Lead Acid circulatory air pump

[Wallace]

Nah it weighs over half a tonne, Rick

That's a fair old lump, is it for off grid solar power? I'm intrigued!

 

[solarman216]

That's a fair old lump, is it for off grid solar power? I'm intrigued!

Yes mate been off grid for over 12 years, this pump set up is for the newer bank about 2 years old but they are deep cells so need to gas lots to mix the electrolyte but in the interest of economy mixing it with little pumps should prove beneficial, the original bank now 10 years old and still going strong do not have so much of this problem as they are around half the height but larger foot print, Rick

 

[Wallace]

That's really cool. I have always fancied doing something similar for low voltage house lighting inspired by someone I met as a young lad. Have you ever heard of Captain Maurice Seddon? My Father and I bumped into him while looking at his BSA B33 parked up in Slough around 1980. This bike had an amazing setup for the electrically heated clothing he made and sold but also for cooking and tea making in the panniers and top box among other things while he rode. The heated clothing development was initially for relief from the Reynaud's disease he suffered with, to keep warm at home he had submarine batteries and would plug himself in from room to room. A fascinating chap who sadly died in 2014.

 

[solarman216]

No not heard of him but sounds like he was an interesting guy, but so am I as you will see as we converse, we have good solar here for electric and hot water, also had a 10 ft overshot water wheel but the water dried up, not completely but wheel no longer turns, our drinking water is drawn from a spring, pumped into an 8000 ltr holding tank after being filtered, best water you will ever get, nearest neighbour is more than 500 mts away, we love it, Rick

 

[Wallace]

500m, I'm jealous already!

 

[Banshee]

No not heard of him but sounds like he was an interesting guy, but so am I as you will see as we converse, we have good solar here for electric and hot water, also had a 10 ft overshot water wheel but the water dried up, not completely but wheel no longer turns, our drinking water is drawn from a spring, pumped into an 8000 ltr holding tank after being filtered, best water you will ever get, nearest neighbour is more than 500 mts away, we love it, Rick

I need some of that water Rick!!!!!

 

[solarman216]

Finally got the pumps working today, results look good, after about 3 hours charging the readings were 1140, 10 mins after starting the pumps they were 1180 so yes a result, i now need to make up a 12 power supply capable of delivering a good 4 amps and put it on a timer as do not need to run the pumps continuously, I chose to draw acid from 50mm of the bottom of the cells and return it to the top rather than pump air into the bottom as I did not feel the acid would be mixed very evenly, time will tell if any of the tubing suffers from the acid, this is how the set up looks, I can tidy the tubing once it has all proven itself as I need to put an insulating cover over the whole lot as these batteries are designed to run at 30 deg C, lower temps mean less capacity, Rick

 

[macabethiel]

Off Grid

Yes mate been off grid for over 12 years, this pump set up is for the newer bank about 2 years old but they are deep cells so need to gas lots to mix the electrolyte but in the interest of economy mixing it with little pumps should prove beneficial, the original bank now 10 years old and still going strong do not have so much of this problem as they are around half the height but larger foot print, Rick

Off Grid & your own water supply that sounds like a recipe for low overheads & cheap rates I guess.

What do you use for winter heating then wood, coal or Calor ?

 

[Blocky10]

Off Grid & your own water supply that sounds like a recipe for low overheads & cheap rates I guess.

What do you use for winter heating then wood, coal or Calor ?

Scotch and body heat at a guess :lol

 

[solarman216]

Off Grid & your own water supply that sounds like a recipe for low overheads & cheap rates I guess.

What do you use for winter heating then wood, coal or Calor ?

Low overheads yes, rates no and they do not even collect my rubbish, and all the other things they are supposed to supply, I am sick of them, as for heat we have a wood burner and plenty of wood, solar for hot water and solar PV to top up batteries when the sun shines, this time of year is the most expensive as gen run time is at its worst for 4 reasons (1) little or no sun, (2) most times need tumble drier to dry clothes, (3) lights need to be on longer, (4) low temperatures mean batteries are not at their best, but would not change it for the world, Rick

 

[solarman216]

Scotch and body heat at a guess :lol

Surprisingly as we are so well insulated body heat makes a good contribution to the inside temperature, scotch no only effects my heat, Rick

 

[jims-terrano]

So envious of your setup Rick. Problem is that if you tried to be like or as near like this in most houses people would complain simply because it’s different and people don’t like different. That’s what your 500m does for you.

 

[solarman216]

Yep we are isolated and love it, if I wanted (god forbid) to go out now and start my chain saw to cut up some logs there is no one to complain, Rick

 

[Wallace]

That’s a cool setup, do you not have any wind turbines?

 

[solarman216]

Unfortunately very little wind here so no not a realistic project, Rick

 

[solarman216]

Sadly the acid pump idea has failed, the pumps could not cope with the pressures and most have given up, I might try and resurrect them to pump air which I think they will cope with, but will be less efficient, Rick

 

[jonny]

That sounds like a great life and something I aspire to. We have solar panels but only enough to heat the water, and a log burner for heat. My wife is a lecturer at a countryside collage and the arb and forestry section keeps us topped up with logs, plus I live right by a forest which is great for wind fall or if the have been felling. I have been looking into steam powered generators. They look quite good and pretty silent, which is what we need as we aren't quite as lucky as you with the neighbour situation. But, we are in quite a windy area though so a wind turbine is something we are mulling over.