I've spent a few days agonising over what kind pump I need to get water out of my well and up to my IBC array, about 30 metres distance up the hill and a total rise of about 10 metres, from well bottom to IBC top.
Well (excuse the pun), I was agonising until a friend invited me over to have a look at his various solar pumping systems, for a similar sized piece of land to mine, also with uphill pumping required.
It was just what I needed... being able to see the options in action and in full working order AND hearing WOM that they had been working reliably for a suitably cost-efficient period of time.
One thing I learned is that the standard electric water pump around here is just under 500 watts, costs around 100 EU and that just 'works' and is easily replaceable.
That would actually work even with my extremely minimal solar set up - just a 100 Watt panel, 80 AMP Hour battery and 1000 watt inverter: one charge would be enough to pump 2000 litres of water, and I doubt I'll need that much even once a week for 12 fruit trees even in the height of summer.
However the option I'm going for is even simpler - a 12 Volt submersible pump which I can just connect straight to the battery with some crocodile clips, which apparently lifts water up to 30 metres in height. Slow pace, but fast enough to provide sufficient water in sufficient time.
That's all I need for now, to get water up to my IBCs so I can keep my fruit trees watered, I'll upgrade to the 450 Watt version when I need to worry about pumping water further uphill, it's good to know I've got more than one reliable solar pumping option, and it seems for very cheap too, although the weak link with the 450 Watt version may be the inverter, probably the most likely thing to burn through in a relatively small space of time?
I was also considering this option: from future pump - it's several hundred EU, but seems to have a really good ethical focus, and VERY low power consumption for the height and distance it pumps - this really would be sufficient for ALL my land, and no battery, this just plugs straight into minimal solar panels as its very low watt - only 60 watts.
I didn't buy this however as it only ships from the UK, and that's dodgy territory if you live in Europe these days.
It's also MASSIVE, which I imagine is crucial to low watt design. The one I'm going for by contrast is tiny!
And then there's the cost - probably best to try the cheaper options and see how they get on first!
I can't wait for PUMP NUMBER 1 to show up and to start giving my swales a good soaking!
