Solar powered water feature

[didds]

Mrs Didds has a belfast sink in the garden (rescued from a skip). She would like to make a water feature of it, so i said i'd investigate a suitable solar powered device. She doesn;t do naff!

Solar because its way from any easy power source, and because we can lose the solar panel somewhere fairly obstructively, whilst still facing generically south/south-west.

Thing is - she doesn't do naff, and she already has the container she wants, so we don;'t need an all inclusive pump, solar panel, container combo.

She saw something she approved of whilst we out today... a simple open "stone" spot... something a bit like this..

http://cdn2.ndc.co.za/thumb/browse/valu ... vyduty.jpg


I am googling like mad but if anybody already knows of something that would work loike this (ie solar panel, pump, trough like thingy) then lease shout. the point being she/we do not need a founrtai8n type spray, but a way to get water to a spout that can just run back into the sink.

She doesn't do naff. did I mention that?

didds

[Breelander]

You can get solar pumps on their own, like this one...
https://www.primrose.co.uk/solar-water- ... 02728.html
(not a recommendation, just the first I found in Google)

It looks like the detachable fountain heads could easily be left off and a pipe attached instead so you could send the water to a spout of your choosing.

[gryffron]

How much flow do you want? And how high do you need to raise the water? Most solar options will realistically give you very little of either. I've got a little eBay unit that is still working fine after 2 years outdoors in all weather. I made a home made filter out of an ice cream tub and some pound shop sponges. See I do do naff . And it is a mere dribble, though it works even in winter sun.

You can buy units that are all-in-one submerged fountain spray - which obviously is not what you want. Or units with a separate pump which will let you route a tube anywhere. Which should suit your purposes better.

Simply speaking, the more flow you want, in the more weather conditions, the more you're going to have to pay. Try pouring water out of a jug to see how it looks, and thus calculate how many l/minute.

Gryff

[JMN2]

Don't forget the non-return valve.

[csearle]

...a simple open "stone" spot... something a bit like this..

http://cdn2.ndc.co.za/thumb/browse/valu ... vyduty.jpg

If you mounted a small water wheel to intercept the flow and attached it to a small generator maybe you could power the pump without solar?

Chris ;)

[richlist]

I didn't think the laws of physics supported such a device.

[bungeejumper]

A slightly different requirement here, but bear with me. I'm toying with the idea of growing greenhouse strawberries hydroponically, which requires a modest but continuous flow of water and liquid nutrients. A solar pump would seem like the obvious way to go, except that it would stop at night! (And, if the comments on the linked-to solar pump are correct, whenever the sun isn't shining.) Are there any pumps with rechargeable battery backup?

I've certainly been impressed with what solar can do - last year I bought a £20 solar lamp whose solar element is the size of two postage stamps, but which can power an array of ten LEDs for five or six hours a night, thanks to a couple of rechargeable AAA batteries. I haven't done (can't do) the wattage maths, but I'd imagine that a tiny pump would be feasible. DAK?

BJ

[Breelander]

I'm toying with the idea of growing greenhouse strawberries hydroponically, which requires a modest but continuous flow of water and liquid nutrients. ... Are there any pumps with rechargeable battery backup?

Yes, but wouldn't it be more energy-efficient to use the water itself to store the energy? I'd think about using the pump to top up a header tank and use a gravity feed to deliver the water flow.

[bungeejumper]

Yes, but wouldn't it be more energy-efficient to use the water itself to store the energy? I'd think about using the pump to top up a header tank and use a gravity feed to deliver the water flow.

Good point. But hmmm, somehow the battery backup still appeals, if only because I could get away with a somewhat smaller header tank. So next question, what kind of a head of pressure could I expect to get from a solar pump? Would need to be two feet, at a guess. (Recycling from the bottom of the fluid sump to the top of the header tank.) Flow could be absolutely minuscule - I should think 20 litres an hour would be adequate.

Jumping ahead of myself a little, I see that this battery-backed one for £40 has 70cm of head: www.primrose.co.uk/solar-water-pump-kit ... -3205.html, with far more flow than I would be likely to need. No, I don't need the disco lights, thank you, or even the fountain head - but apparently it can be programmed to provide five hours at times of your choosing (or in winter/constant mode, whatever that means...)

As an illustration of what can be done it's intriguing. Hmmm, will investigate further.

BJ

[Loir]

Please don't forget little creatures like hedgehogs, they can fall in the water and drown. A little slope or stair will save them. A lift is perhaps going too far!
Steve

[bungeejumper]

I don't know whether the OP ever got round to organising a solar water feature, but we've been experimenting recently with one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BBNWJP7/ ... 11_TE_item

First impressions are that they're not kidding about the panel's ability to deliver 11 watts of power to the battery in sunny conditions. (The typical panel is rated closer to 3 watts.) Yes, it does continue to charge on cloudy days, but at a slower rate, obviously.

The 12 volt pump will only run for four hours a day on the battery storage at this rate - but heck, it's a chunky 1,000 litres per hour pump, much more powerful than most normal water features require, and I'm about to try replacing it with ten quid's worth of 350 l/h pump which, with luck, should keep it running more or less constantly in daylight hours.

Like the OP, we have an unobtrusive place to put a foot-square solar panel (on top of a wall), and all I need to do is extend the 12 volt cable with a bit of bell flex and an on/off switch. And yes, like the OP we aren't planning on any plastic meerkats or cutesy water mills - just a 'bubbler' and a few rocks in a stone jar will do for us.

Will report back on how it goes.

BJ

[didds]

I don't know whether the OP ever got round to organising a solar water feature

I didn't. Mrs Didds forgot all about it ... * phew *


didds

[chas49]

I don't know whether the OP ever got round to organising a solar water feature

I didn't. Mrs Didds forgot all about it ... * phew *


didds

She doesn't read Lemonfool then?

[didds]

Nope!

LOL!