Aloha Josh - I just got turned on to your work by a friend in Ixtapa. I'd love to collaborate - I'm good with all the things you're into, and especially expert in wastewater recycling. I have done a number of continuous sand filters (small flows to 10s of MGD), recycling (septic to 80MGD), and SSFs (300cpd to 500,000gpd), and lots of low-tech pump & electrical controls - now featuring Apps!
Also - a partner in producing the best biochar ever, 20T per month, with a 150T/d on the drawing boards... so, yeah - love what you're doing...
"ECO-WORTHY 12V DC Submersible Deep Well Pump, MAX Flow 3.2GPM, Max Head 230ft..."
I don't have a ton of experience with this particular pump so I can't say how consistent or reliable they are from the manufacturer. But it is not very expensive, so we gave it a shot and it has been fine so far.
This is a really good idea. During the El Nino I was considering "borrowing" some water from the river below our place (about 120ft down, vert. and horiz.) but my biggest problem was possible theft (even a rope I'd hidden away to help myself get back up mysteriously disappeared). Also make sure this is very well secured when the rains do come, ours would need to be pretty well secured when the river becomes torrential.
Very good point! After Hurricane Helene smashed our region I checked in with my friend and we had chosen the site for the filter and pump setup well! The intake upstream got inundated with sediment, which is to be expected. But once we cleared that out and flushed the supply line, the system was back in action. Originally he had wanted to do a ram pump located in the catchment - essentially right down in the stream bed. That would have all been wiped out by the surge from Helene (or any big rain storm, really).
Also - consider punching a stream box ( spring box) tapping into the base flow of the stream, set back from the stream bank a bit. I build them with Infiltrator Chambers, used in septic fields work, or Invisible Structures RainStore packs that I line with Geotechnical 'felt' and clean washed sand to keep clay from blinding off the felt... bury 1msq. cubes at a depth that taps into the stream base flow even when the stream is dry, and cover with sand and gravel. Install a riser and cap to grade, drop in your pump with a sealed Splice Box and gel- filled wire nuts. I make the Splice Box from Kraloy Lever-lock 4 inch boxes...
These spring boxes withstand El Nino 12" /24hr rainfall events and total flood plain inundation, year after year...
I thought right away about the pump burn out from no water. I have a similar problem. There are inexpensive sensors the “notice” when the water drops below acceptable level and turns the pump off. It comes back on when the water gets to acceptable level. Since nothing runs at night you don’t have to worry about it then. The complex part for non-electrical types like me is wiring the pump thru the sensor to the solar panels. But I happen to know it can be done. I just don’t personally know how.
This is a really good suggestion. I might hunt around for either a float switch or some kind of conductivity switch that could be wired right into the pump's power cord to provide a shutoff if the water level in the "borehole" drops below a certain level. Thank you, Barbara.
Aloha Josh - I just got turned on to your work by a friend in Ixtapa. I'd love to collaborate - I'm good with all the things you're into, and especially expert in wastewater recycling. I have done a number of continuous sand filters (small flows to 10s of MGD), recycling (septic to 80MGD), and SSFs (300cpd to 500,000gpd), and lots of low-tech pump & electrical controls - now featuring Apps!
Also - a partner in producing the best biochar ever, 20T per month, with a 150T/d on the drawing boards... so, yeah - love what you're doing...
All the best,
Bill
Bill Wilson Environmental
billwilsonwater@gmail.com
Any chance somebody has a part number or pump manufacturer name for a system that they used successfully. Maybe one they bought off Amazon Thanks
Here's a link to the pump we used for this project, purchased from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RZ7LMZV?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_dt_b_fed_asin_title_0_0&th=1
"ECO-WORTHY 12V DC Submersible Deep Well Pump, MAX Flow 3.2GPM, Max Head 230ft..."
I don't have a ton of experience with this particular pump so I can't say how consistent or reliable they are from the manufacturer. But it is not very expensive, so we gave it a shot and it has been fine so far.
This is a really good idea. During the El Nino I was considering "borrowing" some water from the river below our place (about 120ft down, vert. and horiz.) but my biggest problem was possible theft (even a rope I'd hidden away to help myself get back up mysteriously disappeared). Also make sure this is very well secured when the rains do come, ours would need to be pretty well secured when the river becomes torrential.
Very good point! After Hurricane Helene smashed our region I checked in with my friend and we had chosen the site for the filter and pump setup well! The intake upstream got inundated with sediment, which is to be expected. But once we cleared that out and flushed the supply line, the system was back in action. Originally he had wanted to do a ram pump located in the catchment - essentially right down in the stream bed. That would have all been wiped out by the surge from Helene (or any big rain storm, really).
Also - consider punching a stream box ( spring box) tapping into the base flow of the stream, set back from the stream bank a bit. I build them with Infiltrator Chambers, used in septic fields work, or Invisible Structures RainStore packs that I line with Geotechnical 'felt' and clean washed sand to keep clay from blinding off the felt... bury 1msq. cubes at a depth that taps into the stream base flow even when the stream is dry, and cover with sand and gravel. Install a riser and cap to grade, drop in your pump with a sealed Splice Box and gel- filled wire nuts. I make the Splice Box from Kraloy Lever-lock 4 inch boxes...
These spring boxes withstand El Nino 12" /24hr rainfall events and total flood plain inundation, year after year...
I thought right away about the pump burn out from no water. I have a similar problem. There are inexpensive sensors the “notice” when the water drops below acceptable level and turns the pump off. It comes back on when the water gets to acceptable level. Since nothing runs at night you don’t have to worry about it then. The complex part for non-electrical types like me is wiring the pump thru the sensor to the solar panels. But I happen to know it can be done. I just don’t personally know how.
This is a really good suggestion. I might hunt around for either a float switch or some kind of conductivity switch that could be wired right into the pump's power cord to provide a shutoff if the water level in the "borehole" drops below a certain level. Thank you, Barbara.
Let me try to send you a link to the one I found and see what you think. If nothing else you can Google the key words and find others.