Solar Pumping

[3 Phase Lightbulb]

Forgot to mention. I think the Rule pump is brushed and unlikely to run every day for very long.

I was surprised to find a Rule 1000 pump that was running non-stop for at least 3 months. One year while winterizing my boat, I accidentally dropped a short piece of 2" hose into the center bilge inside of the engine room. When they hauled and blocked up my boat for winter storage that hose must have moved around and somehow wedged itself under a float switch. When I came back to the boat in the middle of the winter to check on everything (~3 months after it was hauled/blocked/shrinkwrapped), I noticed one of the bilge pump indicator lights was on so I went to find out what's going on and saw the hose sitting in the empty bilge under the float switch. It was warm but still humming away like it normally sounds except without the gurgling sound. I figured without any build water flowing it would have completely burnt up but it was fine. I replaced it with a new one just in case but I still have it as a spare. I was also lucky that I had the battery bank chargers plugged in to a shore extension cord or it would have probably wiped out a PITA to replace 8D starting battery that isn't deep cycle.

[reggie_obe]

Thanks Mike,

Believe it or not I have two pumping right now. They are powered by a 7' head through 1" galvanized steel pipes where the stream is dammed. They have to lift that 7' plus the 12' talked about above. When the drive pipes have just been cleaned and a syphon is working over the dam they each pump a gallon/minute. Doesn't sound like much, but they never rest 24 7 except for winter weather when freezing could damage them. That's over 300,000 gal/yr. Have photos and video if anyone is interested, I'll try to post some. For those not familiar with them they use the energy of about 7 gallons of water going through them 1 where I want it and 6 on down stream where it was going anyway.

Is another (and larger) Ram pump out of the question because you need to keep the pond refilled in freezing temps.?

[Blackfoot]

I'm glad that "hydraulic ram pump" is known by somebody other than me. About 50 years ago I worked for a company where a previous owner would come around to get something made or repaired (we built machinery). He owned property that had a stream and he really liked hydraulic ram pumps. He would buy one and bring it in our shop for us to take apart, clean up, repair if necessary, paint it, and put it on a pallet for him to pick up. These pumps were by no means any sort of "red neck" contraption. They were manufactured by people who knew a lot about it. The pumps he brought in looked like they were made of cast iron. For sure castings.....maybe steel. They also had some sort of pressure domes on them. He had at least two operating 24/7 when freezing was not likely (we are in Michigan....it freezes). The pumps provided water for some beautiful ponds that he had made. When he died, the estate he left to a local college was worth about $11 million. Not hardly redneck.

[A.K. Boomer]

im very pleased with the way my solar porch turned out - on a 35 degree day it can get up to 90 on the porch, while the porch is heating up the solar panel is pumping it's energy into the duct work by means of an old gutted out double insulated computer power box that has two little 65watt a piece halogen headlight bulbs with a computer heat sink machined out to fit them - a 12 volt computer fan that blows the pre-heated air from the box and into the duct work, it's all thermally protected with a high temp cut out but never has yet kicked off AFAIK -

@ 75 degree porch temp the power gets disconnected from the pre-heat and goes directly to the main fans - before there was a cold blast of air for quite awhile but the pre-heater does a fair job at at least keeping things neutral for starters,

back of the house was always cold - not any more, it's set it and forget it, does not matter if power goes out the system works flawlessly - and when it's raining the people knocking at the front door have a place to stand without getting wet thanks again to the panel... also creates a no slip area in the winter right where it's needed most at the step... solar can be fun too, how one old 170 watt panel can make such a difference when used correctly is very cool - literally as i can use same system in the summer to suck the hottest air off the porch peak and pump it directly into the attic - it's cold air compared to attic temps so gives the roofing shingles a break and helps keep the entire house a little cooler too....

[The Artful Bodger]

One of my uncles had a farm with a large, old, homestead on a small hill with a pond fed by hydraulic ram from a stream. Water from the pond also ran a small hydro system for lights etc.

[GKman]

https://youtu.be/46Sf2snNvJo

Ram Pump working. Danger may cause excitement overload. Check with your doctor first

[Mike Burdick]

https://youtu.be/46Sf2snNvJo

Ram Pump working. ...

GKman, thank you!