PV power for bio digester sewage pump

[lakelandfolk]

HI  Looks like we are having to go down the Bio Pure/ Vortex sewage system path for foul water disposal. Just wondering if a small PV panel with battery storage on the garage roof would be a viable way to power the 24/7 pump. ( there will be a full PV array on the house roof ) The pumps are rated at about 45 watts, so not a huge consumption but I don't like the idea of them running 24/7 through the winter months. I have seen small 100 watt PV systems aimed at mobile homes etc for a couple of hundred quid, but they are 12 volt or sometimes 24 volt.

 

If we are not able to use a Bio Pure or similar ( still trying to overcome lack of gravity issues for the proposed outflow into a nearby ditch ) the alternative will then be a raw sewage pumped system with a pump around 1.2 kw switching on as and when required.  So it will be either 45 watts 24/7 or 1.2 kw for short bursts per day.

[jack]

The problem is that you'll get little to no power output from a PV panel for potentially days on end in the middle of winter.

[SteamyTea]

25 minutes ago, lakelandfolk said:

I have seen small 100 watt PV systems aimed at mobile homes etc

Would that be 100W peak power?

In reality you will get a lot less than that.

Just had a look at my local weather station and today the sun has peaked at 157W.m², currently at 91 W.m².

At those levels you will be lucky to get a usable 10W out of it.  So by the time it has been though a charger, a battery, an inverter, you will have just about zero.

 

As you are going for PV anway, you may as well use that as an off set.

 

The 45 W 24/7 or a burst of 1.2 kW (by my thinking about 54 minutes run time) amounts to the same thing.

It is the amount of mass that the pump has to shift that is important, not so much the way it does it.

Edited October 12, 2016 by SteamyTea

[ProDave]

I recall Jeremy was looking into the option of sourcing a 12V air blower pump to replacer the mains driven one as standard. That would make it a lot more viable to power by it's own solar panel and battery (with a mains charger to turn on if there was not enough solar generation)

 

I don't know the outcome of his research.

 

Don't forget to look at the Conder as well (that's the one we have) The Conder, Vortex and Biopure all appear to be the best 3 treatment plants in terms of effluent quality that I could find when I was looking and all work on the aeration by an air blower principle.
 

[lakelandfolk]

Thanks everyone.

Dave, I must say the Conder ASP08 looks interesting, I like the fact that it has support legs which will make it easier to level the tank when installing. They also do a version with inbuilt effluent pump which is something we might well need.

[ProDave]

It was the ease of self install that swung it for me with the Conder If you are paying someone to install it then it makes little difference, but with the Biopure, it has to be held upright while you pour concrete and wait for it to set.

 

Just a tip, of you chose that one, the best price I could get for it was from Travis Perkins.

 

Mine was the ASP06 but as far as I can tell they are the same size physically but the 8 has a bigger blower pump (there may be other internal differences)