Solar Pumps

The Hostel had a requirement to pump water from the lake up to the new lake garden. They had been carrying watering cans back and forth from the lake and it was taking a lot of effort and time. We wanted to use some barrels raised up high enough to develop some water pressure capable of watering the garden and running an irrigation system. The lift was about 15 foot from the water level in the lake to the top of the barrels. The system was to be as simple as possible requiring as little maintenance as possible. We were also determined to try to do this without the cost, added maintenance and the resultant polution and recycling issues of using a battery.

By using a Linear Current Booster, it was possible to run the pump when there is less than optimum sunlight on the panel. It increases the electrical current to the motor at the cost of reducing the voltage. It prevents the pump being in a stall condition during early morning and later afternoon when the sunlight is less than optimal. So the motor is pumping a lot longer each day and moving a lot more water! A direct solar system would only pump from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, while the boosted motor runs from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The foot valve makes sure that the pipe from the lake is always full of water and prevents the pump from having to be reprimed every time the sun goes behind a cloud. Gravity keeps the water pipe above the pump full of water so every pt of sunlight is used to lift water and no electricity is wasted lifting water back up to the pump each time it is needed. The float lifts the valve out of the mud on the bottom of the pond and keeps it in clean water.