Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How much water will one of these pumps pump?
A. Depends
upon the total head pressure and the amount of power available.
Q. What kind of pipe can I
use down hole?
A. Flexible
1/2" psi rated polypipe is the most widely used for flows less than 3 gpm and
from 4 gpm to 10 gpm 3/4" is utilized. Higher flow than that then you must use
larger pipe, but PVC or Galvanized can be used. The
Poly pipe is very light and can be installed without a winch truck and in most cases by
one man. Also, on any positive displacement pump, use the smallest pipe
without restriction to keep the velocity of the water high enough to carry any sand to the
surface (to prevent the sand from chewing up the pump).
Q. What kind/size of wire
do I use?
A. Submersible well pump wire. The easiest to work with is the flat stranded
type. If the distance from the pump to the
solar panels is less than 100' then 14guage wire is fine.
100' to 200' then use 12 gauge. Over
200' use 10 gauge wire.
Q. How do I plumb
the piping to the top of the well?
A. Use a sanitary well seal. These are included in the PM and CT series of
systems...we will need to know your well casing size.
Q. My pump runs
great for a while and then all of the sudden shuts off for 10-15 minutes and comes
back on.
A. The pump has an automatic shut off if the water level in the well
drops too much. This is the cause of pump
shutdown 99% of the time. If this happens you need to have your well bailed or
otherwise reworked to get more water flow, or if you are getting enough water, just let it
run like it is...it wont hurt anything and the pump is designed for this.
Q. As the sun starts
to come up or go down, the pump starts pulsing...Why?
A. This is because there is not enough power to
keep the pump running but it tries to start...this pulsing is perfectly normal and the
pump is designed to do this.
Q. Can the pump run
on a generator or batteries?
A. Yes, the pump can run off of any voltage
30-300DC or 90-240 AC. So it will run off of a 110v generator, or 220v generator,
batteries, or any power source 30-300DC or 90-240 AC.
Q. How much current
does the pump pull?
A. The
pump has a maximum power point tracking system that allows the pump to extract the most
power from any power source. It also has a
current limiting system on it that will allow the pump to pull only 7 amps no matter what
the voltage is.
Q. What is the
maximum amount of power the pump will pull?
A. This will depend on head pressure, but if
the pump is fully loaded (to the max head pressure) then the pump will consume not more
than 900 watts.
Q. What is the total horizontal distance that I run
a water line?
A. The horizontal distance does not effect the output of the pump like
vertical (lift) does...you can have very long horizontal runs without much loss in water
production. However, if the pipe size is too small, a long horizontal run can have
significant friction losses in the pipe.
Q. Can I use solar panels that I currently
have?
A. Yes, as long as you can wire them to have the system voltage above
30vdc....remember however, that the pump will pull a maximum of 7 amps so if you have more
than 210 watt of panels, then you need wire the panels for a higher voltage.
Using Ohms Law: P(watts)=Volts * Amps Also keep in mind that
if you are wiring panels in series, the maximum current that the series circuit will have
is the same current as the the panel with the lowest rated current.
Q. What
voltage does the SQFlex pump operate on?
A. The pump is very unique in that it can
operate at a voltage of 30-300 DC or 90-240 AC. It has a maximum power point
tracking system built into the pump to allow it to operate at the most efficient speed for
the input power.
Q. How deep will the SQFlex pump?
A. The SQFlex system is capable of pumping to depths of over 525
feet and still give ample water for your livestock.
Q. Can the SQFlex pump handle sand?
A. Yes, the pump is designed to handle 0.0067 oz/gal of sand. A
higher content of sand may reduce pump life.
Q. What power supply can the SQFlex pump be operated from?
A. The SQFlex pump have the ability to operate from solar panels,
wind generator, line power, gas generator, batteries, or any other AC or DC power supply
within the voltage specifications.
Q. I am interested in placing a SQFlex pump down a wind mill
well with small casing, will this pump fit a small cased well?
A. Yes, the pump will fit down a 3" cased well.
Q. Can the SQFlex pump into a pressurized system?
A. Yes. The SQFlex can pump into a pressurized system such as
for a residence or cabin. To find your total head pressure, multilply system pressure by
2.2 then add the static water level.
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