Free: Contests & Raffles.
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...
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.
Quote from: Whitpirate on January 25, 2024, 06:14:41 AMTake 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. And Home Depot has them onsale todayhttps://www.homedepot.com/p/EcoFlow-3600W-Output-7200W-Peak-Push-Button-Start-Battery-Generator-DELTA-Pro-w-LFP-Battery-Fast-Charging-Home-Camping-RVs-DELTAPro-US/318689313
If you use a soft start or vfd your peak draw of your pump will be approximately the same as the FLA. A 12v washdown pump for a boat will do 4-5gpm, enough to run 1 appliance...maybe 2 at 50-60psi. It already has a pressure switch and will turn on and off based on pressure. Max draw of 10A. With 2 100ah lead acid batteries figure 100ah of available power means a minimum of 10 hours of solid runtime but most likely more. So for $200 for a pump, some plumbing parts, a 100gal tank, and 2 deep cycle batteries, you'd probably be good for a couple days.
Here’s a DIY rolling power station that I put together to power tools when I’m out of range to an outlet. And, it has kept my house partially powered during outages. With a bigger inverter, it would run your pump. It’s just a Harbor Freight cart with some LiFePO4 batteries, an inverter and a battery charger. It even has head lights. A lot cheaper than Ecoflow or similar power stations.
