Solar pump panels finally have a home

We have two solar panels that are supply power to our submersible DC pump.  It's a pretty cool system, when the sun is bright the flow from the pump is stronger and when the sun is behind clouds the flow is reduced.  Our well is very deep, ~500 feet and our static water level is around 150-170'.  We have the pump submersed at around 180-190 feet.  At peak flow I think we can get 3 gallons per minute.  We will show much more about the water system in future posts - this one is about the panels that have provided the pump with power for so many years!

For twenty years we have been hauling these panels around!  We used to store them at our house in the valley and bring them up whenever we went camping.  They've been at the land for many years now.  We bring them outside then put them back in the building when we leave.  When we use them they always have been placed on the ground.  

This might be the earliest picture I have of them (though they are covered by green blankets and leaning against a tree.  The electrical box is sitting on top of them.  This is from 1999 shortly after the well was dug!

Here is a picture from 2006 prior to our ill-fated shed being built and after the installation of the hand pump (Simple Pump).  

Oh!  Another from 2006 when the foundation of the first building was poured, you can see the solar panels in the background (to the right)!

Here's a 2020 picture of how we've been using them this summer.  

These two panels cost $750 for 150 watts (back in 1999)!  These days you can get one panel that puts out 350 watts for $200 - solar has become a lot more feasible and cost effective.  Nevertheless, these panels work great and we want to continue use them to power the submersible DC pump.  So our most recent project was mounting these to the roof of the garage.  We used some scrap steel to fashion a mounting system and I think it came together really well.  

To complete the project we had to use one of our coolest tools - metal shears - you can slice through steel!

We used some of the scrap steel to mount the rain tight box with the electrical components.  We decided not to drill any holes in the building to mount this - we just use the existing bolts and drilled holes in our scrap steel piece to match.  

Lastly we have to add some conduit below the box as that cord is not meant to be in the sun.  Though it took us some time to figure out all the parts we needed and find all of those parts from our collection of components - we did it!

Anyhow, it is amazing to consider the long journey these panels have been on!  It's rewarding to see them finally mounted in their permanent spot.