Solar fence

minerleague

blue5000 wrote: »

Look up solar pump solutions.ie

yeah saw them allright, wanted to go diy just for the enjoyment of doing it myself as much as the price iykwim:)

minerleague

emaherx wrote: »

No, float switch in IBC so pump starts when level in IBC drops and stops when it's full.

was thinking of two float switches so pump will come on when ibc nearly empty and stop when nearly full. with 1 switch pump would be on/off every time cattle drank even a small amount of water. what is a charge controller?

SuperTortoise

minerleague wrote: »

was thinking of two float switches so pump will come on when ibc nearly empty and stop when nearly full. with 1 switch pump would be on/off every time cattle drank even a small amount of water. what is a charge controller?

Charge controller controls the state of battery charge, ie it'll stop the battery from over charging when full.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

You said you need to pump 150m is there much of a difference in height between the location you intend on placing the drinker and the river?

From water level in river to the drinker I would say a height difference of 8 meters

emaherx

minerleague wrote: »

was thinking of two float switches so pump will come on when ibc nearly empty and stop when nearly full. with 1 switch pump would be on/off every time cattle drank even a small amount of water. what is a charge controller?

No, one should do. The float switch won't activate or deactivate until it has traveled up or down a considerable amount, so won't cycle everytime a cow drinks. Use the same type you'd find in a modern septic tank.

TooOldBoots

zetor 4911 wrote: »

From water level in river to the drinker I would say a height difference of 8 meters

8 meters of a rise plus 150 meters of pipe.
Not a hope in hell that a 12v solar/battery pump will generate enough head pressure.

emaherx

zetor 4911 wrote: »

From water level in river to the drinker I would say a height difference of 8 meters

This is your main concern when buying a pump. make sure it can pump to this height and @ that distance.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

This is your main concern when buying a pump. make sure it can pump to this height and @ that distance.

Thanks for the replies
Any idea where to get the solar pump?

emaherx

For your case I'm not sure.

I normally by cheap 12V pumps from Amazon. But your requirment to lift water 8M and push along 150M of pipe is beyond anything I have experiance with.

From what I've seen on-line 12V pumps can range upto pumps capable of about 40M Head height, not sure how one would perform lifting only 8M but through 150M of pipe. 24V pumps can be capable of 100M+ Head but are obviosly more expensive. And there are 36V/48V and higher available. Generally googling for these types of pumps leads to the usual Chineese websites or E-Bay from China and Aus/NZ.

I'd be interested to see what pump is in the https://www.solarpumpsolutions.ie/. AFAIK their product is well capable of this senario. My Brother in law has one so I might just go have a little look.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

For your case I'm not sure.

I normally by cheap 12V pumps from Amazon. But your requirment to lift water 8M and push along 150M of pipe is beyond anything I have experiance with.

From what I've seen on-line 12V pumps can range upto pumps capable of about 40M Head height, not sure how one would perform lifting only 8M but through 150M of pipe. 24V pumps can be capable of 100M+ Head but are obviosly more expensive. And there are 36V/48V and higher available. Generally googling for these types of pumps leads to the usual Chineese websites or E-Bay from China and Aus/NZ.

I'd be interested to see what pump is in the https://www.solarpumpsolutions.ie/. AFAIK their product is well capable of this senario. My Brother in law has one so I might just go have a little look.

Thanks for the reply.
I have looked at the ready made option from solarpumpsolutions and waiting on a price from them would say that it will be out side my price range.Would be interested to know what pump they use in their unit.

emaherx

Looking at their base model specs.

https://www.solarpumpsolutions.ie/solar-powered-pump-products.php?ID=3

It has a 12V pump which can lift water 30M and pump horizontally for 1.5KM, so a 12V pump is definetly an option for your situation.

GinSoaked

Zimmerframe wrote: »

Can you remember where you got the plastic enclosure/box or any other info on it? Its a good size and I like the easy access.

Gman1987

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
I have looked at the ready made option from solarpumpsolutions and waiting on a price from them would say that it will be out side my price range.Would be interested to know what pump they use in their unit.

