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brucedownunder2
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Joined: 14/09/2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1548

Posted: 08:57pm 02 Nov 2010

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Hi Bill,, my 1 Kw was installed by "Eco-Kinetics" near Yatala ,half way between Gold Coast and Brisbane .. I was one of the first at their Queensland Govt. subsidised install of 1Kw for $355 . I've a sunny boy 1.2 Kw grid tied inverter , Chinese panels of ,I think 175Watt X 6 ,mounted on a standard garage roof .

They included 3X of those power saving devices that you connect to tv ,Etc to turn the tv off completly if not used for 5 minutes .

They did take 1 year to install,,but a year at my age is very quick !!.

Yes, I did book by phone day after announcement, and posted the cheque same day.

So, at $355, it was much ,much better than the punt on yesterdays nags..

Bruce

Bushboy

kando

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Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 09:06am 03 Nov 2010

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Downwind said Hi Bill,

There is not a lot of info on the pump you gave the link to, but look as though it should be suitable.

It is not an over expensive pump but still a few dollars to out lay, the bright side is, its only half the power consumption of the other pump you intend to use.

In total for 3 pumps, a 300 watt saving is not to be sneezed at when dealing with a RE system.[/quote]

G'day Pete,

I had a reply from the supplier of those pumps I sent you the link for, He says the pumps are not suitable for use 24/7, so they're out.

[quote]
Sump pumps are more efficient then above ground pumps as they don't need to lift the water, and it is far more effective to push water up hill than to suck water up hill.

When dealing with open impeller pumps by chocking the discharge of the pump back it will reduce the power needed to drive the pump, so if you can restrict the flow some it will also reduce the power consumption, as it removes some of the load off the motor..[/quote]

None of the pumps I have, or the ones I'm looking at, are above ground pumps, well they can be used as above ground or sump pumps, I use mine set on the deep end of the pond bed and they have never missed a beat. I have found a 7500LPH pump at Bunnings, it's rated at 100W and cost $199. I may buy two of those for my use

[quote]
For aeration when the pump is running have you considered using a venturi to add air to the water, it can create some noise though.[/quote]

I'm looking on this site for air blowers for the indoor tanks, I believe one of the smaller ones will suite my need...I'll know better once I get to that stage

The one I'm considering consumes 90W.

As for water scrubber plants I know Water Irises and/or Reeds do a good job but...After my past experience with Water Irises I think I'll forget about Irises or Reeds.

Cheers Pete,

Bill

VK4AYQ said Hi Bill

Just a suggestion on your scrubber plants, we used water chestnuts in a shallow pond planted under 50 mm cor matting that they grow up through, and to harvest you roll up the matting, the more nutrient the more chestnuts, and they are worth a bit as well.
Good in soups and salads and stir fry.

A pan about 8 inches deep is OK.

All the best

Bob

G'day Bob,

I'll remember that Water Chestnut tip, I'm now working on the wall and spillway, once I finish that, I'll fish-out all my Water Lilies, prune and sort them out. They're in flower now and look bloody beautifull but I've got to many, so I'll sort them.

Cheers Bob,

Bill

brucedownunder2 said Hi Bill,, my 1 Kw was installed by "Eco-Kinetics" near Yatala ,half way between Gold Coast and Brisbane .. I was one of the first at their Queensland Govt. subsidised install of 1Kw for $355 . I've a sunny boy 1.2 Kw grid tied inverter , Chinese panels of ,I think 175Watt X 6 ,mounted on a standard garage roof .

They included 3X of those power saving devices that you connect to tv ,Etc to turn the tv off completly if not used for 5 minutes .

They did take 1 year to install,,but a year at my age is very quick !!.

Yes, I did book by phone day after announcement, and posted the cheque same day.

So, at $355, it was much ,much better than the punt on yesterdays nags..

