Off Grid Solar Water Pump | Homestead Irrigation

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Be sure to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE! It is the best way to support our channel ❤ Thanks for watching!

[@FarmsteadForge]

Awesome, very cool setup.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Thank you 👍🏻

[@augustinboyd9626]

Going off grid with water and watering the garden and your horse then eventually your home after filtering. Everything over time. Most importantly is the garden and your horse. Keep up the great videos guys. Property looking good.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Cheers Augustin - it has been a little difficult in the past few months with no rain but we seem to have pulled through - although the poly tunnel is a prehistoric jungle at the moment.

[@simonmiddleton4977]

Great job Ian. Shurflo water pumps (used in caravans/ motor homes are good 12 volt pumps.

[@paulhawkins4507]

Thanks I'm looking to add a solar pump to my ICB tank. This was very educational and appreciated!

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Cheers Paul - I did upgrade the pump to a bigger one after this.

[@BonaMN]

Thanks, you made life easier and cheaper

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

No problem 😀

[@name-ey5it]

Fantastic job 👏 👍 👌 🙌. Ian and Judy.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Cheers 👍🏻

[@calittlegarden-3311]

Great Great work. Thank you for sharing

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Thank you! Cheers! 👍

[@benruether3296]

I’m planing something similar. Thanks for the video!

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Glad it was helpful! We are doing it all again on our new place.

[@plastic9990]

Great video! I’m planning an off grid drip irrigation for my veggie patch. This information will come handy! Thanks 🇵🇰❤️🇵🇰

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

No problem, it does work a treat specially with all the rain we have had filling the IBCs back up.

[@joelnickerson6739]

Hi Ian and Julie. That's a great way to help the environment. You have some very good ideas. Glad it worked for you. Merry Christmas my friends and a very happy new year.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Cheers Joel - have a great Christmas and new year yourself 🧑🏻‍🎄

[@Julian_Wang-pai]

Your system is very close to the one I envisage but before I proceed further I'd really appreciate an update on the pump... and solar panel for that matter 😄

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Hi Julian - I have since upgraded the pump to a slightly larger unit - same manufacturer. The solar panel really needs to be larger and I have one to install but have not done that just yet. I also need a new battery. But the system works well and I will do the same at our new place.

[@harryiv6107]

Fantastic job. Really like that setup.

[@bsbungie]

Nice job! When I saw you screw the pump directly into the side plank of wood, I thought "Well there's a nice primitive speaker amplification setup. 🙂" You need to use rubber grommets or some kind of rubber stand-off setup to isolate the vibration of the pump. I bet it would quiet down quite a bit if so. Regardless, just smashing.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

I have put some rubber grommets on there since but still a little noisy (scares the horse to death). I need to upgrade the pump so will build a small pump box next to the shelter for that. Cheers for watching.

[@majtnkr]

Nice and simple with great explanation! Am hoping to get my similar system together later this month!! Cheers! Subscribed as we are rehabilitating a 120yo farmhouse also into a micro-stead (1.5 acres) but getting a container for initial storage and then converting into tiny home/apartment also - more watching for me!!

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Thanks for watching - I am planning an upgrade to the pump as I need a sprinkler for the outside and there is not enough umphf. The container project sounds great.

[@OurNewLand]

Looks great! I'm going to try to emulate your setup at our off grid place. Thanks a ton for the info!

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Thank you - I am collecting the parts for a small upgrade so I can fit a sprinkler system for the outdoor veggies. I have also been following your adventures too.... Ian

[@OurNewLand]

@@HomesteadingUncontained Awesome! Thank you!

[@peterbear2929]

Its no guarantee of fixing your original problem of low pressure but you would find a significant improvement by swapping the original outlet for a straight ball valve - a lot more throughput plus no corners to break down the water pressure. Great job anyway. Can't go wrong with the pump.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

I need to change out this little pump. Not really an outdoor bit of kit, specially in the winter. But the concept works and I use it only for the irrigation pipes. I have enough pressure from the spigot for buckets etc. Cheers for watching. 😀

[@maigematthews5620]

9:04 Awesome Content! 🎉 Where can we get cool pants like yours? My plan is to run a line from my 3000gal water tank and to check on food-forest seasonally. What troubles may I come across doing so, and what can I buy to rectify said troubles? Thank you! ❤

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

The work trousers are from LMA - I have shorts too. They work great.

[@FoadRezek]

do you see any variance in water dripping at the beginning of your U pipe and the end of it ?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It seems to have a constant flow throughout the pipe - The holes are so small that it can only drip at a certain speed, so there is enough back pressure to keep it going through the length of the pipe.

[@nicolkoekoek]

HI, a nice system! Do you have a link for the filter you are using as well? THANKS!

[@benjamindavidyoung92]

Great video, do you have a link for the pump you got. All the way from Tasmania Australia

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

I upgraded to this pump - Seaflo DC 12V 15L/Min 4,2 bar - stick that in Amazon and it will come up with them all. Still working strong.