I was looking into a DIY solar job a few months back but in the end I didnt need it as I was able to work with the current gravity fed system that was there. Anyways, I was looking at using a pump like these:

http://northstarsprayers.ie/12v-diaphram-pumps.html

And have this pumping into a pressure vessel like these
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/100L-Pressure-Tank-Vessel-Expansion-for-Domestic-Waterworks-Liter-EPDM-Membrane/333237932712?hash=item4d968752a8:g:8qsAAOSwrx5e~vRW

Might need to put a pressure switch on the tank if the one on the pump cant be adjusted. Then the usual, batteries, solar controller and solar panel.

Not sure if it would work but thats what I was thinking.

djmc

GinSoaked wrote: »

Can you remember where you got the plastic enclosure/box or any other info on it? Its a good size and I like the easy access.

I put my solar fence into an old fridge completely weather proof and insulated against heat and frost.

GinSoaked

djmc wrote: »

I put my solar fence into an old fridge completely weather proof and insulated against heat and frost.

I can hardly mount an old fridge halfway up a Eir phone pole

But its a different application I want power for a camera.

minerleague

Gman1987 wrote: »

I was looking into a DIY solar job a few months back but in the end I didnt need it as I was able to work with the current gravity fed system that was there. Anyways, I was looking at using a pump like these:

http://northstarsprayers.ie/12v-diaphram-pumps.html

And have this pumping into a pressure vessel like these
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/100L-Pressure-Tank-Vessel-Expansion-for-Domestic-Waterworks-Liter-EPDM-Membrane/333237932712?hash=item4d968752a8:g:8qsAAOSwrx5e~vRW

Might need to put a pressure switch on the tank if the one on the pump cant be adjusted. Then the usual, batteries, solar controller and solar panel.

Not sure if it would work but thats what I was thinking.

thanks for that, what does " On demand" mean on the diaphram pumps?

GinSoaked

minerleague wrote: »

thanks for that, what does " On demand" mean on the diaphram pumps?

I've always taken it to mean you can turn them on and off like a tap. Many electric pumps would be destroyed by quick regular on off cycles.

zetor 4911

Gman1987 wrote: »

I was looking into a DIY solar job a few months back but in the end I didnt need it as I was able to work with the current gravity fed system that was there. Anyways, I was looking at using a pump like these:

http://northstarsprayers.ie/12v-diaphram-pumps.html

And have this pumping into a pressure vessel like these
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/100L-Pressure-Tank-Vessel-Expansion-for-Domestic-Waterworks-Liter-EPDM-Membrane/333237932712?hash=item4d968752a8:g:8qsAAOSwrx5e~vRW



Might need to put a pressure switch on the tank if the one on the pump cant be adjusted. Then the usual, batteries, solar controller and solar panel.

Not sure if it would work but thats what I was thinking.

Would that pump be able to fill the pressure vessel considering the pressure against it?

GinSoaked

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Would that pump be able to fill the pressure vessel considering the pressure against it?

Because its an on demand pump you don't need a pressure vessel.

It would work fine if you really felt you needed a pressure vessel as the pressure vessel works up to a max pressure and doesn't really have min.

zetor 4911

GinSoaked wrote: »

Because its an on demand pump you don't need a pressure vessel.

It would work fine if you really felt you needed a pressure vessel as the pressure vessel works up to a max pressure and doesn't really have min.

I wonder how far it would pump to a drinker without a pressure vessel?

GinSoaked

zetor 4911 wrote: »

I wonder how far it would pump to a drinker without a pressure vessel?

You'd need to get the performance graph from the supplier/manufacturer to be sure. Its 60 psi which is well over 4 bar, decent enough and 12 ft lift (suction pipe lift from water level to pump) is also quite good (I play around with petrol pumps). No priming is a great plus. Don't know if 1,800 liters an hour would be enough as that seems low to me but you can't get blood out of a stone. If you are limited by battery power you have to take what you can get.

That 1,800l would be a max with no head and no lift. If you had to a -6 ft head from say a river and then had another few feet lift up hill you'd likely be down to half of that. Its always best to run a pump with a positive head (water from above) and where you can't to get the pump as low as possible near the water surface so the pump has to do the least amount of suction. With a 12V system that does give you the option of getting the pump close to the water.

