1.DRAWING OF CONNECTIONS FOR THE SUNPRIMER MKII
2. Connect the main submersible electric cable (of the prescribed size and resistance) to the pump. See Which cable can be used by means of a completely water-tight splice. For details of splicing kit and splicing instructions see SPLICING INSTRUCTIONS
3. Fill an appropriate container with water and immerge the pump in the water. See INITIAL PRIMING
4. Temporarily make all the electrical connections by FIRST connecting the pump to the controller AND THEN the PV panels to the controller.
5. Allow the pump to work in the container so as to make sure first that it is primed and secondly that everything is in order. See INITIAL PRIMING
6. Disconnect the electrical cables FIRST the cable between the PV panels and the controller AND THEN the cable between the controller and the pump, and remove the pump from the water in the container.
7. Have a look at: DRAWING OF THE GENERAL SYSTEM LAYOUT.
8. Connect the prescribed polyethylene feed pipe to the pump using correctly the rapid couplings supplied, and the safety rope. See Measuring and cutting feed pipe for more detail.
9. Lower the pump into the borehole holding it by the polyethylene pipe and the safety rope. NEVER put any load on the electric cable. See Placing pump for more detail.
10. Try to make sure the pump is below the minimum foreseeable water level in the borehole, and at the same time not more than 5-10 meters below that minimum level. See Placing pump for more detail.
11. Make sure the polyethylene feed pipe, which has to carry the weight of the installation, is sercurely anchored at its upper end.
12.Make sure the safety rope is at least a meter longer than the polyethylene feed pipe.See Fitting safety rope
13.Make sure the electric cable is at least one meter longer than the safety rope.See Length of electric cable
14.Install the controller in a vertical position in a dry, ventilated, shady position. See Fitting Sunprimer electronics on panel support
15.Install any on-off switches or fuses eventually considered necessary (in a separately hermetically closed box) between the panels (or the battery set) and the controller. NEVER place them between the controller and the pump. In case of use with batteries, a general on-off switch and a safety fuse must be used. In case of direct PV applications an on-off switch is not considered essential, but many operators are accustomed to using one.
16.Overflow pipes should be preferred to float switches in tanks.
17.Water level probes down the borehole are not necessary. Solar spring pumps can be submerged below the lowest foreseeable seasonal water level in the borehole and in any case can run dry without damage.
18.Make the necessary electrical contacts connecting FIRST the controller to the pump AND THEN the controller to the panels or to the battery group.
19.In case of problems, open the controller box and observe the behaviour of the four LED lights forming the self-diagnostic circuit. See Use of controller diagnostics
All four LED lights remain off when no current arrives from the PV array or battery set.
When the pump is not going and current starts to arrive from the PV array or battery set, the controller keeps the pump stopped and loads the capacitor, and the 1st (the third LED from the top) and 2nd LED (the second LED from the top) lights are on.
When the capacitor is charged (this usually takes about 3 minutes with the Mk I/d and Mk I/e controllers and 2 minutes with the Mk II controller), the controller starts the pump, and the 1st (the third LED from the top) and the 3rd LED (the bottom LED) lights are on.
If everything is normal, the pump continues to run with the 1st (the third LED from the top) and the 3rd LED (the bottom LED) lights on. If the pump turns too slowly or tends to stop (because there is less than about 22V at the controller input due to inadequate insolation or low battery charge), or if the load is too high (current is more than about 4.5 amps) the controller will switch the pump off and the 3rd LED (the bottom LED) light will go off.
When the pump has stopped, the cycle re-starts.
Delay in start-up of a Solar Spring pump after installation and after electrical contacts have been made, or after every attempt to re-start as above described, is therefore always about three minutes (Mk I/d and Mk I/e controllers) and two minutes (Mk II controller), as this is the time usually needed to charge the capacitor. Early in the morning the pump will attempt to start many times only to switch itself off immediately, until such time as enough current is available to run the pump.
When the circuit controlling the float switch or other external device (the smallest controller cable) is CLOSED (i.e. when contact is made) the controller swtiches the pump off and the 4th LED (the top LED) lights up.
