Looking to get a backup well pump generator

[Gazrok]

Hi All,

I'm sure I'll need to revisit this, with some more specifics on my exact well pump, etc. (I've also heard it may need to power the reserve tank, etc.)?

This isn't an area I'm well-versed in at all. And I'll likely be having a professional electrician do the install of this.

But, figured I'd cast a line, and see if any hits on folks who've done something similar, to get an idea of what I'm looking at. I know the start up of the pump can be many times the wattage. I just want to get a decent generator that I can use in an emergency situation to ensure we have water when the power is out.

We were down for 5 days during Irma, and although I had planned for it, and had lots of stored water, even for all the animals, etc., it would have been nice to have....so trying to find a good, but also cost-effective solution.

Maybe even a solar powered option is good for it? Just not sure. Thanks.

 

[Maverick]

Gaz, I use a 20kw propane generator to run my well and irrigation pumps, on my other well, I use a 10kw, I use a manual transfer switch on both wells, not hard to setup but if not comfortable maybe someone with experience can tie it together for you. Each transfer switch cost me little over $120 including hardware.

 

[Gazrok]

But how much did the genny run ya? I'm just talking about a home well pump and water system, so nothing crazy. I suppose it may need to power something in the sewage system as well? For full running water capabilities in an outage?

I do know a guy who could likely do it up for me, (skill-wise, and a pro). Had him come out and fix our tractor once (for next to nothing, and works awesome now)... Just responded to a Facebook post on a farmer group. Go figure.

 

[Maverick]

But how much did the genny run ya? I'm just talking about a home well pump and water system, so nothing crazy. I suppose it may need to power something in the sewage system as well? For full running water capabilities in an outage?

I do know a guy who could likely do it up for me, (skill-wise, and a pro). Had him come out and fix our tractor once (for next to nothing, and works awesome now)... Just responded to a Facebook post on a farmer group. Go figure.

Safe bet for a home pump depending on size of the well pump and I take it your at sea level (higher alt you lose generating power) if your pump is 240/30 - 7200w minimum

 

[Maverick]

Gaz, you never did state the HP rating of the motor?

 

[Proud Prepper]

2 100watt solor panels, an inverter and a 200ah battery?

 

[WGregMiller]

I’ve been looking at

https://www.rpssolarpumps.com

I’d like to put in a 2 or 3 thousand gallon tank and use a solar pump to keep it full. That’d be uphill from the house, so we’d have water pressure.

Being that you’re in Florida and there ain’t no hills, I bet a generator similar to

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Champion-Dual-Fuel-Generators/1954902.uts?slotId=1

might do the trick. Just check the amps and voltage. There was some useful info in the Q&A section.

 

[Maverick]

2 100watt solor panels, an inverter and a 200ah battery?

won't works unfortunately, example

Franklin electric
HP 1/2
Nameplate RPM 3450
Voltage 230
Phase 1
Service Factor 1.60
Full Load Amps 5.0
Max. SF Amps 6.0

The LRA for a 1/2 HP motor is 29.4 amps
29.4 amps x 240 volts = 7,056 watts of surge capacity. A 6,500 watt generator should work as long as the surge on the generator exceeds 7100watts.

 

[Proud Prepper]

won't works unfortunately, example

Franklin electric
HP 1/2
Nameplate RPM 3450
Voltage 230
Phase 1
Service Factor 1.60
Full Load Amps 5.0
Max. SF Amps 6.0

The LRA for a 1/2 HP motor is 29.4 amps
29.4 amps x 240 volts = 7,056 watts of surge capacity. A 6,500 watt generator should work as long as the surge on the generator exceeds 7100watts.

If you use a 12v or 24v pump it will, like this one @$179.00

https://www.amazon.com/Submersible-Solar-Battery-Alternate-Energy/dp/B00DPWOF24

 

[Maverick]

I think he was looking to keep the price down maintaining flow and pressure for the house and animals, 1.6gpm solar pump may not do it? I'm assuming his well isn't deep, solar would work, I think the expense would be high and his wife would kill him once she got in shower

 

[WGregMiller]

That’s why I suggested the Champion one. Dual fuel (and propane will keep for a long time) and with a bit of wiring, he could use his existing pump and have a generator big enough to run it or other stuff....

For me, I’m thinking a buried big ### tank and let gravity supply water pressure.

 

[Arcticdude]

I have 2 generators for my well pump. One is an 8750 watt 50 amp Lifan. The other is a Generac XP10000E. It's also supposed to be 50 amp. My well pump requires a minimum of 7500 watts and 40+ amps to start. Unfortunately the $3100 10k Generac won't start the pump. But the cheap Lifan will. The Generac claims 50 amp, but in reading the specs after I bought it, it's actually only 42 amps. Not enough to start my pump. Next week I'm going to order an inexpensive Champion 9,000 watt 50 amp for a temporary backup. When I have more time next spring I'll install a permanent Perkins 8,000 watt diesel unit with an auto start.
I'll give the Generac to my son.
Just make sure that whatever generator you buy will actually do what they claim it will. I'm out $3100 on a generator that should have been more than enough to run my well pump.

