Change in water supply setup

[knotReally]

Props to olfart for giving me this idea by sharing his water tower setup...
My goal is to find a way to sustain water supply without requiring a ton of power/batteries.

Here's my current setup:
Typical well but mine is about 160-180' deep so i have a 3/4hp (220v 9amp) pump with a standard pressure switch and pressure tank.

What i'm thinking...
I have a hill that is about 150' from the house that is roughly 15-20' higher in elevation. I'm thinking of getting a plastic water tank that holds 1k-1.5k gallons and setting atop the hill. My well pump would run 100% off solar only running when sun is out and the tank needs to be filled. I would then plumb a line directly from the tank to my house where i would have a small pump to pressurize my system. A tower on the hill would be better but it would be extremely visible to others. I'd like to avoid that.
Based on what i've read for every 2.3' of elevation you get 1psi. So, i should get roughly 7-8psi to the house simply due to head pressure which should be enough to run through faucets for drinking and toilets for flushing.

Thoughts/comments/feedback?

[kickstand]

That's gonna take a LOT of solar power. A LOT.

[0utlaw]

I use a 12v RV water pump with a built in pressure switch to supply the house from my back up tank (IBC)

[kickstand]

This is what I was referring to:

Here's my current setup:
Typical well but mine is about 160-180' deep so i have a 3/4hp (220v 9amp) pump with a standard pressure switch and pressure tank.
..... My well pump would run 100% off solar only running when sun is out and the tank needs to be filled.

[0utlaw]

Yep, thats right at 2000 Watts not counting surge load.

[0utlaw]

That was why I abandoned my solar powered well pump idea and went with a separate backup system with the storage tank fed by the well during power up and from rain water collection during power down. Its T'd into the feed from the well tank, I can close the valve from the well and open thevone from the backup and flip the switch on to the backup and we're back up with running water albeit slightly reduced pressure, 35 psi vs 65 psi , but we mostly only notice it taking showers.

[airdrop]

https://www.facebook.com/RPSsolarpumps/reviews/

https://www.rpssolarpumps.com/?gclid...xoCpYgQAvD_BwE This might add to your choices and ideas . In this website go to the end of the add an they provide sizing and area well info , seems like a good site . Comments in the facebook page tells a lot to .

[knotReally]

Good point.

To replace what i have, yes, would require at least 2kW in power. You indirectly bring up another, much larger concern: Wire sizing.
Even if the panels were on top of the well, 180' of wire would need to be ~2/0AWG in order to keep Vdrop at 3% assuming 2kW @ 48v. This is not very feasible. I've run 2/0awg and would rather give a fully clawed cat a bath instead. I'd need to invert to at least 110/115v to keep the wire size to a manageable (physically and financially) size.

I thought going with a smaller pump would work but even the half HPs run on 5-6 amp. I did find a burcam 230v 3wire that runs on 5amps but thats still 1150w with starting amps being at 10.

airdrop - I did reach out to Rural Power Solutions. I was looking at their full backup system with panels, batteries and an inverter but it was $8-10k and had 20-24 panels.

I'm not sure what to do to ensure water supply during grid down. I have a metal roofed shed that I could gutter and harvest rain. However, how does one prevent bacteria/crap growing in the tank and, more importantly, how does one properly filter the water? Who knows how many birds crap on that roof.

[olfart]

There is a downspout diverter that can be added to your roof's gutter. It diverts water directly to the ground, bypassing the downspout for the first minute or two of rain. That's supposed to rinse most of the contaminants off the roof before allowing rainwater into the storage tank. A good filter such as the Berkey or boiling the water would still be needed to purify drinking water.

[redman2006]

You could look at a deep well hand pump too.

[knotReally]

You could look at a deep well hand pump too.

I have looked into the Bison pumps. Not far enough to get a quote but enough to consider.
I want to try to see if I can build a system that wouldnt require manual intervention in most scenarios (non-EMP/CME) first. If that becomes near impossible then this would be the second route i would seek to take.

[kickstand]

Hmmm, reading this got me thinking, and that's always scary. We need to come up with a stationary bicycle-powered water pump. If y'all are anything like me, the extra workout will do us good. My well is only about 25 feet deep, but I would consider using something like that. If you have kids or grandkids in the house, all the better.

[0utlaw]

......

I'm not sure what to do to ensure water supply during grid down. I have a metal roofed shed that I could gutter and harvest rain. However, how does one prevent bacteria/crap growing in the tank and, more importantly, how does one properly filter the water? Who knows how many birds crap on that roof.

On mine I fill the tank from the well and add some bleach to keep the bacteria at bay (1.5-2ppm) usually a couple times a year I'll drain and refill it. I've filled it with rain water to see how long it took to fill and how it kept. It filled surprisingly fast, a mild steady rain filled my 275 gallon tank in about 3 hours I added bleach and it kept all summer. I did notice a small amount of sediment in the tank but I run a pre filter and all our cooking and drinking water goes through the Berky. I'm looking to double my tank size this summer, 550 gallons should sustain us even through long dry spells around here.

[knotReally]

Hmmm, reading this got me thinking, and that's always scary. We need to come up with a stationary bicycle-powered water pump. If y'all are anything like me, the extra workout will do us good. My well is only about 25 feet deep, but I would consider using something like that. If you have kids or grandkids in the house, all the better.

My family farm has a solar pump put on a shallow well <20-40' deep that used to have a windmill on it. I believe it took $1800 but that included everything (solar, pump, sensor) to keep a tank full for the cattle. It only pumps when the sun shines AND the sensor detects low water level. Its a simple water-completed circuit switch where the two wires are connected when the water touches both. I'm sure a float switch could be used so the water level could fluctuate before kicking the pump on.

Something to consider kickstand since your well is shallow.

The bicycle route is a really good non-solar route. Good idea for shallow wells.

[knotReally]

On mine I fill the tank from the well and add some bleach to keep the bacteria at bay (1.5-2ppm) usually a couple times a year I'll drain and refill it. I've filled it with rain water to see how long it took to fill and how it kept. It filled surprisingly fast, a mild steady rain filled my 275 gallon tank in about 3 hours I added bleach and it kept all summer. I did notice a small amount of sediment in the tank but I run a pre filter and all our cooking and drinking water goes through the Berky. I'm looking to double my tank size this summer, 550 gallons should sustain us even through long dry spells around here.

You mentioned using a 12v RV pump. What pump did you use and is your water tank(ibc) elevated at all (on a hill and/or tower)?
I like this idea.