF8&qid=1475431811&sr=8-46&keywords=seaflo+12v+pump

Solar panel
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-Solar-50-Watt-Off-Grid-Solar-Panel-Kit-GS-50-KIT/206877151

hose>Reverse osmosis system>rain barrels>pump>drip system

westbranch · October 2016

Just was looking at these. low amps and should do the trick
https://www.ussolarpumps.com/product/d5-solar-hot-water-pump/

Harout · October 2016

can it output 20-25 psi?

westbranch · October 2016

looks like it would be about 7 - 8 psi.( max head 14.5 ft)

My house drip system has a pressure reducer on it to under ~ 5 psi, wonder why those need such high PSI? Is this a soaker hose type?

Harout · October 2016

Constant discharge over a pressure range of 12 - 50 psi.
its this tube here
https://www.dripdepot.com/item/half-inch-polyethylene-pressure-compensating-drip-line-emitter-spacing-12-inch-flow-rate-one-gph-roll-length-100-feet

westbranch · October 2016

I like the self flushing part, we have realllly hard water here and it's an annual chore to unplug the alkaline deposits! 64 grains hardness plus a few parts Iron...

Anawa · October 2016

Harout, if the water you're going to use in the drip line has been "filtered" via reverse osmosis, shouldn't it be free of debris and containments? I raise this because the primary focus of the line you anticipate using is the flushing feature that requires the 20-25 psi. I believe you would have many more options with pumps and the like if you are not required to maintain the "high" pressure. I would think the circulating pump that WB posted above would have merit in what you are trying to do.

Some more thoughts, it seems that you are immersing your beds with a lot of water at one time with 3 lines at 1gph. I know you are aware of the math, but 3 gallons in an hour in a raised bed seems a lot. I guess, it's sorta contrary to "drip". We have about 600 LF of beds and use both gravity and "pressurized" drip irrigation. The gravity is only 3.5 psi and the "pressurized" is 10 psi that uses a pressure reducing valve. Our beds are both "raised" and in-ground, vary in width from 2' to 3', and most have only a single drip tape (two lines max), and we use 1/2 gph 6" drip tape that is cheap. We get 2-3 seasons out of the line before we replace. The water is filtered by 250m washable filters. We automatically water daily for about 30-45 minutes each bed and fertigate weekly. This system has worked well for us for the last few years.

Something you may want to consider, invariably you will need a hose for clean-up, fertilizer, etc. A 3/4" hose with 8 psi should more than supply your needs.

Just sayin,

Paul
in Georgia

Harout · October 2016

I like using that line because it will last 2-3 years without replacement. I'll look into others that run on lower psi. Also I will be going with 1/2gph drippers to save water

Harout · October 2016

gonna go with 1/4" drip emitter tubing spaced 6"@0.5pgh. Only needs 5 psi to run. Any ideas on what solar set up to get? also what size battery would be sufficient for that solar water pump?

Thanks!

westbranch · October 2016

good choice, my 1/4 inch is almost 20 years old and still not brittle.. same comments as before, ... what GPH or flow do you need now?

Harout · October 2016

i would need around 5.25GPM. Still trying to figure out what solar panel and battery i would need to run the pump to get 5.25GPM@5-10 psi

mrichterd · January 2017

Take a look to this http://www.netafim.com/product/family-drip-system
I have one one my farm for 4 years and work very good for short beds. The drippers are made for low head.
The only con its that if you have low head, an automatization its not easy becaouse the solenoid valves not work.

dennis461 · January 2017

Harout said:

i would need around 5.25GPM. Still trying to figure out what solar panel and battery i would need to run the pump to get 5.25GPM@5-10 psi

You need to pick a pump, provide the horsepower or wattage, hours of run time, do you need it at night or just during daylight, etc. I've read this thread a couple of times and I'm not catching what your power requirements are.

jonr · February 2017

This calculator tells me that you need a ~40 watt pump.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pumps-power-d_505.html

Don't underestimate gravity feed - over 24 hours it can move a reasonable amount of water through a drip system. Try a small test.

Help building solar powered pump for drip Irrigation

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