I have a Prius inverter pump that seems to want 50 watts to drive it. The only panels I have are 100 watts. Can I use them, or will that burn out the pump? (On an AC system you can plug in anything below the power in the line and the appliance will just take what it needs. But is that also true for DC?) Thanks.
Prius inverter pump
- Thread starter RickStarr
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gnubie
Solar Wizard
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- Sep 20, 2019
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It;s a question of voltage. Will the panels, presumably via a MPPT controller or the like, supply the correct voltage for the pump's driver board. After that you can start to ask will the same panel and controller be able to supply enough current to run the pump under what ever load it has.
If the load exceeds the output of the solar system the output voltage will collapse, so you also need to ask how the driver board responds to undervoltage conditions.
*edit*
... and I've made an assumption that prius inverter pump is not the cooling pump from a Toyota, its some kind of pump run by an inverter board, VFD that sort of thing...
If the load exceeds the output of the solar system the output voltage will collapse, so you also need to ask how the driver board responds to undervoltage conditions.
*edit*
... and I've made an assumption that prius inverter pump is not the cooling pump from a Toyota, its some kind of pump run by an inverter board, VFD that sort of thing...
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This is the pump: it’s 12v. I don’t think there’s a board or even a chip in there, just a DC motor. On mine there are no markings of any kind (!), but the guy in the video is driving it with less than 100w.
. Surprisingly powerful. Unfortunately I don’t have the plug for it, so I will have to kludge something together, but otherwise it looks quite interesting.
Yes. Your power supply must supply enough voltage to run the pump, and the pump will draw as many amps as it needs.
If your water pump is powered by solar, and not a battery, how do you power it at night? Normally a PV system charges a battery and items are powered by the battery.
I have experience trying to power a water pump for my pond with solar. TLDR: it doesn't work on overcast days, or at night. I needed this pump to work 24/7 to keep the pond filter alive, and I just don't get enough sunlight in my area to get it to work even with a small battery backup.
Rider
Solar Addict
Are you considering trying to run the pump directly from the panels? If so, no. You'll damage one or the other eventually. The panels need to feed a battery thru a solar charger, then run the pump from the battery. But the single 100 watt panel probably won't be sufficient to keep the battery charged. The pump may use 50 watts with no load, but it will take much more actually pumping something.
<<Are you considering trying to run the pump directly from the panels? If so, no. You'll damage one or the other eventually.>>
Yes, I was planning to run the pump straight off the panels, as the guy in the YouTube video shows. It doesn’t matter if they run continuously or not, and obviously they won’t run at night. Doesn’t matter. (This is to keep water moving in a cove inlet that fills with small sticks, pond scum, and other debris. It’s not critical that it run continuously.)
But why would this damage either the pump or the panel?
Yes, I was planning to run the pump straight off the panels, as the guy in the YouTube video shows. It doesn’t matter if they run continuously or not, and obviously they won’t run at night. Doesn’t matter. (This is to keep water moving in a cove inlet that fills with small sticks, pond scum, and other debris. It’s not critical that it run continuously.)
But why would this damage either the pump or the panel?
I know this is an old thread, but I can't help it...
These pumps are the #1 failure for this model Prius. They go through 2-3 in their lifetime. More if you use the aftermarket Chinese pumps.
Based on some approximations on miles traveled and hours of run time, I wouldn't expect more than 1500hr of run time from them; however, it will help if you're not moving 120-130°F coolant.
These pumps are the #1 failure for this model Prius. They go through 2-3 in their lifetime. More if you use the aftermarket Chinese pumps.
Based on some approximations on miles traveled and hours of run time, I wouldn't expect more than 1500hr of run time from them; however, it will help if you're not moving 120-130°F coolant.
