My last circ 12 VDC circ pump was a Hartell, and was in use for about 20 years here in the Idaho mountains, powered by a 30 watt PV panel. It gave it up last week (started to make a screeching noise) and I see they no longer make them. March used to make 12 v pumps, no more also. Ivan Labs also seemed to have gotten out of the pump business. This is for my closed loop 3 Heliodyne thermal panels system that provides all my domestic hot water plus contributes to the rad floor heating system. I have been without it for the last week, and I miss it terribly! After purusing various questionable pumps, I decided not to cheap out, and I just pulled the trigger on this: https://www.amazon.com/Solar-Hot-Water-Pumps-6-0/dp/B00QMBNTYA?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 You get what you pay for I guess, the Hartell was similar priced, and that was 20 years ago. It will bolt right up, same outlet spacing, and after I reprime the system I'll be back in business. This is the first time the system, has been opened up in 15 years, totally trouble free during that time.
12 volt circ pump manufacturers
- Thread starter Ptom
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Love this system. I'm considering something similar this spring but with a tankless hot water heaters (propane), circulation pumps & maybe surplus electric tank water heater for daytime solar dump... still working through the details.
Sorry for the ignorance, but why does it have to be a 12v pump? TIA
A 12 volt pump, so a 12 volt (more or less...) PV panel can power it, but also, more importantly, at the same act as a pump controller. I tried a snap switch up at the thermal panel, telling a AC pump when to turn on and off, but much prefer the variable speed action and utter reliability of the small PV panel running the main circ pump approach.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
Do not Watts and Taco make a 12V circulator?
My Grundfos 120vac pump runs continuous using about 6 watts to move about 1 gpm. Has higher settings. I suppose it could be controlled by the solar panel and a relay.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Grundfos-99163906-ALPHA2-15-55F-LC-Cast-Iron-Circulator
I use an El Sid to move water around the RV.
http://shop.solardirect.com/product_info.php?products_id=363
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Grundfos-99163906-ALPHA2-15-55F-LC-Cast-Iron-Circulator
I use an El Sid to move water around the RV.
http://shop.solardirect.com/product_info.php?products_id=363
Yeah but it would not have the incremental/variable speed action of a DC pump setup.
It's been a few weeks since I got the new pump installed, and near as I can tell the increased flow rate this little pumpseems to have over the previous Hartell has been nothing but beneficial. As in, more BTU's at the end of the day put into the floor, "where the rubber meets the road". I learned long ago that making a lot of water warmish, is better than a smaller amount of water very hot. I am very pleased with the pump, you get what pay for always and it's high price is worth it.
El SID PV powered pumps, question about an internal "o" ring. Has anyone seen inside an El SID? I took apart the three El SIDS that move the glycol in my solar loop. Inside I saw: 1. impeller with an attached magnetic head, 2. shaft that the impeller slides on to, 3. the threaded stub of the housing that the shaft screws into, and 4. an "o" ring that was on the stub of the housing. I need to know if this "0" ring is important and where it should be placed.
Recently, the solar loop in our community building overheated. Most of the time no one is in the building so the problem wasn't noticed for a week. The El SID pumps were screeching something horrible until they were disconnected to the power source. The glycol looked terrible. However, when the SIDS were opened up nothing looked damaged at all. The only thing beat up was the small rubber "o" rings. They were pushed up on the stub that the shaft screws into, which doesn't make any sense. Any idea where they should be? Any idea if there were other washers, or o-rings, that might have been ground into dust?
Solar Direct has these pumps on their web site, but they don't actually have any to sell. Kelly at Solar Direct told me the guy, Dan, who supplied the SID's has died without selling his business. He lived in Jupiter FL and I talked to him back in 2018 when I bought a replacement for the magnetic electric driver of one pump. It's sad he is not around because the pumps still are, and they are amazing. We have been using and abusing these three pumps since 2000 and even after this last disaster they still look good.
We will be flushing and recharging the system. But first, we'll fill it with water and test how well the pumps move liquid. If they work as well as they look it will be smooth sailing. BUT, I'd really like to know about these "o" rings before filling everything up again.
Recently, the solar loop in our community building overheated. Most of the time no one is in the building so the problem wasn't noticed for a week. The El SID pumps were screeching something horrible until they were disconnected to the power source. The glycol looked terrible. However, when the SIDS were opened up nothing looked damaged at all. The only thing beat up was the small rubber "o" rings. They were pushed up on the stub that the shaft screws into, which doesn't make any sense. Any idea where they should be? Any idea if there were other washers, or o-rings, that might have been ground into dust?
Solar Direct has these pumps on their web site, but they don't actually have any to sell. Kelly at Solar Direct told me the guy, Dan, who supplied the SID's has died without selling his business. He lived in Jupiter FL and I talked to him back in 2018 when I bought a replacement for the magnetic electric driver of one pump. It's sad he is not around because the pumps still are, and they are amazing. We have been using and abusing these three pumps since 2000 and even after this last disaster they still look good.
We will be flushing and recharging the system. But first, we'll fill it with water and test how well the pumps move liquid. If they work as well as they look it will be smooth sailing. BUT, I'd really like to know about these "o" rings before filling everything up again.
It seems dicey to open them, but surprisingly this is all that is inside, plus one o-ring that sits on the shaft between the impeller and the bottom of the shaft or the threaded threaded stub part of the back housing. The devil is so often in the details, where is this o-ring supposed to be and what is it supposed to be doing??
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An idea just came to me this morning. The inlet to the pump wells up around the bottom of the shaft. The o-ring might protect the interface of the shaft and the impeller from grit. It is the only place in the unit where two pieces are rubbing together. It looks like the impeller mostly floats in the glycol and the magnetic field, but it does spin on the shaft. My plan is to try buying an o-ring that fits tight to the shaft, but doesn't push the impeller far enough to rub on the housing above it. Are you using El SID motors?
I have one to circulate hot water in my part time RV. Hardly an expert. So far it has just worked.
I chose the magnetic drive as it is mounted in a blind spot and it has no shaft seal to leak... and it runs on 12v.
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