Water pumping time again.

[Toepopper]

It has been extremely dry here in my area with only 2 inches of measurable rainfall since February. The spring up on the mountainside has stopped flowing and I am once again depending on my 2 little solar water pumps to keep my storage tanks topped off. It took 2 days to get them in place in the creekbed, hooked up to the solar panels and plumbed, but they are both on line and pumping water to their designated tanks. This will be the sixth summer pumping water with sunpower instead of gasoline and at $4.60 per gallon I am gratefull for the newer technology.

[Watchman]

I'm kind of curious - I realize they are pumping from the creek, but I wonder at what depth on a conventional well the solar pump could be effective?

[Toepopper]

There are a couple of solar water pump manufacturers who make solar powered pumps that are designed to be placed down a well shaft hole. They are designed to be submersed in water at the bottom of the well. The Shurflo company makes a submersible pump, #9300, which is a 3 piston 12/24 volt DC that can run on 12 volts and pump half the amount of water of the 24 volt setting. For some reason when you start talking well pumps, the price of the equipment starts to increase . They want $530. FRN's just for the pump, and then you still need solar panels and a charge controller so as not to fry the windings in the motor. They do work and are reliable, providing you live in an area with sufficient sunshine, and your pockets are deep enough to afford this type of system.
The pumps that I use to pump water from a pond are relatively inexpensive, $80.00 per unit. Shurflo # 8000-953-238. They pump at 100 PSI and when sized to the proper solar panel they will push water 190 feet straight up the mountainside at 1.6 gallons per minute. They are self starting, self priming and can run dry without damaging the motor. I am on the 6th summer with these 2 pumps so that is some cheap water! One pump uses 2 smaller solar panels because it is pushing water 130 feet to my garden storage tank and not the full 190 feet to my house tank. As soon as the morning sun pops over the mountain the pumps go to work and around 2:30 in the afternoon the solar panels are in the shade and the pumps stop. Very basic but reliable technology.
Another submersible pump maker is the GRUNDFOS Co. They have top of the line stainless steel pumps that will push 6 GPM up to 300 feet. They also cost $1540 plus solar panels and charge controller!!

[dejure]

We live in the desert portion of the country of Washington. Were it not for the vast irrigation system, it would be uninhabitable. However, water is ran here by a series of canals and such to feed thousands of acres under irrigation circles, wheel lines, hand lines and so forth. Our drinking water is from a five hundred foot deep well. The grid provides what we need to get a good supply, but we are looking for solutions in even the one world agent located in that ten mile square area back east tried to shut down the crop water supplies by taking out the dams that supply the electrical grid. As such, we are looking for solutions for getting the water out of the ground and, preferably, into the air a few feet to provide a reasonable gravity feed sufficient for a low pressure shower and such. Any tips, tricks and ideas guys and gals?

Like most, we aren't made of money, so we are considering learning about ferro cement projects, combined with water glass for storage, solar power for pumps, air rams and so forth.

[WillyPete]

I have a copy of the Reader's Digest book "Back to Basics" that has a section on providing water to your homestead.
One part of that section shows a water ram setup that can pump water uphill quite a distance into a raised tank for storage and use.
The only problem you may have is having a stream with a good flow at some location on your property.
Best thing about this system is, it operates entirely on the hydraulic power provided by the flowing stream, no electricity or sunshine for solar power required.

[Toepopper]

Yes, those little water rams work great if your property can meet certain requirements. The "High Lifter" water ram needs to be placed at a minimum of 30 feet below the water source. It operates on water pressure falling from a pipe that runs from the pond or creek downhill to the water ram which pushes water uphill to the storage tank. These pumps work well, push about 1200 to 1500 gallons up 300 feet in elevation. That is plenty of water for a working homestead. They run 24-7 and can be enclosed in an insulated wooden box during the winter months so they don't freez solid. For my situation they will not work because I do not have a water source high enough in elevation to power the pump. They have been around in one form or another since the 1700's.
Pulling water from a depth of 500 feet - I do not know anyone who is pumping from that depth. The deepest solar powered well pump I know of is drawing from 150 feet and is powered by 2 small 80 watt solar panels. No batteries are used in this system. That is a long ways to pull water up and without 220 and a reliable power grid you might be out of luck if the grid fails for any long amount of time. The ferro cement tanks are considered obsolete technology due to the seasonal temperature fluxuations and associated cracks developing in the cement from constant expansion and contraction. The large food grade polly tanks are lightweight, moveable and expand and contract without rupturing during winter. I have several that are near 30 years old and I have had no problems or leaks with these tanks.