Design and build information for solar photovoltaic (PV) pumping systems, and water powered ram pumps that you can build.
This section also covers mechanical windmill pumps, backup hand pumps for well, and the interesting spiral pump design.
Directory for this page:
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Solar PV Water Pumping Basics | |
A Graphic Guide to Solar Water Pumping Windy Dankoff How
to get articles from Home Power ...
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![]() Very good article on designing and selecting the components for a solar electric water pumping system. Covers a wide variety of pumping head, flow, and system types -- helps you select the right pumping system for the job.
The Dankoff website has a lot of solar pumping information, specifications, installation instructions, pump manuals... |
Solar (Photovoltaic) Water
Pumping, From Practical Action.org
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Guide to Solar Powered Water
Pumping in New York State New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
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![]() Also compares solar pumping to Diesel, wind, and gravity systems. 2004
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Build Your Own Solar-Powered Water
Pumping Station, Jeffery Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago91.html
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Solar Water Pumping Wind and Sun
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Quite a bit of information on solar water
pumping systems. A general guide on solar water pumping and
specifications for solar pumping equipment.
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Solar-Powered Livestock Watering
Systems University of Tennessee Extension Stock Watering PV 1640 (140K pdf) |
![]() Much of this information could be applicable to a residential water system that uses a storage tank. From the University of Tennessee Extension Service: http://bioengr.ag.utk.edu/extension/ExtPubs/ |
Pumps and Watering Systems for
Managed Beef Grazing...
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Water Well Drilling... |
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Solar PV Water Pumping Systems | |
A
Solar Powered Pumping and Storage System Suitable for a Household From By Example
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![]() The system pumps from 140 ft to fill a 1600 gallon water storage tank. The Sun Pumps Submersible pump is said to pump from depths up to 230 ft at rates up to 2 gpm. This might provide about 600 gallons on a sunny day from a fixed PV array. |
Solar pumping water from a spring --with high head requirement... |
The greenhouse is 800 ft away and 50 higher than the spring, so, not an easy pumping situation. |
Solar Water Pumping Makes Sense Windy Dankoff How to get articles from Home Power ... |
![]() Very good description of design and installation of a direct PV solar pumping system for a house. |
Winter Cattle Watering with Automated Solar Pumps Ken Kelln and Paul Hanley |
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A simple and elegant PV powered stock watering system that is “cow activated”. PV panel and batteries power a submersible 12VDC pump that is activated by a motion detector. System Cost $4200. |
Solar-Powered Cattle Saloon L. A. Wallin |
![]() Article about pumping water from a 400 ft deep well using a solar powered pump jack (mechanically powered piston pump at bottom of well). Providing water for cattle in Montana. |
Build your own solar-powered water pumping station Backwoods Magazine http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago91.html
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A good
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OtherPower -- Water Pumping www.otherpower.com/otherpower_waterpumping.html
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Solar Water Pumping and Supplementary Power for a Grid-Powered Home Windy Dankoff
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![]() The article appears in issue 76, April/May 2000 -- but does not appear to be in their digital archive. |
Pumping Water for Irrigation Using Solar Energy H.J. Helikson, D.Z. Haman and C.D. Baird University of Florida -- Extension Service Pumping Paper (pdf)
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![]() Interesting reflector/tracking arrangement on the PV panels that increases panel output significantly. |
Water: A Safe Supply When You're Off the Grid, Jeffrey Yago, Backwoods Home Magazine, Sep 2001 www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago71.html |
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Sunny Solutions for North Slope Applications, Michael Hackleman, Backwoods Home Magazine, Jan 2000 www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hackleman61.html |
![]() They worked out a solution that involves mounting the PV modules on a tower. Also has some good information on tower building and tower raising. |
Ram Pumps Ram pumps use a flow of low head water to pump a portion of the water uphill |
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Hydraulic Ram Pumps...
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Build Your Own Ram Pump Clemson University -- Cooperative Extension Service
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Building a Homemade Ram Pump Scott Lee How
to get articles from Home Power ...
Also here:
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![]() Good hands-on article on how to build a simple ram pump from hardware store parts. Ram pumps use a flow of low head water to pump a portion of the water uphill. |
Hydraulic Ram Pumps...
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Atlas Ram Pump Construction http://atlaspub.20m.com/kits.htm
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Low Cost, low flow, home made
hydraulic ram pump (no welding required) http://www.judyofthewoods.net/diy/ram_pump.html
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![]() Good construction detail. Have a look around the rest of Judy's website while you are there -- lots of interesting material. |
Spiral Pump -- A slow turning pump that can be powered by slow flowing creeks/rivers | |
Spiral Pump
The Spiral Pump - A High Lift, Slow Turning Pump, Peter Trailer
Video of spiral pump made from clear tubing working...
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![]() The pump in the picture pumps 400 gallons per day to a tank 50 ft above the pump.
Sometime I am going to have to sit down an figure why this works :-) |
Hand Pumps | |
Bison Pumps...
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![]() For shallow or deep wells (up to 300'). |
Rintoul's Hand Pumps
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Windmill Pumps | |
Suppliers of Windmill
Water Pumps Aermotor: Dempster (no longer in business): www.windmill-parts.com/id13.html
How the Windmill pumps work - diagram... American Windmills ... (sell windmills and parts+how-to info) Dean Bennett Supply... (Aermotor windmills and parts+info) |
![]() ![]() These windmill pumps are simple and have been in common use for 120 years. Some are 100 years old and still running. |
Wind Pumping, From Practical Action.org
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![]() Some design and sizing information. |
Water Pumping Windmills, Dorothy Ainsworth, Backwoods Home Magazine, Nov 2004 www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ainsworth90.html Dorothy's website -- windmill pages... dorothyainsworth.com/wind/windmills.html |
![]() ![]() Dorothy's website has a good writeup on the whole process of planning for and installing a windmill water pumper. |
Vintage Windmills NEWS
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![]() All issues available online for free -- lots of interesting articles. |
Rebuilding an Aermotor 702
windmil water pumper Rebuilding Aermotor 702 ... Salvaging an Aermotor 702 a-702.com |
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Historic
Water Pumping Windmills in Australia
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![]() Quite a nice collection of information on the great machines. This is on the backshed site, which has a ton of good information on building your own wind system. |
Pictures of a Dempster water pumping windmill along I-15 |
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Airlift Windmills http://airliftech.com/index.html |
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Freeze Proof Stock Waters -- that don't use
energy A whole section of solar and geothermal freeze resistant stock watering tank here...
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Swimming Pool Pumping | |
I don't have any example systems for PV pool pumping at this time. If you know of a good example, please let me know.
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Gary updated 7/27/07, 9/5/07, May 10, 2008