Bruce

G'day Bruce,

Half your luck mate, the QL government must have been offering 98% sub'

As for the nags, I picked the first and second place in the cup, I told my wife's cousin and her mate, they got bets on and collected a few bob...I could not get away so I didn't get my bet on...Bloody typical

Cheers Bruce,

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

kando

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Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 07:51am 04 Nov 2010

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G'day Pete,

I've ordered 2 sub pumps ($175 delivered) that deliver 4,800LPH @ 90W, I'll keep the two biger pumps I have as spares

I have also found a supplier of T105 6 Volt ( 220Ah) "Rejuvenated " batteries in Queensland. Now I'm waiting on a price to have six of these batteries delivered to me. The batteries come with a 12 months replacement warrenty, so we'll see how things work-out

Cheers,

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

kando

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Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 08:31am 05 Nov 2010

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GWatPE said Hi Bill,

The power requirements you have given, sound like nameplate spec data. Have you measured the power consumption of each pump?

You have the grid connected? Probably cheaper to still run from it than to set up a battery. Do you have power utility supply problems? A backup aeration may be all that is needed in a power failure.

I think the power requirements you have given are an overestimate. An equivalent 1hp pump running continuously is a serious amount of load.

Gordon.

G'day Gordon,

I found the instructions for that power meter, so I set it and plugged in my 190W pump. At start-up the meter read 93AMPS, then it settled back to 91AMPS, after a few minutes it settled and stayed on 92AMPS. If I'm right, that's 220.80W?

I will test the 200W pump when I get things set-up.

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

Downwind

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Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 11:56am 05 Nov 2010

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I think your meter is way out of wack or you have the decimal point in the wrong place as 93 amp X 240 volt = 22,320.00 watts, now that is one hungry pump!!

At 9.3 amp that would be 2,232.00 watts , still very high but the start up surge current for most motors will far exceed the run current rating of a motor.

0.93 amp x 240 volt = 223.00 watts and would sound more realistic to the rated requirements.

This is why many inverters will not handle some electric motors.

All the same the given amp readings dont add up to the rated watts of the pump.

Pete.

Sometimes it just works

kando

Newbie

Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 07:46am 09 Nov 2010

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Downwind said I think your meter is way out of wack or you have the decimal point in the wrong place as 93 amp X 240 volt = 22,320.00 watts, now that is one hungry pump!!

At 9.3 amp that would be 2,232.00 watts , still very high but the start up surge current for most motors will far exceed the run current rating of a motor.

0.93 amp x 240 volt = 223.00 watts and would sound more realistic to the rated requirements.

This is why many inverters will not handle some electric motors.

All the same the given amp readings dont add up to the rated watts of the pump.

Pete.

G'day Pete,

That should have been 0.93AMPS for the 190W rated pump, I checked both pumps again today and the 190W rated pump pulls more than the 200W rated pump

The 190W pulls 0.93AMPS
The 200W pulls 0.77AMPS

I should receive the two new 50W pumps tomorrow, I'll test them when they get here and see how they compare. I'm hoping I can run the two 50W pumps from the six x T105 6 Volt ( 220Ah) batteries (I bought another two 6V deep cycle batteries so I now have six) If I wire them as 3 banks of 12V then wire the 3 x 12V banks together, I believe I'll have 660AH of battery power to feed the two 50W pumps.

I have the 200W solar panel and the 300-400W wind generator to feed the battery bank, plus the little gass geny for cloudy and windless days, I'm hoping I have enough gear to do the job properly.

BillEdited by kando 2010-11-10

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

kando

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Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 09:35am 10 Nov 2010

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G'day mates,

I said in my last post, the two new pumps are 50 watts...That was a mistake, they are rated at 90 watts each.
I need to buy a new outlet nipple (25mm) for these pumps and Bunnings does not have the correct size or thread for the 1" nipples, so I'll check with Plastic Plumbing...I feel sure PP will have the right parts.

Once I get the parts, I'll hook-up the pumps aand do a test run and let you know the results.

Cheers,

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

kando

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Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 06:10am 01 Dec 2010

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G'day,

Just a quick update on the solar/wind/battery bank power system for my AquaPonic set-up.
I will keep the two 90W pumps as back-up pumps, in their place I'll be runing two 12V pumps with the following specs.

12V Pump Specification:

* Voltage: 12V
* Delivery Volume: 2000GPH
* Max. Delivery Head: 6m
* Current: 8A
* Cable: 100cm
* Outlet Dia: 40mm
* Weight: 1.2kg

Can someone please advise me on the wire I'll need to extend from the Wind Generator (300-400W) the Solar Panel (200W) and the 12V pumps to the battery bank?

