My parents have a koi pond that they love, but the electric bill during the warmer months is getting a bit out of hand. The pump is 1200 GPH and draws .5 amps/380 watts. Would it be feasible to buy a solar panel that could power it or would the panel be extremely large and/or expensive. Obviously it would only help during daylight hours, so there would still have to be a domestic electrical hookup. Is there some type of switch that could automatically alternate between solar and household power as needed?
Solar panel for koi pond pump?
Badfish740
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My parents have a koi pond that they love, but the electric bill during the warmer months is getting a bit out of hand. The pump is 1200 GPH and draws .5 amps/380 watts. Would it be feasible to buy a solar panel that could power it or would the panel be extremely large and/or expensive. Obviously it would only help during daylight hours, so there would still have to be a domestic electrical hookup. Is there some type of switch that could automatically alternate between solar and household power as needed?
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That's ridiculous for a 1200GPH pump. You can get much much more efficient aquarium pumps for that amount of flow.
For example, a Mag12 (Danner Supreme Mag Drive Pumps) draws only 110 watts. You can do even better if your pond is plumbed to use an external pump, rather than a submersible pump. Then you could get away with something like a GenX Mak4 pump that draws only about 90 watts and puts out 1200 gph (and pumps better than the mag12 when head pressure is involved).
Each of these pumps can be purchased for about $120. You'd pay many many many times that for a solar array, batteries and inverter that could power a pump as large as yours.
For example, a Mag12 (Danner Supreme Mag Drive Pumps) draws only 110 watts. You can do even better if your pond is plumbed to use an external pump, rather than a submersible pump. Then you could get away with something like a GenX Mak4 pump that draws only about 90 watts and puts out 1200 gph (and pumps better than the mag12 when head pressure is involved).
Each of these pumps can be purchased for about $120. You'd pay many many many times that for a solar array, batteries and inverter that could power a pump as large as yours.
Correct on the pump. As for the solar, you can get one as large as you like - problem is cost. A 60-watt panel costs about $300; you'd need two of them, and either a DC pump (motor home pump? Dunno where you could get a cheap DC pump. Industrial pumps are nice, but pricey) or an inverter ($100 or so). Nice thing about the inverter is you can hook them up to the house - so it really wouldn't power the pump directly, but the pump would always have current. Still, it'd be years before the electricity savings would surpass the initial cost of the panels.
at mu house . . .we had an entire row of fish tanks . . .yeah you wouldnt think you could spend that kind of money on NON edible fish . .pumps etc etc
next pets we EVER have will be edible ones . . . .though most folks dont commonly associate pets with Lobster
next pets we EVER have will be edible ones . . . .though most folks dont commonly associate pets with Lobster
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