Edit yet again: Found the manual for that Northstar pump http://www.ntechina.com/upload/file/20180201/2018020110140630630.pdf so probably chinese :-) Companies own version which looks the same https://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/2685561.pdf

minerleague

GinSoaked wrote: »

I've always taken it to mean you can turn them on and off like a tap. Many electric pumps would be destroyed by quick regular on off cycles.

thanks for the info, yeah that sounds like something would suit me. dont want to use submersible pump in river. have ibc tank on stand already so wouldnt be using pressure vessel

zetor 4911

GinSoaked wrote: »

You'd need to get the performance graph from the supplier/manufacturer to be sure. Its 60 psi which is well over 4 bar, decent enough and 12 ft lift (suction pipe lift from water level to pump) is also quite good (I play around with petrol pumps). No priming is a great plus. Don't know if 1,800 liters an hour would be enough as that seems low to me but you can't get blood out of a stone. If you are limited by battery power you have to take what you can get.

That 1,800l would be a max with no head and no lift. If you had to a -6 ft head from say a river and then had another few feet lift up hill you'd likely be down to half of that. Its always best to run a pump with a positive head (water from above) and where you can't to get the pump as low as possible near the water surface so the pump has to do the least amount of suction. With a 12V system that does give you the option of getting the pump close to the water.

Edit yet again: Found the manual for that Northstar pump http://www.ntechina.com/upload/file/20180201/2018020110140630630.pdf so probably chinese :-) Companies own version which looks the same https://www.northerntool.com/images/downloads/manuals/2685561.pdf

Thanks for that.
if I was to use the Northstar pump (7.0 GPM) of a 12 volt battery what size of a solar panel would I need.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

For your case I'm not sure.

I normally by cheap 12V pumps from Amazon. But your requirment to lift water 8M and push along 150M of pipe is beyond anything I have experiance with.

From what I've seen on-line 12V pumps can range upto pumps capable of about 40M Head height, not sure how one would perform lifting only 8M but through 150M of pipe. 24V pumps can be capable of 100M+ Head but are obviosly more expensive. And there are 36V/48V and higher available. Generally googling for these types of pumps leads to the usual Chineese websites or E-Bay from China and Aus/NZ.

I'd be interested to see what pump is in the https://www.solarpumpsolutions.ie/. AFAIK their product is well capable of this senario. My Brother in law has one so I might just go have a little look.

The price of the smallest unit from solarpumpsolutions is €2208. Would be interested to know what pump and solar panel size they use.

GinSoaked

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Thanks for that.
if I was to use the Northstar pump (7.0 GPM) of a 12 volt battery what size of a solar panel would I need.

You'd be looking at battery size first and then how long the pump would be running each day. Then look at a panel and controller to keep that battery fully charged and replace the current used allowing of course for bad days when there isn't much sun.

That pump is rated at 23 Amps so if you know it needs to run for an hour a day you know you need a system that can supply at least 300 Watts to the battery.

So I'd be thinking of a 100 Watt panel to allow for days when there isn't much sun and a 100 Amp leisure battery - but beware I normally overestimate I'm also quite open to anyone showing me some calculations to show something different would be better.

If the pump needed to run for 4 hours a day then you have to find 1200 Watts of power from somewhere because that pump uses a good amount of current.

GinSoaked

zetor 4911 wrote: »

A bit of topic here. I want to pump water from a river to a field about 150 meters away there is no power on the farm. Would it be possibly to run a pump of a battery connected to a solar panel?

Missed this earlier, distance is less important than how high up you are pumping the water.

A long term solution to that might be a ram pump.

/sorry going off topic

emaherx

zetor 4911 wrote: »

The price of the smallest unit from solarpumpsolutions is €2208. Would be interested to know what pump and solar panel size they use.

I'll try and get a look this week sometime and let you know.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

I'll try and get a look this week sometime and let you know.

Great much appreciated

zetor 4911

GinSoaked wrote: »

You'd be looking at battery size first and then how long the pump would be running each day. Then look at a panel and controller to keep that battery fully charged and replace the current used allowing of course for bad days when there isn't much sun.

That pump is rated at 23 Amps so if you know it needs to run for an hour a day you know you need a system that can supply at least 300 Watts to the battery.

So I'd be thinking of a 100 Watt panel to allow for days when there isn't much sun and a 100 Amp leisure battery - but beware I normally overestimate I'm also quite open to anyone showing me some calculations to show something different would be better.

