We have been experimenting with a variety of water pumping methods for our livestock for a combination of reasons. Not only does pumping water benefit our livestock through cleaner water, reduced disease and faster growth, it also extends our available water supply and helps to keep livestock out of riparian areas. We have developed a variety of pumping systems that are easy to build and maintain and less expensive than many commercial alternatives.
Solar Pumps
Our first solar pumping system uses a large 100 Watt panel on a sled. This panel is more than large enough to run the water pump and we also use it to power our electric fencer. The pump is built from an Attwood V1250 Bilge pump as they deliver the highest volume with the lowest power requirement in consumer tests. We have made a few choices that we feel are advantageous to our system. We have used standard plug in ends for our main connections. This allows the system and the hoses to be easily extended or located away from the solar panel. Also, we have located our wires to the pump inside the water hose. We learned this the hard way, as our cows really like to chew on plastic coated wire. We have since used this “solar sled” to power large electric fencers, charge batteries for general farm use, and pump water.
Our Newest Pump
This pump is a conversion of an old sprayer. Panel is a 40W on sale at Canadian Tire. The electric fencer on the front is to keep cattle away from the components. The tank on the back is an old liquid mineral tank. It is gravity fed with a float valve from the sprayer tank. The sprayer is filled with a bilge pump and 1 1/4″ hose. There is an electical pump up switch inside the sprayer tank. All electrical connections (including the fencer) work with standard plugins, even though this is a 12 volt system. It is highly portable and was cheap to build. It turned a piece of unused farm equipment (junk) into a useful environmental improvement tool.
Duncan’s Pump
We had already built a couple of pumps when we saw a great idea for a pumping solution during a pasture tour at Duncan MacMillan’s ranch north of Vermilion. This fully portable and self contained unit served as a prototype with a couple of changes on our part.
Our Version
We have built a system similar to Duncan’s with a few slight changes. It is shown on the right.
Wires are located inside the the water hose to protect them from cows. As well, we ran into problems with lift in some of our pumping locations, so we switched out the bilge pump (in the pail) for a 12 volt sprayer pump assembly that sits on the bank. We have built an easy priming system for this pump and added a foot valve that we will likely remove once freeze up season occurs. We joined the barrels with spacers made from 2″ hose and caulked and then once the rims were bolted together, we filled the space with expanding mono foam.
All hose connections are made using quick couplers from a local farm store. This makes setup and transport easy. Combined with the electrical plug in ends and an extension cord, it makes the system fully modular and expandable.
Iain’s Pump
Iain Aitken was gracious enough to request some assistance with his new pumping system, and to forward some pictures of the finished project.
Resources
The following document outlines the components in a solar pumping system.
Solar Pump Components
This is a spreadsheet I use to size solar systems and price components.
Solar System Sizing Spreadsheet
This is a copy of a presentation made to Saskatchewan producers Spring 2009.
Presentation
We have found several good suppliers of various pumping system components. Below is a list of suppliers that we feel offer good value and service.
Solar Panels
Small – Canadian Tire
Costco
Large – Ebay
Evolve Green
Charge Controller
Canadian Tire or
Evolve Green
Pump Up Switch
Princess Auto
Deep Cycle Batteries
Any Hardware or RV Store
Bilge Pump
Any Hardware or RV Store
Barrels
Oilfield Supply Companies
Gas Pump
We operate a gas pump for some applications. Combined with a large storage tank we can generate high lift and then gravity feed water to troughs located in strategic locations for grazing.
