diy solar

diy solar

Grundfos SQ and bison hand pump

Dwd902

New Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2020
Messages
15
Hello all,

I live totally off grid and have a super small set up. We currently have a drilled well that is 245 feet deep and 10GPM. We have a bison hand pump we have been using for years. With a new addition to family water is getting used a lot more and pumping by hand is getting tiring. I called the well people that put in well and said the SQ series is only good for 100 feet and should get something different for solar. I am curious if it is possible to o this myself and if so how would I work around am still use the bison pump. I'm thinking grundfos SQ but unsure how to install it. Also have jackery 1000 would I be able to use well pump with that. It just sits in corner never use it. Thank you in advanced.
 
Initial reaction: A well that deep is probably going to take a good sized stacked impeller pump. Also motor loads (HIGH inrush currents) are not usually a good fit for small, portable inverters. Also 240V is more common for a well pump. So most likely the answer is no.
You have to compare the pump electrical specs to the inverter specs. A soft starter would be extremely useful in a case like this since it can reduce inrush by more than 50%. Realistically for a reliable set up, a quality, low frequency, 240V, 1500-2000W inverter would be more in the ball park of what you are looking for.
 
You could also go to 3-phase motor with a VFD drive. Those can eliminate startup surge and the startup torque on the standpipe. Grundfos SQFlex pumps definitely have models that will work for you.
 
How far down is the water (static level)? If it's less than 50' you can easily install the pump by hand on poly pipe. Over 150' can get dicey fast.

There's numerous Grundfos SQ models that can pump from that depth and with its built in soft start sounds like a great choice for you. They have 115v volt and 240v models so be sure you get the right one for your power system.

I hate to contradict your local well company so triple check me.

Are you going to have a conventional water system with a pressure tank? If so then you need to add that pressure to the pumping head when choosing a pump. ~50PSI will add 93' of head to your pump choice. (50 x 2.31)

Watch how the amps slowly climb compared to a standard pump at around 2:15 seconds into the video.

Below is from their brochure.
  • Soft start ensures a low current with a smooth and steady acceleration, offering excellent starting reliability at low voltage, prevents overload of the mains power, reduces water hammer in the pipe and reduces pump wear
  • Low current draw and soft start allows use of smaller gauge wire compared to traditional 4” motors, this can reduce the overall cost of installation
  • Low ampere usage makes it possible to connect more appliances to the same fuse group or reduce the size of the power line
  • It is recommend to use a generator with a capacity 50% higher than rated pump power consumption

Keep us posted please!

1648121405521.png
 
I just replaced my old 240v submersible pump with a Grundfos 5SQ05 that runs on 115volts. My pump is 180 ft deep and feeds directly into a storage tank. It is now running off solar. It was supposed to pump 5 gals/minute but it only does 2 or 3, which is fine with me since we only use about 200 gallons a day. The pump has a slow start and only uses 6 to 6.3 amps. The box said it was designed for 85ft deep, that is why I get less than 5/gls/min. If I put a timer on it, It could be used without a battery. I also replaced my 110v. booster pump with a 25 volt small pump from Aquatec, that was only $100. It works fine off solar and we have four bathrooms. It does not put out enough volume to run sprinklers for more than three minutes at a time, so that's what we set the sprinklers to do.
I have 2 200 watt panels and 2 100 amp/hr lifepo batteries. I kept the old booster pump inline, in case the little one fails or if like today we have a rare California rain and little sun. I would have gone with the Grundfos SQflex pump, but I got this one for almost$1000. less. and it works fine for my needs.
 
Last edited:
Hello all,

I live totally off grid and have a super small set up. We currently have a drilled well that is 245 feet deep and 10GPM. We have a bison hand pump we have been using for years. With a new addition to family water is getting used a lot more and pumping by hand is getting tiring. I called the well people that put in well and said the SQ series is only good for 100 feet and should get something different for solar. I am curious if it is possible to o this myself and if so how would I work around am still use the bison pump. I'm thinking grundfos SQ but unsure how to install it. Also have jackery 1000 would I be able to use well pump with that. It just sits in corner never use it. Thank you in advanced.
When talking about solar and well water pumping there is nothing better IMO (and experience) than the SQFlex series from Grundfos. https://product-selection.grundfos.com/us/products/sqflex?tab=models
They have many models for different depths of wells and they seamlessly run off of 90-240VAC or (more importantly) 30-300VDC. They can even run directly off of solar panels without batteries if need be. They have different accessories (control boxes) for different installations and IMO they just can't be beat. For the DIYer they have installation videos right on the website and paper instructions as well. IMO, the SQFlex pumps are the absolute best solution for water well pumping on solar (if cost is not the most important factor).
 
Has anyone run a Grundfos SQFlex pump directly off of the solar panels(straight DC with no inverter? I am considering running my pump off some Jino 385W panels. However, I am a bit reluctant as the panels are rated at max amps of about 9.59(or somewhere around there, can't remember off the top of my head) and the pump has a rated amperage of 8.4 amps. I surely don't want to blow my pump out. I have not experimented with this pump so if anyone has any info/thoughts, if would be appreciated.
 
Has anyone run a Grundfos SQFlex pump directly off of the solar panels(straight DC with no inverter? I am considering running my pump off some Jino 385W panels. However, I am a bit reluctant as the panels are rated at max amps of about 9.59(or somewhere around there, can't remember off the top of my head) and the pump has a rated amperage of 8.4 amps. I surely don't want to blow my pump out. I have not experimented with this pump so if anyone has any info/thoughts, if would be appreciated.
Welcome.

All good. That's exactly the SQF is for. You will love it. We've done a few dozen and they are just tanks that go and go and go.

Pumps are often rated that at the max amps it they draw. It's not the max amps you can hook up to it. We had no choice but to use ~10 amp modules on our last few SQF projects and they are doing fine a year later.
 
Back
Top