Matt Chambers's posts

Any concerns or history with using these solar pumps in salt water?  The only applications I've seen are fresh.

$3,000 w/out the plumbing is more in the ballpark and the extra PV capacity post recharge can be gainfully used for a circulating pump.

The 1,200 in two hours every month is driven by the production cycle although the two hours was best case and can flex to say 24 hours (12x) if that drives cost reductions.

I take your point about using the whole month and lowering the requirements by 2 orders of magnitude.  I suppose I could add another stage to production at the front end if the improvement is material on cost and reliability.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

Thank you for your interest.  I'm just trying to cost an idea so please don't invest too much energy in a response.  Directionally accurate solutions and costs are all that is required at this point.

The location is an island off Belize.

As you note a gas pump is more economical, easier to repair et cetera so it wins on the practical front.

Seeking suggested configurations, concerns & mitigations regarding the below solar water pump application.

Need to pump ~1,200 gallons of salt water to a non-pressurized holding tank 30' above and 300' distant from the source once per month.  Pumping desireably should take two hours or less suggesting 10GPM or better.  Source is salt water lagoon.  Location worst case is 4.5 solar energy hours / day according to NREL. Off grid, no mains available. Site exposed to occasional high winds.  Possibility of scaling fourfold over time.  Possibility of additional electrical demand (e.g. appliances, PCs).  Water needs to remain as pure as at source.

Concerns: caustic nature of salt water and environment, wind risk to PV array, weed / debris at intake, remote location makes reliability very important

Thanks in advance for your counsel.

Matt