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#1770355
This thread prompted me to have a look on YouTube for DIY setups. The 12v Toyota Prius inverter water pump has quite a high output for its size. The chap hooked it up to a battery, charged by a solar panel. Impressive performance. Could work out cheaper than a custom made fountain outfit, and more reliable. I know not how to apply the link.
#1770374
Bill McCarthy wrote:The battery you linked is 4ah. If the pump draws 1amp it will run for approx 4 hours. 2amps and it will be 2 hours. Find out what the pump draws and do the maths.


No idea how to find out what the pump draws, but empirical testing has proved that the 4ah battery runs the pump for 12 hours happily with no sign of flagging.

Rob P
#1771718
I think I sorted out how to measure the amps drawn using my handy little meter, the instructions for which have long gone.

It would appear to be 0.13 amps. which according to the workings out above means the pump would run for 30 hours before it depleted the little cell.

All is good.

Rob P
johnm, Paul_Sengupta liked this
#1771768
My sister has just got one of these for her birthday. She wants the same thing.

I think I might run up a control board for them.

I.E. A diode and a microcontroller and some terminals, so you can snip and connect the pump and the solar and a battery and “it all just works”

Before I designed the PAW Bridge I had a sideline designing charge controllers for solar and turbine for yachts.

A very interesting sideline, but was never a day job, just paid for flying.

I’ve not run up anything for ages, if I make it this side of a fiver, maybe it’ll be worth me running a batch of 10 :-)

Just for fun,

I suppose you want one Rob? Graham ?

cheers

Dave.
Rob P liked this
User avatar
By GrahamB
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1771788
Cessna571 wrote:I suppose you want one Rob? Graham ?

cheers

Dave.

Mrs GB has just recently placed an order for one that looks the spit of @Rob P ‘s but has a battery and controller integrated already. I daren’t ask how much it cost.

Thanks anyway. :thumright:
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
#1771858
For reference, the one Sandra bought was £89.99. Yesterday she saw an identical example in a local garden centre for £129.99.

That's a very generous offer Dave, but its new home is quite shaded and dropping the battery onto the charger once a week is no great hassle now we know the likely battery endurance.

Rob P

Supplementary : What on earth can you call the thing? "water feature" sounds totally Charlie Dimmock for three little resin bowls. "Cascade" doesn't really describe the trickle of water falling the best part of eighteen inches. "Fountain" it isn't.