The Show > Pumpkin 'tastic
Got an Atlantic Giant to grow
chriscross1966:
--- Quote from: Nigel B on August 21, 2012, 23:40:15 ---
--- Quote from: chriscross1966 on August 14, 2012, 08:35:13 ---Yes, after some less than successful experiments with a purely solar powered autowatering rig this year I'll be going to a battery powered one next year. I have a header tank for it and a lift pump, so for "normal use" I can rig it to push a hundred litres or so into the header tank, allow it to warm through the day and then drop it in at night...
--- End quote ---
Hi Chris,
Did you learn anything helpful about the solar against battery power? What size/type of experiment did you do? Yunno, just a rough outline. :)
Congratulations on the pumpkin, by the way. Its something of an achievement just to get on the calculating scale. ;D
--- End quote ---
What I learned from the solar power is to not trust the rating plates on solar panels.... although it should be up to running the pump it can't deliver the turn-on surge.... so what I plan on doing is installing a small gel battery there plus a small panel, plus a control box with a timer in it.... the timer turns on the pump for around fifteen minutes each day during the day, then an off-the-shelf water timer will drop the contents of the header tank ...
header tank holds around 100 litres, pump supposedly 12 litres a minute, but a bit less against a 2 metre head lift, supposedly at around 0.8A IIRC.... but an 18W panel couldn't supply the power to get it to start up.... battery had no problems
Nigel B:
Thanks Chris. I appreciate that.
Some working figures I can refer to. :) Saved.
chriscross1966:
THe pump is tiny BTW, it came from Hong Kong and the graphed figure for pumping water against head seems accurate, adn from what I cna tell so is the general running current, it's jus tthe pulse to turn it on that the panel can't manage... anyway, given this year it hasn't been needed... the expensive bit is the solar panel, though I might be able to oput a much smaller one in there when all it ahs to do is charge a battery....
Nigel B:
Thanks again for sharing Chris. 8)
chriscross1966:
Well number one appears to have stopped... estimated weight around the 80lbs mark...number two has surged past it and using the online weight estimaters came out at around 110-115lbs.... which seems about fair, I can move it a bit but picking it up off the floor is beyond me. Managed to get a layer of sand under it though. Found out why number one had stopped, I'm calling it number three and it had formed a fiar chunk down the vine adn I'd missed it for a couple of weeks....
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version