Help!!?

[CLD]

Hi All, ok. So I had a off grid system installed at container home and was told at the time that running a transfer pump as in submersible would be detrimental to batteries. Would a small referidgeator booster water pump be acceptable?
CLD

 

[Mattb4]

Loads are only detrimental to a battery if they exceed its capacity to supply or the battery gets fully discharged in the case of lead acid.

So what is the load from the proposed pump and what is your battery/inverter setup?

 

[CLD]

Loads are only detrimental to a battery if they exceed its capacity to supply or the battery gets fully discharged in the case of lead acid.

So what is the load from the proposed pump and what is your battery/inverter setup?

Loads are only detrimental to a battery if they exceed its capacity to supply or the battery gets fully discharged in the case of lead acid.

So what is the load from the proposed pump and what is your battery/inverter setup?

 

[CLD]

I’m so sorry. Such a novice but that’s why I’m here. Booster pump is 115 v and photos are of gel batteries. If you have time let me know what info on pump. Watts? Amps? Inverter is 5000w

 

[Mattb4]

I notice you have what seems to be a loose connection between third and 4th battery (series connection). However that is not what you are asking about.

The pump is rated in amperage usually. Since Watts = Volts X Amps the loading can be than calculated. Batteries are rated in amp hours Ex. 100ah 12v battery which is usually a 20 hour rating (5a x 20hours =100ah) Most often lead acid batteries you only want to use about 50% of that to gain longer life time. The higher the current draw from a battery the lower overall wattage you will get from it due to the chemistry of the battery.

So if you know your battery bank capacity, and you know the load, you can than calculate how long the battery bank will supply it. Suppose your pump draws 2 amps at 120vAC. That would be 20 amps at 12vDC (12v x 10 = 120v). There is of course losses when converting from AC to DC to consider but for a quick idea of battery need it will suffice. Thus a 100ah LA battery at 50% use is 50ah. 50ah/20a=2.5h

 

[CLD]

I notice you have what seems to be a loose connection between third and 4th battery (series connection). However that is not what you are asking about.

The pump is rated in amperage usually. Since Watts = Volts X Amps the loading can be than calculated. Batteries are rated in amp hours Ex. 100ah 12v battery which is usually a 20 hour rating (5a x 20hours =100ah) Most often lead acid batteries you only want to use about 50% of that to gain longer life time. The higher the current draw from a battery the lower overall wattage you will get from it due to the chemistry of the battery.

So if you know your battery bank capacity, and you know the load, you can than calculate how long the battery bank will supply it. Suppose your pump draws 2 amps at 120vAC. That would be 20 amps at 12vDC (12v x 10 = 120v). There is of course losses when converting from AC to DC to consider but for a quick idea of battery need it will suffice. Thus a 100ah LA battery at 50% use is 50ah. 50ah/20a=2.5h

Got it. Thank you very much.

 

[CLD]

Got it. Thank you very much.

I saw that, if your referring to the positive cable in the foreground I’ll check it. I actually keep a 10 mm box end wrench hanging on refer to check often.
Home is in Costa Rica. I’ll be down next month. Thanks again.

 

[JeepHammer]

Hi All, ok. So I had a off grid system installed at container home and was told at the time that running a transfer pump as in submersible would be detrimental to batteries. Would a small referidgeator booster water pump be acceptable?
CLD

Respectfully, I'm going back to the beginning, the beginning is always where anyone should start...

So you need a pump of some sort... Apparently submerged in liquid?

Since your power supply is solar PV, which produces current in DC... Why not a DC pump instead of AC through an inverter with inverter losses?

Think "Direct Drive" instead of conversions with the losses involved in conversion?

I've been off grid for over 30 years, made a crap load of mistakes...

My first well pump was AC which worked with the AC generator I often needed to back up my puny solar system.

When the solar system was handling almost 100% of electrical needs, and my inverter let the magic smoke out (again, a mistake on my part), no water until the inverter got replaced...

Which got me thinking, I produce 100% DC power, run that through an inverter to make AC (with substantial losses), while there are perfectly good DC pumps available... And I could have water even though I didn't have AC with the inverter out...

So I have DC well pumps now. On a timer to fill pressure tanks they run during peak sun hours where the panels power them directly, or I can push a button and run them at night to fill tanks as needed... if not, they just wait until the timer kicks in during peak sun hours.

My point is, why not a DC pump directly off panels/batteries without inverter losses. Much more efficient...

And of this is a sump pump (most submersible pumps are well water or sumps, so I'm assuming here), why not something like a boat bilge pump? Cheap, effective, DC out of the box, etc.

If its a potable water pump then spend a little more bit about every pump you find has a DC equivalent... and in all different voltages.