Grandmas Well Of Pain

[Basic101]

In a recent trip to the Philippines to stay with my GF i bore witness to her grandmothers well of pain. By day she would use a bucket to draw water from the backyard well over 300 times and then retire in the evening to attempt to sleep on her strained and twisted back. In good conscience i cannot allow this to go on and so have joined this site in order to help her. I am in need of some basic advice on how to set up a 12v solar pump with the idea to expand it to incorporate a low scale tankless instant hot water system for three, 3minute showers or maybe run a old fridge. I just want to help her as she is a great woman who has sacrificed so much and works tirelessly even at her age. She has little to no available money to spend on extra electrical bills so i thought solar as a solution. To anyone interested in helping me- this is what i have so far- i will buy and have the monies ready now.
12V pump

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-marine-utility-pump-9576.html

A solar panel 100W http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/vi...Position,1-2,2
A battery 100AH/12V

http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/7849216/Deep+Cycle+Batteries+Motolite?referralKeywords=deep+cycle+battery&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-1,1

A charge controller

http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/view+classifieds/id/4597374/MPPT+40A+1500+Watt+40+Amp+Solar+Charge+Controller+Regulator?referralKeywords=charge+controller&event=Search+Ranking,Position,1-16,16

I maybe a misguided fool but my heart is in the right place. I would like to buy so it will be big enough for basic expansion like a inverter to run a few things. Anyone who has spent time in the Philippines knows that life is hard for most and even harder for those with less. I am not asking for charity, just some advice please

[Naptown]

The charge controller is probably a bit of overkill for the moment but will allow for expansion in the future.
At this level you don't really need much more than a 10A PWM controller. Once you go to expand however you may be replacing the controller. (At least the smaller controller is inexpensive.)
That pump has a max lift of 23 feet. I couldn't tell how far it would self prime to. Don't know how deep the well is.

[Sunny Solar]

We need to know how deep the well is? And buy the pump that will be required in Aus. Carry in in your luggage and then no import duty.Try not to declare anything as import duty can be high.Why you wanting to buy the pump from Harbour Freight ? There are many good marine shops on GC and Brisbane. IE Whitworths.
Running a ref is a problem. And if its an old one a worse problem. but its hard to find really old ones in Phils because they never last that long. Get a Sanyo or Panasonic ,they have about the lowest power consumption.you would need 3x100w panels a 1500w inverter (sinewave )and 2x 100ahr 12v deep cycle batteries. getting the deep cycle batteries can be difficult unless you get them from Cebu or Manila or Davao. Most towns/cities dont stock them. Many places will offer you is Motorlite deep cycle batteries but they are very so so.
Running an instant hot water heater is a big problem as they draw 1000w on the low setting and 2000 and sometimes above on the high setting. This requires real heavy duty battery power to do. and a inverter 48v and 4000 w. read "expensive ",and you would need to buy it in Aus and take it there. As you may know warranties are as useless as tits on a bull in Phils.Another problem you would need a water pump that turns on ",on demand" to feed the water heater as they wont work on gravity feed. A half hp motor will be required.
Batteries minimun 4x200 ahr wired in series.

She does not live anywhere near Grid Mains.?
Going solar is going to cost about 20 times what grid power will cost . Taking the average cost there of 12peso per KWH it would cost about 30 to 40peso a day for Ref,water pumps and heater. Total about p1200 a month. a fraction of the cost of the batteries alone that you would need and need to replace in 4 to 5 yrs.

[Basic101]

Thankyou Naptown and Sunny Solar

I would like to thank both respondents Naptown and Sunny Solar for their great advice, I will attempt to give you my best attention on the matter of reply and be as honest and forthcoming on my idea to help Grandma.
To Naptown and Sunny Solar, i apologise that i left out the depth of the well as it is a critical point. From top of well to water level its about 5 meters or a little over 16 feet. I would hope a basic solar set up would cover this and be more cost effective than running on mains power. Yes, Sunny Solar grandmas home has mains power as she lives in Minganila / Cebu. Great to hear from you as you have some local knowledge about the Philippines and their ways. Love your post may i add. To cut to the bone on the matter of that it is cheaper just to use mains power- I am sure your right but the issue is that the additional cost to run the pump i suspect will be too much for grandma and so i am trying to do this by stealth. I am sure she would be offended and pride hurt if i just offer the additional money to cover the cost of running a pump. But a one off gift such as the a solar panel and a battery and charge controller would be acceptable. As far as the solar system required to run the fridge i don't think that's too much of a leap as far as expansion is concerned but do correct me.But i believe that the wish to get a Ecosmart hot water system http://www.ecosmartus.com/products/e...-8-eco-11.aspx
Maybe a bridge too far.... Will look into your advice about pump and where to buy here but not sure what i will say at airport if items are discovered LOL. Undies, socks and a charge controller is hard to explain Ha ha !!!!!! As im sure you understand that it is hard to do the right thing in that country when the government does not. You're so right about all you wrote Sunny Solar, can i be so wrong? Is the road to disaster really paved with good intentions? Thankyou again

[FloridaSun]

Is the road to disaster really paved with good intentions? Thankyou again

Keep in mind a battery system may require regular checking and maintenance. Grandma might be safer dipping water out of a well than a battery.
Most Asian parents I know of have no problem accepting money/help from their children. Just send grandma's electric bill through your GF.

[axis11]

OP, I believe your first priority is the pump. You need to make it as simple as possible and realibility is at max while maintenance is at min. Try searching for a small dc pump with a total dynamic head not less than 8 meters. T o keep things simple, do a PV to pump direct set-up. Run the pump during the day and have some sort of storage for the pumped water for use at other times of the day. No batteries and delicate electronics for grandma to maintain. Let the system expansion follow after you solve the first problem.

[green]

Just a thought, how about a system consisting of a pump that runs directly off solar and it pumps to a storage tank set at a certain height so water can be drawn using gravity. You could effectively take the battery out of the equation then.

I bring this up because I'm planning on something similar for my rain capturing system. Mine isn't a critical system though, a few cloudy days in a row will be no big deal to me, you however need to consider all the options and the problems they incure as well as the problems the solve.

Good Luck and God Bless you for helping this woman's life be a little easier,
Green

[John J.]

How about using an inline such as a Rule iL200P Marine 200 GPH Inline Submersible Pump (12-Volt)

[Sunny Solar]

John J that item is useless for the aplication. its only useful for transfer from one tank to another it has no lift ability,no use in a well."its well useless"