Thanking you in advance for your advice.

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

VK4AYQ
Guru

Joined: 02/12/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2539

Posted: 07:34am 01 Dec 2010

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Hi Bill

2.5 mm power wire should be OK as long as there is separate wires to each application and as it is in your back yard the lengths won't be to long.

All the best

Bob

Foolin Around

Downwind

Guru

Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 07:51am 01 Dec 2010

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Hi Bill,

2.5mm should be ok, but i would go 6mm, and use the DC cable sold for garden lighting.

It is not that dear if purchased fron a place that sells garden lighting supplies.
The cable is double insulated with a red and black cable inside a black outer sheath.
It is intended for use with 12 volt halogen garden lights that draw a fair bit of current and can be buried inground.

At 8 amp it would be around 100 watts current load and over distance the lighter cable will have a greater loss.

Pete.

Sometimes it just works

kando

Newbie

Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 09:32am 01 Dec 2010

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G'day Pete and Bob,

Thanks for your advice, I found the "DC Rated 6.0mm Twin Cable" online, it comes on a 100 Mtr Roll and costs $435.00, plus freight, and that's the wholesale price

So I guess I'll have to do the rounds and see what I can find locally.

Bill

Edited by kando 2010-12-02

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

Downwind

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Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 10:01am 01 Dec 2010

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About $1.00 per meter is what i would have expected.

I think Bunnings sell some sort simular but not double insulated and without a red and black wire (both black) which makes it a wiring nightmare for DC systems.

I know some irrigation places also sell cable for garden lighting and the odd landscape supply yards do at times too, Just think >>>>Garden stuff <<<< when you are looking around local, a lot gets used by landscapers in garden systems so it must be available local somewhere.

Last roll i bought was about $80.00 for 100m.

Pete.

Sometimes it just works

kando

Newbie

Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 12:29am 03 Dec 2010

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G'day mates,

I have not yet found 6mm twin cable but I have received the following message from a supplier:
Quote:
We have a 100M reel, twin 4.5mm available, 61x0.18mm Strands. 2x4.5mm Jacket, DC 15A nominal. It is $153.50 delivered including GST. End Quote:

Do you think this 4.5mm cable is suitable for the job?

Cheers,

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

Downwind

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Joined: 09/09/2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 2333

Posted: 01:37am 03 Dec 2010

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4.5mm2 cross section wire is about 6mm conductor size anyway so are they quoting square mm or conductor mm??

How many meters do you need as there is several places selling cut meters, like here.......

http://shop.ebay.com.au/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%25 3A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A2392&rt=nc&_nkw=6mm%20cable&_trk sid=p3286.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=1

And here........

http://shop.ebay.com.au/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%25 3A2%257C39%253A1%257C72%253A2392&rt=nc&_nkw=6mm%20wire&_trks id=p3286.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=1

I asked at a supplier i used some years back and was quoted $3.10 per cut meter or $2.65 per meter for a 100m roll.
Prices have gone up since i last bought a roll

Pete.

Sometimes it just works

kando

Newbie

Joined: 27/10/2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 16

Posted: 02:35am 04 Dec 2010

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G'day Pete,

Thanks for your advice, it's most welcome mates.

My wind generator has three wires, Red, Black and Blue, these three wires need extending to go from the WG, down the center of the mast and accross to my shed and the combo wind/solar controler. I'll need 10M of this three core wire to go from the wind generator down to the controler. I'll mount the controler in a seperate aired box above the battery bank.
My solar panel has two wires, + and -, it also goes to the combo wind/solar controler and I need 16M of this twin core wire. 10M from the solar panel to the controler, then 1M from the controler to the battery bank and 5M from the battery bank to the two 12V pumps (2.5M each run and I have allowed a bit extra all round

)

As for prices rising since you last bought a roll...Tell me about it!

I'll get over to Miter10 and see what they have before doing anything, sofar everywhere I've checked, I've had no joy but we'll see how I go.

Bill

You can do anything...With the "right" advice

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