Director,
T.E.(Terry)
Manning,
Schoener 50,
1771 ED
Wieringerwerf,
The
Tel:
0031-227-604128
Homepage:
http://www.flowman.nl
E-mail:
(nameatendofline)@xs4all.nl : bakensverzet
Incorporating
innovative social, financial, economic, local administrative and productive
structures, numerous renewable energy applications, with an important role for
women in poverty alleviation in rural and poor urban environments.
"Money is not
the key that opens the gates of the market but the bolt that bars them"
Gesell, Silvio The
Natural Economic Order
Revised English
edition, Peter Owen, London 1958, page 228
Edition 9:
Solar Spring pumps are efficient economic submersible
SOLAR pumps. They are positive displacement pumps. They use single action balanced
coaxial pistons. The Solar Spring system has been developed from grass roots to
solve at origin duration and efficiency problems traditionally connected with
small submersible units. They are especially useful in the most extreme and
isolated conditions with alternative energy solutions such as photovoltaic
cells. They offer real global sub-system efficiency readings (pump together
with motor, energy input to water output) of up to 59%. Because of their high
efficiency, they are capable of pumping water from great depths and/or of
forcing it over many hundreds of meters in situations where traditional
products simply cannot be used.
The Solar Spring pumps can be used at any voltage from 20V (or 2 x 12V
or 3 x 12V batteries in series) to 80V, and current from 1 ampere to 4 amperes.
They are fitted with a 200W direct current brushed permanent magnet motor which
can be used with any photovoltaic panel array from 100 up to 400 peak watts
nominal installed power. The motor can turn at any speed from 0 rpm to 3000
rpm, and is optimised at 2000 rpm. In contrast with conventional equipment, the
Solar Spring motor is insulated against the water and air-cooled and can
therefore run dry. Where the pump is operated directly from photovoltaic
panels, the use of the Sunprimer electronic booster is necessary. Other booster
technologies MAY NOT WORK with the Solar Spring pumps and/or they may well burn
out the pump motors. This is because they are designed to operate with
"diaphragm" and other traditional pumping technologies and not with
horizontal axis piston pumps. NEVER attempt to use booster technologies which
have not been duly authorised by the manufacturers of the Solar Spring pumps.
In contrast with most other small submersible pumps, Solar Spring pumps
can be installed at any depth below water level. This enhances their use in
areas where seasonal variations in water level in a bore-hole are substantial,
and seasonal re-installation would therefore otherwise be required. Solar
Spring motors need just 1.5 amps to start up, with irradiance as low as 300W/m2
. They enjoy rugged service. They are also suitable for continuous 24 hours'
service (brush wear is proportional to the number of hours of operation).
The performance and durability features of Solar Spring pumps are due to
their piston configuration. Solar Spring pumps have two, very large,
counter-weighting pistons operating over a very short stroke in balance on a
horizontal axis. The diameter of the pistons is 40mm, and the length of their
stroke varies from 1mm to 1.5mm according to the size of the cam shaft fitted. Other
pumps have one or more smaller pistons operating (more or less) vertically over
a much longer stroke. The Solar Spring pistons are activated by means of oil
bathed cams and vertical bearings, sealed from the water in the pumping system
by means of load-free rubber gaskets. Solar Spring pumps can further be
optimised at the moment of supply for a given application by changing cam size
and, therefore, piston stroke length, which can be varied from 1mm to 1.5mm
according to requirements. The four standard versions are those with a 3mm cam
for use in shallow installations with high capacities together with the Hyboost
inertia amplifier (see notes below), a 2.6mm cam for medium depth installations
and capacities, a 2.2mm cam for medium-high lifts, and a 2.0mm cam for very
deep installations.
The pump outlet is normally fitted with a non-return valve and an
automatic bleeder system. A self-cleaning nipple acting as a bleeder relieves
residual pressure in the pump system. This makes start-up under load easier,
particularly where the pumps are installed many meters below the water level.
