# Solar Back Up Power for Deep Well



## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Afternoon everyone. I am wondering if any of you have built a solar power system for back up power for a deep well? Water is one of my main concerns in prepping. We keep a couple weeks worth of water in containers in the house but for a longer outage I was thinking a small solar set up to power the deep well would be a good investment. I would love to have solar back up for the whole house but finances wont allow that just yet.

I was hoping one of you might have put something together relatively inexpensively that would power a well? Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.


----------



## Marica (May 5, 2019)

Not a clue but Simply Solar is a good forum for questions specific to solar. They do a lot of DIY stuff over there.


----------



## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Check a Company called Grundfos. They sell a combination solar and deep well pump.

https://us.grundfos.com/products/find-product/sqflex.html


----------



## jimcosta (Jun 11, 2017)

*Not an answer, just more to consider.*

First I assume are asking from a* Prepper standpoint.*

We have a large fall-back survival group. By the end of next week we will have a $50,000 on-grid solar system with a new 14 KW Telsa battery back-up system. This is the most expensive way to solve the well problem but it will work. The battery back-up option is $15,000 by itself. This is not the cheapest way to solve the prepper problem but the main party here wanted on-grid power in the meantime.

Prior to this week we were set up to power one of our two wells (275 feet; one with a hand pump also) with a mid range Home Depot type gasoline generator that produces 220 volts at 20 amps.
*That may be YOUR target too as most well pumps in my area require 220 Volts at 20 Amps. *

Our plan was to run the generator to fill containers then shut off the power. One such container is a used 300 gallon IBC, 4' cube storage container ($80).

We also fabricated a muffler using 2" PVC piping that throws the generator noise 10 feet into the air making it impossible to determine the direction of the now muffled sound. It is attached to the exhaust vent with tin flashing and steel wool stuffed into the cracks.

We can provide all water needs for 40 people for* one year using a 50 gallon barrel of stabilized gasoline.*

The above generator system may be an option for you in total or as a back-up on winter rainy days.

*Now you can continue to explore solar* but keep in mind you may have to have 220 volts produced which requires two separate battery banks.

*Note:* I am not an electrician!


----------



## ajk1941 (Feb 17, 2013)

My well is 1000' deep with the pump at 750'. Solar is not an option for a well this deep. The PL/gas 7500watt generator will power the deep well pump and fill the 2600 gallon storage tank. The LP is from the 500 gallon LP storage tank for the house. The generator has only been used with the LP gas, never been started using gasoline so the engine remains clean. With discretion, i figure this setup will provide all electricity needed for at least 3 months in a grid down situation.


----------



## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

I use solar to run the 1.5hp 220v pump in my well. Currently we just use a normal well pump but some day we intend to switch to a Grundfos soft start pump to reduce the huge start up surge our current pump requires. Since we run the whole house off solar we use a larger inverter and battery bank than you'd require. And yes, I designed and installed the solar myself.

A Magnum 4448 inverter is generally considered plenty to run a 1.5hp 220v deep well pump. https://www.wholesalesolar.com/2954842/magnum-energy/inverters/magnum-energy-ms4448pae-inverter If you'd like to grid-tie I suggest a Radian or Conext inverter.

A 400 amp/hr 48v battery bank with about 3000 watts in panels will run your refrigerator, some lights, and a deep well pump just fine. More solar and more batteries can run more stuff. But like anything involving solar you need to conserve power when you have several cloudy days or use a backup generator.

With 6000 watts in panels, a larger battery bank, and a Conext 6848 inverter we run the entire house including AC and some heating. Things like the water heater and stove are propane.

If you're serious about this project feel free to IM me. I believe the federal 30% solar tax rebate is still going on.


----------



## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

jimcosta said:


> We can provide all water needs for 40 people for* one year using a 50 gallon barrel of stabilized gasoline.*
> 
> The above generator system may be an option for you in total or as a back-up on winter rainy days.
> 
> ...


How many gallons of water per person/day do you figure on pumping with that 50 gallons of fuel?
There are several top of the line inverters out there that produce 240v from a single battery bank.


----------



## jimcosta (Jun 11, 2017)

Elvis: Thanks for the information on the inverter. 

The 50 gallon fuel reserve should yield 3 gallons of potable water per day per person. This will require a half hour generator run every three days.

We have another 250 gallons of gasoline in reserve.

We also have rain catchment systems and a creek for non-potable water, in addition to a hand pump for those in need of additional potable water.

We will rely on pool shock granules (bleach) if needed to purify non-well water.


----------



## Gunn (Jan 1, 2016)

PWS 48 volt 540 watts works off solar but a max depth of 390'. That's what I put in at the old BOL.


----------



## Fried Rice (Jan 15, 2017)

*Is this enough water?*



jimcosta said:


> Elvis: Thanks for the information on the inverter.
> 
> The 50 gallon fuel reserve should yield 3 gallons of potable water per day per person. This will require a half hour generator run every three days.
> 
> ...


3 gallons per will cover drinking and cooking, but what about cleanup, hygiene, livestock and garden? I'll assume gray water for the garden, but licestock needs potable water.

Remember: water is the sine qua non of survival.


----------



## jimcosta (Jun 11, 2017)

*Fried Rice:* The 3 gallons of potable per day are only what is planned to be delivered by the generator. Again, one can obtain all the potable water they want by using the hand pump.

As I said earlier, we have alternate sources of non-potable water. That can be used for washing one's body. It can also be used for kitchen cleanup after it has been boiled.