If the pump needed to run for 4 hours a day then you have to find 1200 Watts of power from somewhere because that pump uses a good amount of current.

I am not up to speed on amps/volts/watts so could you explain where the 300 watts comes from?

GinSoaked

zetor 4911 wrote: »

I am not up to speed on amps/volts/watts so could you explain where the 300 watts comes from?

12Volts at 23 Amps (call it 25 for easy maths) 12 x 25 = 300 Watts.

300 Watts per hour is 1200 Watts over 4 hours.

I'm probably mixing up Watts and Watt hours but it doesn't really matter.

Another consideration is if you want this running all year around. Winter Sun would be particularly unreliable requiring a larger/more panels or bigger battery and off site charging.

The power requirements for a pump are massive compared to an electric fence. That pump would last maybe 4 hours on a 100 Amp leisure battery where as a fencer would run for 2 weeks or more without needing a recharge.

emaherx

GinSoaked wrote: »

12Volts at 23 Amps (call it 25 for easy maths) 12 x 25 = 300 Watts.

300 Watts per hour is 1200 Watts over 4 hours.

I'm probably mixing up Watts and Watt hours but it doesn't really matter.

Another consideration is if you want this running all year around. Winter Sun would be particularly unreliable requiring a larger/more panels or bigger battery and off site charging.

The power requirements for a pump are massive compared to an electric fence. That pump would last maybe 4 hours on a 100 Amp leisure battery where as a fencer would run for 2 weeks or more without needing a recharge.

Depending of course on how many cattle he has, he's unlikely to have the pump running four hours a day. My 12v pump will fill an 1000L IBC in about 15min, which is more than enough for 10 cows for the day. The electric fence will have low current draw but will run 24h a day, the pump will be intermittent.

This time of year solar can charge the batteries even on a dull day thanks to the long days.

zetor 4911

emaherx wrote: »

Depending of course on how many cattle he has, he's unlikely to have the pump running four hours a day. My 12v pump will fill an 1000L IBC in about 15min, which is more than enough for 10 cows for the day. The electric fence will have low current draw but will run 24h a day, the pump will be intermittent.

This time of year solar can charge the batteries even on a dull day thanks to the long days.

Will have about 40 stores on the land. So say each drinks 40 litres/day and the pump can pump 30 litres/min lets be conservative and say 20lts/min then the pump will be on for about 2 minutes for each animal. Which in total would be 80 minutes - say 2 hours. The thing is that it won't be running for 2 hour all at once so the battery will get time to recharge.

emaherx

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Will have about 40 stores on the land. So say each drinks 40 litres/day and the pump can pump 30 litres/min lets be conservative and say 20lts/min then the pump will be on for about 2 minutes for each animal. Which in total would be 80 minutes - say 2 hours. The thing is that it won't be running for 2 hour all at once so the battery will get time to recharge.

Also the hot days where they drink more are the days you'll have the most power available.

Sami23

Need to get a solar fencer for a 20 acre block with no power to power a single strand of high tensile wire. Sections of wire could be turned off when not needed.

Looking at the Gallagher S40 or S100 or similar power Pel fencers.

Anyone have any experience with these fencers or an advice please.

Tia

Easten

I've run solar fencers, they are only just ok as long as there is no vegetation making contact with the fence. Same rules apply as for any fence and that is have a really good earth.

tbh I found them weak over a large distance, and would only recommend them for short runs, like strip grazing but not for perimeter fencing

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902340#Comment_118902340

I found it depends on the battery, joule rating and size and position of solar panel...

I run a lacme solar fencer on a 20acre outfarm and another on a smaller plot. I've had it about 10 years now, does about 3/4 of the boundary and 5 internal divisions....only use the place for grazing 14-18 bullocks over about a 5/6 month period and then take it home and charge/occasionally top it up with a trickle charger....they would be quiet stock I suppose, but never had a problem in that time, its only on its 2nd battery (a Halfords leisure battery) and it won't last a winter without a battery swap if you wanted it on over winter....+ I saw a similar fencer with different solar panel set up by a coop at the time for twice the price.

