Solar Well Pump Installation: A Customer’s Story
Most of the time, we never hear back from our customers, since the solar pumps are easy to install and don’t require any special mechanical or electrical expertise. Usually no extra support is required. Everyday guys like myself can install them.
The following is a recent story about a customer who was installing a solar well pump in a remote pasture. The customer lives in Wyoming and purchased a well pump for his cattle, which graze an isolated pasture. In this case, we shipped Jim our best selling solar well pump system, the RPS1.8-80 solar well pump system, which includes four 90 watt solar panels. This was about 2 months ago.
In this case, Jim needed a little bit of extra help connecting the solar panels. The RPS1.8-80 requires two panels in series and two sets in parallel. Jim got a little mixed up and hooked the 4 panels in series. He checked the voltage with a multimeter and noted something must not be right due to having much higher voltage than expected.
We are always happy to help, and as it turns out Jim was out in the middle of his cow pasture, ready to hook up the solar panels to his solar well pump system. Due to the high voltage, he was not sure if he had hooked the solar panels up correctly. Our contact info is listed on the front page of every pump manual, on our website and on the well pump controller. Jim had no problem finding our phone number and gave us a call while standing out in his cow pasture. Best of all, someone in the USA who speaks English, answered his call!
We are always happy to help our customers with any questions or installation questions. We were able to walk Jim through the solar panel hookup process, in real time, as he made the proper solar panel connections. Step by step we were able to talk Jim and his helper though the panel hookup process. This took less than 5 minutes, including checking the output voltage with a multimeter to make sure everything was connected correctly. With the MC4 solar panel connectors and provided connector splices, the solar panel hookups are simple plug together connections.
After it was confirmed the solar panels were connected correctly, Jim made the final screw terminal connections to the controller and turned on the system power switch. None of the power lights turned on. For a few seconds nothing happened and Jim, in a concerned voiced, asked if this was normal. I reassured him the controller has a 6 second delay and soft start function, after which it ramps up to full power. This is normal for solar power systems and prevents current spikes and voltage dropouts for solar power systems.
After six seconds, the lights turned on, but no water started flowing. I sat there on the phone waiting for something to happen. After about 20 seconds water started flowing out of the 130 foot well and Jim exclaimed “Wow, it is really flowing now”.
“How much do you think is coming out?”
“I would guess a good 6-7 gallons per minute.”
“Great!”
“Wait it stopped!”
“Hmm, that’s not good. Are you guys walking around the solar panels and casting a shadow on them?”
“Ha, yeah we have been moving around, plus a cloud just blew overhead. Yep, it just started up again.”
“Good to hear, glad this is working out for you. Is the flow good enough for your usage?”
“Oh yeah, I have been using a gas generator out here to pump water for the cows, but it looks like I am now set for the future. Thank for your help.”
Well, that says it all! Another happy customer! Here at Rural Power Systems, it is our mission to provide great customer service and support. From our learning center on our website, where we educate customers on various well and solar panel topics, to our email and telephone support, we are here to help.
Check out our complete solar well pump systems and let us know if you need anything whatsoever.
Update:
A few weeks ago we heard from Jim. It turns out the system has been running great, but his cows got in the fenced off area for the solar well pump and damaged the float valve and a solar panel. He called us, explained the situation and within one day we had replacements on the way!
Sounds like the solar well pump is a really good way to go. I can see how it can be very helpful, and get the job done. It is always great to work with someone that knows how to install, or fix the pump, no matter what type it is.
Absolutely and good point about being able to repair the systems. Our kits a very easy to install, troubleshoot and repair if needed. We offer an industry leading 2 year warranty and although most of our customer never need to use it, it does provide peace of mind that they are covered in case of any issues.
Good evening.
Can I hook up the well pump to a power generator with a 12v converter for night use?
If so, what´s the best 12v converter to accomplish this task?
Sure Can. We have a 12v to 24v Converter that can come from your truck’s truck battery or a marine deep-cycle battery. Or connect 2 in series to get 24v without the converter!