Solar Powered Water Pump

daddy65

Hello
we have a small stream flowing through our garden.
I as wondering if there is a solar powered water pump which could pump water into a water butt which I could then use to water a small patch of vegetables.
We dont need more than 5-10 litres of water per day.
Can anybody suggest any immersible water pump run by solar power which could pump water to an height of 2 metres?

SplanK

Out of interest, why solar panelled and not mains fed? or the amount of time you will be using it for, it will probably cost a few pence per month to run?

daddy65

SplanK wrote: »

Out of interest, why solar panelled and not mains fed? or the amount of time you will be using it for, it will probably cost a few pence per month to run?

stream and veg patch is far end of garden
and to get an electrical point there is going to be difficult and costly,not to mention getting safety certifcate as it being outdoor

Ebe_Scrooge

Agreed, this seems a bit overkill. Just a bog-standard rain-water collection from the roof gutters into a water butt would be ideal for what you describe. A few quid to buy initially then zero running costs from then on. Either that, or bribing small children with loads of Haribo to carry buckets of water to your veg patch when you need it :-)

MX5huggy

It's got the potential to be a fun little project. Nicest solution would be to use the flow of the stream, not sure how. As you want to fill the butt it can be done slowly so how about a car windscreen washer jet pump fitted to a car battery with an off the shelf solar battery charger. The car battery could be second hand and the pump.

shaun_from_Africa

Something like this would do for the power
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/60w-solar-power-kit-n23fy
then all you need is a 12v pump that draws a maximum of 5 amps.

MX5huggy

That's a lot of money for a 60 watt panel you can get 250 watts plus from a regular roof panel for less.

lstar337

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Agreed, this seems a bit overkill. Just a bog-standard rain-water collection from the roof gutters into a water butt would be ideal for what you describe. A few quid to buy initially then zero running costs from then on. Either that, or bribing small children with loads of Haribo to carry buckets of water to your veg patch when you need it :-)

Only if you have a down pipe!

I know the frustration of wanting a water butt, but having no down pipe to feed it. Sadly, I have no stream either so my plants have to live off of tap water.

MoneyMate

Could you charge up a cordless then fit it to something like this ?

http://www.coleparmer.co.uk/Product/Utility_Drill_Pump_3_4_garden_hose_inlet_and_outlet/UY-75501-31?referred_id=3482&keyword=&gclid=CjwKEAjw9OG4BRDJzY3jrMng4iQSJABddor1mdz73-Iq7aP8EccNTJ8JYYL87oU4xf3hrjgtNByjChoCNvHw_wcB

phil24_7

Could you not have the water but located at the house, filling from your guttering. Then have a mains electric pump connected to a long hose? I have this set up and can happily pump water nearly 50 meters away.

shaun_from_Africa

MX5huggy wrote: »

That's a lot of money for a 60 watt panel you can get 250 watts plus from a regular roof panel for less.

But there are a lot of differences between using a regular roof panel as opposed to something designed especially for the job.

A 250w roof panel will cost in the region of £120 to £150 for a reasonable quality one and weighs about 20KG.
As these are designed for roof mounting onto special mounts, the OP would need to design something to hold their one panel, bearing in mind that these panels are extremely susceptible to damage if they flex or twist. (as I found out when having panels fitted on my house last year).
There may also an inverter to buy and then the connection wiring. reverse current protection (if feeding into a battery) etc.

Yes, a dedicated solar unit may be more expensive for a lower power output but this is because it is designed for a different job and will be far more robust that a single roof panel.