 

[Maverick]

I know on my well (300' down) I used a kohler 12kw 50a on my other well and it worked fine, on my deep well it wouldn't work at all, it should have ran the pump but I didn't take into consideration of the depth so I gone with the 20kw. I wished it was cut n dry selecting a generator but it's not

To go solar with panels, batteries and 240 volt 50A inverter I would have to sell the place to afford this for a property I longer owned :-/

 

[Brent S]

I think a 4kw genny would run the well fine. If you want to run other things as well then upsize it some. Remember, you can also run one device at a time too with switches. Turn off the pump when you want to heat water or cook, etc. remember, to not use long cords on a generator (voltage drop) or to run it inside a garage (death). I also strongly advise a propane generator too. One is fuel storage and the other is the carburetor dosent gum up from long periods of sitting idle. I’m figuring a shallow well for fla.

 

[grayghost668]

Hi All,

I'm sure I'll need to revisit this, with some more specifics on my exact well pump, etc. (I've also heard it may need to power the reserve tank, etc.)?

This isn't an area I'm well-versed in at all. And I'll likely be having a professional electrician do the install of this.

But, figured I'd cast a line, and see if any hits on folks who've done something similar, to get an idea of what I'm looking at. I know the start up of the pump can be many times the wattage. I just want to get a decent generator that I can use in an emergency situation to ensure we have water when the power is out.

We were down for 5 days during Irma, and although I had planned for it, and had lots of stored water, even for all the animals, etc., it would have been nice to have....so trying to find a good, but also cost-effective solution.

Maybe even a solar powered option is good for it? Just not sure. Thanks.

if I remember right you are in Florida,most wells there are shallow wells with the water table around 20ft or less and most wells don't exceed 150 ft,why not install a second well and put a hand pump on it,cost should be well under $1000,no power needed with less worries

I lived in Jacksonville FLA for over 20 years my water well was 124 ft deep and ran by a 3/4 hp pump with a 30 ft drop pipe and a foot valve,,,,,,a hand pump should work well under those conditions

 

[Gazrok]

I can actually get an emergency hand pump, and that's great in a pinch, but I have to water a few horses, fill troughs, etc. I don't want to spend all day lugging water around the ranch. A hand pump will be surviving, but I'm more into thriving.

A bullet bucket is good too, for just getting to the water, but I really need to move it around the property, as I'm just not young enough to lug bucket after bucket around.

 

[Brent S]

I think a few panels charging a good battery bank and an inverter would be a good way to go. It’s silent, which is good for security, and it dosent involve having to pull your well pump and replacing it. One good thing is your well dosent run constantly, so that would help with not draining the batteries too quickly. It’s still going to take a pretty sizable investment over a generator.

 

[Gazrok]

So far, I'm liking the solar option best. We'll see what we can swing.

 

[OldCoot]

I understand this discussion is a bit old but I'm new here and thought I'd add my perspective. I try to address my water needs during a power outage in different ways, depending on the length of the outage & if the outage is due to a crisis that involves prepping.

So on my farmstead, during a normal outage, say from an ice storm, tornadoes, etc., I have a whole house natural gas generator that automatically starts & automatically transfers the load. It automatically starts and exercises for about 20 minutes once a week. It has run for a couple of days in the past. I suggest anyone building a new house install one of these, as it does need some special wiring and this is much cheaper if done during construction. Also if done with new construction, you can simply add the cost to your mortgage. I also have a 160 gallon plastic water tank in my upper barn plus keep a dozen of the 3.5 gallon waterbricks in my prepper room.

In a long term event, I suggest rural folks with a well have the tools & knowledge to pull your well pump. In a worst case situation, I can't imagine not having access to that cool, clean water underneath my feet. Being able to pull the pump opens up two possibilities for me. First, once the well is open, I can use my Well Waterboy bucket which can bring up over a gallon of water each haul. I have lots of pulleys & lots of rope to ease this chore. I knew I wanted a way to pressurize my water system during a crisis and considered several options. I considered the hand pumps that could be added but didn't think that much of an improvement over my well bucket plus couldn't handle my water needs. I didn't want to go the full solar route, with batteries, inverters, charge controllers, etc., as that didn't match with my current solar plan, which uses 280w solar panels and 2 Humless solar generators in storage. So I keep a Grundfos 11 SQFlex well pump in storage plus additional solar panels. It is called a flex pump in that it can run off of ac or dc and does not get harmed if the voltage drops... it just pumps less. The advantage of such a pump is that it can run directly off of solar panels, with no need for any other equipment. Wire a solar panel to it & it starts pumping. Mine can pump around 12 gallons per minute from my well depth, which is not as much as my current ac pump but will work just fine. I understand it will only work during the day but during a crisis I can live with those limitations... plus the obvious issues during cloudy weather. I also have in storage all the gadgets & pressure valve to control & monitor the pump so that it can fill the well's pressure tank.

As a prepper, during a crisis, the last thing I want is a noisy generator running. That is why I have gone the limited solar route. If I were building my house today, I'd go full solar but for now, I can live with what I've got. As an extra precaution, the flex pump & accessories are in Faraday enclosures, as are several of the solar panels.

 

[disallowed]

All preppers need a MANUAL well pump...

I have a great well on my current property and during a recent hurricane we lost power for a couple weeks

I stored about 200 gallons of drinking water for family and farm b4 the storm...
bunch of water in 5 gallon buckets in a cool dark place

It's critical to have a manual pump to get you through and save your generator for more critical things like the refrigerator

We were catching rainwater in a 55 gal drum for toilet and dishes and mixing very low concentration of bleach in a pump sprayer for kitchen cleaning before we unboxed the generator.