All materials used have been specially chosen for their high resistance
to corrosion, abrasion, and wear and tear. Most parts are made from stainless
steel or long-lasting plastics, while the pump body is made from brass. All parts
operate within their normal materials stress levels up to a depth of 150m. For
deeper installations, normal wear and tear will occur. Sacrificial anodes can
be externally fitted where the pumps are to be used in brackish or particularly
aggressive waters.
Notwithstanding the fact that all parts of the Solar Spring pump are
robust, the pump, motor, and Sunprimer electronics unit are to be considered
FRAGILE from the point of view of transport and handling. Packets and cartons
for transport must be marked FRAGILE and THIS WAY UP with the pumps packed in
their natural position vertically. During handling and installation all parts
of the pump must be treated with care. Pumps, motors, and electronics should
not be thrown around or dropped or otherwise mistreated. Failure to take care
will void the manufacturer's warranty.
Electronic controller units are used together with
Solar Spring pumps in order to extend their use over as many hours as possible
and to increase their hourly and/or daily capacity. This is done with the help
of:
1) The SUNPRIMER booster/kick starter. This is a relatively simple
device which is designed to start turning the motor when the ambient irradiance
value is approaching the minimum required for the pump to continue turning once
started. The kick starter stores energy in a capacitor for two-three minutes
and then releases it as a shock charge to the motor. It is designed not to
operate when the pump cannot subsequently continue turning with the power then
available at the motor, that it cannot give a charge greater than the motor can
absorb without over-heating, and that it cannot repeat charges at frequencies
where their accumulated effect could result in over-heating the motor.
The Sunprimer varies voltage in accordance with the variable available
power input from the panels by switching from series mode (four panels in
series in case of high irradiation) to parallel mode (two sets of two panels in
case of low irradiation) to ensure the maximum possible turning speed of the
motor, and therefore maximum pump capacity.
The current standard model of the Sunprimer is the MKII, which is designed
to cut out when amperage reaches 4.5 amps for one half of one second.
The Sunprimer controllers can be easily opened for repair. Technicians
used to repairing simple electronic circuits are required for maintenance
purposes.
2) The Hyboost inertia amplifier. The Hyboost, specially developed for
use with the Solar Spring pumps, performs hydraulically some of the work of an
electronic current regulator, especially in high capacity, shallow well
applications, where it runs in conjunction with the SUNPRIMER unit. It serves
to optimise flow by limiting miss-match phenomena in the hydraulic system. The
special rubber ovoids in the Hyboost chamber absorb excess available energy and
return it to the water column at the appropriate phase of the pumping cycle.
The motor is able to absorb a higher amperage that would otherwise be the case,
and pump up to twice as much water. As with the Sunprimer controller it is the
global system (PV + pump group) efficiency which is improved, not that of the
pump sub-system itself. The
Hyboost itself actually absorbs about 3% of system current. The Hyboost is also
suitable for use with batteries. Hyboost units progressively lose their effect
with the depth of the installation, where motor absorption naturally increases.
Benefits fall off sharply after 50m depth and the unit is not recommended for
use at depths greater than 45m.
The booster does not increase the global efficiency of the pump and motor
unit, but it avoids unnecessary wastage of power by exploiting the variable
voltage operation feature of direct current motors.
Hyboost units contain a non-return valve to avoid loss of water from the
feed pipe where the pump is detached from the feed pipe.
The length of the pipe on the standard version of the Hyboost is 140mm.
Solar Spring pumps should give you, with a bare
minimum of maintenance, many years of trouble free running. They are normally
supplied sealed for the protection of the end-user, and should be opened and
maintained only by authorised maintenance staff who should at all times be
equipped with a simple maintenance kit containing the few tools required,
together with spare parts sufficient for several pumps.
The pumps can be withdrawn from the bore-hole or well in just a few minutes
and a complete maintenance of the pump (opening and checking all pump parts,
re-assembly, and re-installation) all carried out on site within the space of
one half hour. The only exception is the re-winding of motor coils, which, if
required, would be carried out elsewhere. The maintenance officer will be
equipped with substitute motors to cover this eventuality.
List of
attachments to the Model.
Typical list
of graphs and drawings.
List of abbreviations used.
List of key words.
Documents for funding
applications.