Battery system for emergency well power

[b0bbyg]

Looking for a system to power well house if power goes out.
Well is a 30 amp circuit, well house has 40 amp main breaker.

Thinking a battery system that could get me by a while in a pinch and in non severe weather events could be used in green house spring/fall to extend growing seasons. During this time would use solar panels to recharge.

Curious if anyone has a system like this or has opinions. Would like something that serves multiple uses that if oight enough could be used for summer trips in a camper, or at hunting camp for power.

Starting to explore options and seems like there are a few out there, some too heavy to move around much

[Scruffy]

I am just starting to dabble in solar for my trailer.  Your well is probably 220V like mine and I think would draw too much power for batteries unless you had a huge bank of them.  Using it in a green house on solar, the well would be kicking on frequently.  You would need a big solar array to recharge fast enough.  I think you need a back up generator for a reliable power source for what you are asking.  Just my 

[Skillet]

 
If the well power is out, the rest of the house power is out too.  Water cooled aux genset best option, IMHO.

[Magnum_Willys]

Your cheapest option is to splice a 220V cord connection in the line that supplys pump with power.  Buy a 6500w gas generator and plug a 220v - 30A extension cord into it.  Run that cord to where pump line connection is.   When power goes out unplug pump cord from panel socket and plug into generator socket and fire up generator.  Guy I bought rental from did that for 30 years.   Caveat:  Chk with local electrian and municipalies of course.

Or for $20k propane generator or Tesla battery pack and solar panels are readily available. 

[WSU]

I use a gas generator.

[b0bbyg]

Thanks all for the replies, I still have interest and will do more research, but it may be more than is reasonable for a battery solution.
To be clear it is more wanting a battery system that could serve in a pinch, not a solar array that could run the well by itself.
Some solar in greenhouse when emergency not looming and use it there during that time.

Batteries expensive but getting better and more portable with some solutions so fun to explore the options.

But may be getting put on back burner as heat pump gave up the ghost recently

[MeepDog]

10kw inverter would be good for 41amps at 240v. Those will run you around $2k but the battery system to run an inverter that size would be pretty expensive as well. Then you have the charging system for that battery bank.

You would need some sort of wired in extra plug that ideally would have an interlock to run because if you just slap power on the circuit youll back feed your house and put juice onto the rest of the grid if your main circuit breaker is still closed in. All of this still applies with a generator as well. I could be mistaken but I believe its a code requirement to have some sort of interlock in place for a generator plug attached to your home circuits.

[Mudman]

do transfer switch and genny.  4000w 30amp gen. will do it mininum but larger should be used.  Or for $ well spent do whole house panel switch and large genny.  You can throw in batts and inverters later if desired?

[boneaddict]

My well comes off its own breaker out by the main meter, and does not come off the House box.   Be conscious of what the transfer switch will let you power if hooking a genny in is what I am saying.   

[CP]

Something like this should do the job:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJK2G52L/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aref=XEkKFMtJIY

Hard to say how much battery/inverter that you need without more info on the pump motor.

[b0bbyg]

My well comes off its own breaker out by the main meter, and does not come off the House box.   Be conscious of what the transfer switch will let you power if hooking a genny in is what I am saying.

I have a similar setup, small well house with 40 amp dedicated service.

Well house was powered off original service for a mobile home, I convinced power company to leave that service when new house was built with a new line pulled in.

Whatever I put in i want a proper switch installed for safety and no back feed of power

[Reidus]

Could just install a water storage tank that is always full and then install a small pump with a couple batteries not connected to your power system to use when power is out....until your batteries are dead or your tank is empty. I'd imagine a small pump would run quite a while on a couple deep cycles.

[huntinguy]

interesting discussion. I am in the same boat, trying to figure how to power my well pumps when the power goes out.

Re. Reidus's comment: I have a pump in the well that is about 40 amps, that feeds a cistern that has a 35 amp pump that feeds the line to the house. That was about as small as I could go and still meet the needs of the house. I was very surprised the pump had to be so big...

As for power requirements... there is something... I think it is called "armature lock" amperage that defines how large the generator needs to be. That is, as I understand it, the power required to start the motion of the pump. It is significantly higher than the run amperage.

I have thought of a gasoline generator as others suggested. The "new" gas has a habit of killing carburetors. so, for me that is out.

Battery backup with solar or line voltage to keep them charged is an interesting thought. but, I keep thinking, what if power is out for a week... (I worry too much).

I keep coming back to a propane (no natural gas where we are at) as it seems the best option for a no touch system.

My house and pumps are on different feeds also.... so, one or two generators becomes the question... or run a separate gas line to separate  generators or one large generator and separate out the power feeds.

check and see, many of the pumps are 3 phase and are electronically converted. The generator signal has to be very clean from what I understand, or it will take out the electronics.

IF  you do go with a propane system, some propane companies give a discount for a complete fill if you have a 1000 gallon tank. It doesn't matter how much it takes to top off the tank, you still get the discount. So check that out as well. An above ground rental is much cheaper that a buried, purchased tank. So...

I will keep watching this thread...

[300rum]

I have a Honda 7kw, the expensive, quite one on a transfer switch.  https://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu7000is 

Then I have a Simple Pump Deep Well Pump.  https://simplepump.com/products/deep-well-pump

I'm going to be installing or at least having on hand the solar option soon.  https://simplepump.com/our-pumps/solar-power

The simple pump is very high quality and would be fine alone for a family in an emergency but I have animals and a garden.  We had a power outage for 8+ hours when it was over 100 degrees a few years back and picked up the Honda, quickly!   

[Whitpirate]

Take a look at the EcoFlow Delta Ultra.  Or just a delta Pro.  I’m looking to go ultra with two batteries and a smart home panel and run the house.  Solar I put and generator charging too.  Ultra isn’t cheap but it’s cheaper than a generac auto start for me.