Once we activate, our council may allocate more generator time. What we have now is a plan in place. All things change and so too perhaps our water plan.

The only livestock we have are chickens. I assume they survived for millions of years without potable water and can learn to adjust.

We have enough bleach (crystals) to carry 100% of the entire group's needs for about four years by itself.

We also have several of the handy water straws in case members must venture out.

For hygiene we will need only a minimum of water; none for flushing and very little for bathing. See: *Sanitary Shit*

As my wife says, what we have are plans for a life boat, not a cruise ship. It is tough and bare minimum but hopefully will keep us healthy.

*So all in all what we have is a collection of options.* That is what is needed to go through something unknown and untested; a collection of options. Who could ask for more?

I hope this helps you and others that read this. * I appreciate your question *as I am always concerned that we have failed to plan properly. It's always great to have an outsider check things out.

Thanks.


----------



## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Gunn said:


> PWS 48 volt 540 watts works off solar but a max depth of 390'. That's what I put in at the old BOL.


And that may be a great choice with a handpump sharing the wellhead.


----------



## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Fried Rice said:


> 3 gallons per will cover drinking and cooking, but what about cleanup, hygiene, livestock and garden? I'll assume gray water for the garden, but licestock needs potable water.
> 
> Remember: water is the sine qua non of survival.


I agree with hygiene and cleanup but most people on this site are limited with livestock and garden space. Most people here won't need water to flush a toilet after the 1st few weeks as sewer lines fill. 2-3 gallons per day make keep a person alive but 8-10 gallons per person/day will make life much more pleasant. Currently the average person in the US uses about 40 gallons per day.


----------



## dieselgenerator (Apr 13, 2019)

Here is a company sell diesel generator set, maybe you need it, it called Jiangsu Starlight Electricity Equipments Co.,Ltd.


----------



## CrackPot (Nov 11, 2014)

My well may not be considered very deep at 375 feet, but my solution might work for some. I have a 5KW solar setup that charges 32 deep cycle batteries at 24V (Trojan L16P). I have a 3000W split-phase inverter that supplies 230V to the well pump. It works very well for me, but was not cheap!


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Green Lilly said:


> I was hoping one of you might have put something together relatively inexpensively that would power a well? Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.


Powering a well is not an inexpensive proposition. You are correct in saying fresh water is a main concern. To me, it is the top concern and I agree solar is the way to go for a prepper. The sun never runs out and it is silent. Me, especially during a severe crisis, I'm gonna hunker down initially and be as quiet as possible.

Now of course, I have all sorts of water filters and a large pond, but do I really want to drink that when I have cool, fresh & perfectly safe drinking water down in my well? So IMO, I feel every prepper needs to know the anatomy of a well and have the tools needed to access that water... without any electricity. That first entails going to a hardware store and getting the pipe and fittings needed to make the tool that screws onto the pitless adapter inside the well casing, so as to be able to pull the existing pump out of the well. Once out, then you can drop down a well bucket and bring out a gallon or two of water with each pull. You can make your own but I have the Well Waterboy product.










Now, for me, that is a short term fix as I wish to have my well pump working, with my system pressurized, even when the grid is down. As stated earlier, IMO, the best option is a Grundfos flex well pump. Beauty of these is that flex means it will run off of ac or dc power and voltage really doesn't matter. Once you have the minimum voltage to pump, the more voltage you have, the more water it pumps. Unlike a normal well pump that gets damaged by under or over voltage, a Grundfos doesn't care. So I keep a Grundfos well pump in storage for the occasion when the grid goes down for an extended period. I keep several extra 280w solar panels in storage to power it, along with the associated controllers needed to control its operation and pressure. Thing is, you don't really need all those controllers to run the pump. As soon as you wire a solar panel to the pump, it starts pumping. They are way cool!


----------



## Idwanderer (May 4, 2020)

I've a Grundfos pump that runs on anything from @ 30 v to 220 v. The well is 350' deep with a static level of about 200. I buried a 1200 gallon holding tank … put up a 300 W panel and it works great. Doesn't pump fast but it never runs dry. I've a drop of about 100 from the holding tank which is over a 1/4 mile away. I've also put a couple 500 gallon tanks at various places that I fill during the summer 
in the event that I need volumes of water for fire etc, I can plug any generator up and then I can get @ 15 gpm. You're right they aren't cheap, but then they're a whole lot cheaper than running utilities 2 miles too. If your off the grid … some places (like my county) will help fund extra holding tanks for you for fire suppression reasons. Not too complicated to do either.


----------



## itstimetobunker (May 17, 2020)

Green Lilly said:


> Afternoon everyone. I am wondering if any of you have built a solar power system for back up power for a deep well? Water is one of my main concerns in prepping. We keep a couple weeks worth of water in containers in the house but for a longer outage I was thinking a small solar set up to power the deep well would be a good investment. I would love to have solar back up for the whole house but finances wont allow that just yet.
> 
> I was hoping one of you might have put something together relatively inexpensively that would power a well? Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.


On a tight budget, I went with a frost-free manual pump for a water static of 260 feet. Backup is a Lehman's cylinder water bucket that once cost $69.99 but has climbed to $89.99. It's lowered down the well shaft (might have to remove the pump when SHTF) with rope and bails 1.9 gallons. Here's the link https://www.lehmans.com/product/leh...HRtR_JHODtPL2v31Jtx-gY2zkIA81RxsaAqaPEALw_wcB


----------

