solar powered air pump

Robert Field
3 Posts
Jun 30, 2008 03:15 pm
solar powered air pump

I have used two solar panels to power an air pump to create an air lift system that circulates water for shellfish aquaculture.  These two panels are connected to two batteries in parallel, then to an inverter and to an AC air pump.  It has worked OK in the past, but this year the inverter has faulted and when I check the voltage it is up over 16 volts.  The panels are about 8 years old.  Does their ability to maintain the right voltage degrade over time?  Can an automotive voltage regulator be installed to control this?
 
 
John B
163 Posts
Jun 30, 2008 05:12 pm
Re: solar powered air pump

You will have to give us more details, but it is unlikely that there is anything wrong with your panels. A reading of 16V (open circuit) would be normal for a nominal 12V PV panel.

Connecting the PV panels directly to your batteries without a charge controller may eventually damage your batteries, but it looks to me like you just had an inverter failure.
 
 
Robert Field
3 Posts
Jul 2, 2008 09:13 am
Re: solar powered air pump

John,
Thanks for the reply.  As far as more specifics, the two panels are rated at 75 watts and 4.4 amps.  The maximum inverter output is 350 watts.  The air pump is 115 v AC and 43 watts.  I checked the specs on the inverter and the high voltage fault is 15v so it looks like it was doing its job to cut out when the voltage went up over 16.  I guess I need to get a charge controller.  The short circuit amps for the pv's are 4.8, so it looks like I need a 15 amp controller.
Bob
 
 
John B
163 Posts
Jul 2, 2008 01:50 pm
Re: solar powered air pump

Robert,

Maybe it is a bad or loose connection between the battery terminals and the pv panel. I would have expected that the batteries would have prevented the voltage from rising above 15V. That's why I suspected a bad battery or faulty inverter when you were able to measure 16V+ if the batteries were still connected to the pv panels. A charge controller would still be a good investment for long-term life of your batteries.
 
 
Robert Field
3 Posts
Jul 3, 2008 11:48 am
Re: solar powered air pump

John,
I'll check the terminals, and the controller is on it's way.  Thanks for your help.
 
 

Disclaimer and Disclosure

The Alternative Energy Store, Inc reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse or delete any posting or portion thereof, or terminate or block the access to this forum.

The opinions and statements posted on this forum are the opinions and statements of the person posting same, and do not constitute the opinion or act of the Alternative Energy Store, Inc (AltE). The Alternative Energy Store, Inc does not endorse or subscribe to any particular posting. No posting shall be construed as the act or opinion of the Alternative Energy Store, Inc.

Click here for BBB Business Review

McAfee SECURE sites help keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams
Desktop Website | Mobile Website

Share

Click on an icon to share! If you don't see the method you want, hover over the orange "+".

Feedback

What can we do to help you?

Please enter a summary
Submit +
Sorry, the copyright must be in the template.
Please notify this forum's administrator that this site is using an ILLEGAL copy of SMF!
Copyright removed!!