Now I have no other choice if I want an electric fence in this place, But that's not bad especially as it's only rated to about 1.5j......there was much higher joule rating and better panels/batteries available at the time so Id imagine (perhaps wrongly) you can get even better set ups now?

Heard a lad complaining about one once - turned out he left it in a ditch (panel and all) and briars had nearly overgrown it....I stuck my unit and panel up a tree with as little shade and canopy as possible facing the right way....anyway does the job

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902340#Comment_118902340

It's like anything if you have the right one for the job no reason a solar fencer can't do long runs or run a perimeter fence. But solar fencer is a bit vague of a term with no indication of power or suitability for the job.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902812#Comment_118902812

I have a couple of 20 acre blocks here with 2.0J 12v fencers along with 12v water pumps for drinkers run off of 100AH batteries and 100W panels, also powers a raspberry pi zero to monitor water levels, battery and fence pulses.

I bought 12v units from this site, https://www.electric-fence.co.uk/electric-fence/energisers/solar-systems.html they have them with or without panels.

Horizont Hotshock A50 here, have a solar panel charging the battery but can't remember the rating. Get 11k+ off the fence.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902129#Comment_118902129

Those Gallagher fencers are very expensive and under powered for a 20 acre block, the integrated panels are a bit on the small side too meaning they will struggle in Autumn and Spring.

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904794#Comment_118904794

Thanks for that, interesting. Was the raspberry pi hard to wire up to do that? Can it communicate via sim to a mobile.....I'd be intermediate when it comes to mechanical stuff and junior B when it comes to electronics (all theoretical no real practical/real world application) - but interested in developing some bit of ability re:automating some things, remote monitoring etc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904794#Comment_118904794

I ordered one there now. Looks like a really good set up and way better than 30 euro batteries that only cover say a 10 acre block for a year

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904794#Comment_118904794

Regarding that particular website, have you used them lately? I remember some pretty horrendous reviews during covid of awful customer service. I used them pre brexit but not since.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904999#Comment_118904999

Yea, use it all the time for bits and pieces, even during that Covid period, there were some longish delays but everything arrived, didn't deal with the customer service though as they were hardly alone with distribution issues (think they coincided with brexit/customs changes too). Anyway I was happy enough and no issues since.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904997#Comment_118904997

Absolutely a leisure or tractor battery should last years and still be worth something as scrap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118904979#Comment_118904979

Raspberry Pi has a 4G hat and IOT sim €10 for 10 years or 500 MB, (used about 100MB last year). Wiring is not too bad, but there was a bit of configuring between OpenVPN, Pi OS, Home Assistant and MySensors.org. It also has a LoRa radio attached so sensors can be remote using Arduinos over a KM from the Pi. I've documented most of it here: https://farmer-eds-shed.com/category/connected-farm/ and through this thread https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058073034/tinkering-like-guntering-for-the-connected-generation/p1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118905608#Comment_118905608

That's good to hear, they have very keen prices. I think it was a thread on TFF there were a lot of people complaining orders not received and no communications back from that company.

emaherx

Yea, looking at reviews on trustpiolit there's a lot of negative reviews from last year or 2 nearly all about delivery times being twice the advertised and lack of updates. I've probably experienced the same at times but I've not been too upset over delivery times from internet orders in the last couple of years as it was a wide spread issue effecting a lot of providers, but anything I ordered arrived within a week or 2. Wouldn't be ordering anything I need within a week of them.

TL17

Have a tractor battery on a Cheetah solar panel but it's not keeping the charge. Just wondering what battery I should buy. Thanks

emaherx

What wattage is the solar panel? How many joules is the fence unit and what AH is the battery you are currently using?

A tractor battery should be fine, but if the panel and battery are not a good match for the fence unit the battery will cycle too often and have a short life. Deep cycle batteries (leisure batteries) are more tolerant to cycling but having a battery and panel sized to keep the fence unit running without dropping below 50% charge regularly is the key to a longer battery life. Knowing the power of the fence unit would be the first step to figuring out the rest.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118905822#Comment_118905822

I may dabble with them again so, they've saved me a fortune compared to buying here.

Sami23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118902812#Comment_118902812

What model Lacme is that you have as it sounds perfect for what I need ?

I was leaning towards the Gallagher S100 but at just north of 500 is a big outlay.