[@matthewday3455]

Could you have removed the pressure regulator (at the 3:00 minute mark) and will it work without the pump?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

In fact I did take out the pressure regulator but the length of the irrigation pipes is too long for gravity fed as the IBC is only 1 block high. The pump is needed for that but not when just filling a bucket

[@alastairmacdonald7034]

There are two sorts of tap water timers- diaphragm, like the one you have and which requires some pressure to work, and ball-valve which need no pressure. If you had used the latter rather than the one you already had you may have not needed the pump at all!

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Even without the timer there is not enough pressure as the IBC units had to be low to fit under the gutters. So I only have about 30cm from the floor and the Poly tunnel is just slightly higher. ☹️

[@alastairmacdonald7034]

@@HomesteadingUncontained Ah, that makes sense. I have used a ball valve timer but may now follow you in putting in a pump to give the system a bit more grunt. Thanks

[@Ryanonymous_]

What do you do in the winter time to protect your rain water piping from busting without having to empty your entire tanks?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It rarely freezes here although we have had -10cº but with the plastic piping there is an element of expansion. I do remove the pump and place in a small section of pipe. So far it has worked well. 👍

[@ZombiePermaculture]

full list including all those batteries and controller?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

The controller comes up on Amazon - search solar controller. Batteries are just 12 volt stands units.

[@rootsdownhomestead]

I've just started building a gravity fed system using IBC's. Out of curiosity, how long does your water last from one of those IBC's? Or how long do all 3 IBC's last without being topped up by rainwater?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

For the irrigation system I would say a good 3 to 4 weeks (on 30mins in the morning and evening). When we start filling the horse's water maybe knock a week off that. I am going to put in another 2 IBC as soon as I have the time this autumn.

[@rootsdownhomestead]

@@HomesteadingUncontained perfect, thank you :)

[@alexfilippidis]

Pressostatic pumps are not be used for long periods due to fact they get overheated. I would use a timer as you do for short periods of watering like 10-15 mins max. Hope after two years that you made the video is still working... 🙂

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

ummmmm, not really. You are right. It tries to start up even when there was no pressure. The pump works still but the pressure sensing is terrible. So yes, back to a timer.

[@esmaltemate]

Did you wrap the IBC containers in the black plastic or did they come like that? I want to see what else can be done to block UV rays.

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Yes we did although that last two IBC units we have bought we have put on a black cover we bought from Amazon. It was cheaper than the plastic and slides over the whole cage.

[@esmaltemate]

@@HomesteadingUncontained Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Could you share the link?

[@LUNGHIX]

Awesome Content! Can you say something more about filter? Where can I buy it?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It was just a standard filter from my irrigation store - it was not anything special. Saves the little pump clogging up.

[@aragonkacena9185]

can be connected that pump straight to the panel and no any battery ? and also why do you have black poly around ibc? thanks

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

The pump does need a stable voltage and a level of power so connecting directly to the panel may work but it will not be stable and could damage the pump. Connecting via the charge controller is an option. The black plastic is to stop the light getting into the water - if it did not have the covering it would go green within days. You can buy ready made covers for IBC units.

[@chemix007]

How long did the IBC tote last

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

We are still using them. Plastic has held up well.

[@AllisonRozsaVoice]

Is your main water flow system that’s coming from the giant water containers simply based on gravity? Or is there something else that’s push/pulling the water to the spigot? (This is prior to adding the additional pump & timer)

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

I only use the pump to push it to the drip system in the post tunnel. The spigot is fed purely from gravity and hence why it is so low to the ground (level with the bottom of the water tanks)

[@rickpoteet371]

What solar battery feed are you using

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It is just a teeny 100watt panel with a cheap battery controller (the little blue ones off amazon for €10). I am upgrading as I am about to free up a larger panel so will need a better charge controller for sure.

[@r.b.6254]

Is the water pressure from the pump good to use on your drip system and is there any concerns or would you recommend a bigger pump?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It is definitely good enough but I would like a large pump but it was hard to find one here in Europe. It needs to be 12 volts and auto sensing and all I could find was the RV unit. I am still searching.

[@andys844]

Whale pumps and shurflow generally do good quality 12v pumps with pressure switches

[@viperblck1]

I spoke to a dealer who told me that it is not suitable for irrigation because it is not designed for continuous use, after some time can you tell me if using it continuously has created problems for you? does it disconnect due to overheating or not? is it damaged by using continuously? thanks for your help

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

It has worked perfectly on continuous for around 2 hours. I am not happy with the pipe fittings though. They are too small. So I am upgrading to a bigger pump (same manufacturer). I will be doing this in the next few weeks ready for spring.

[@viperblck1]

@@HomesteadingUncontained yeah, I want to buy seaflo 55 series (60 psi/5.5 gpm). Have you added a pressure tank to the pump to reduce pump work ?

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Not yet, I did see them sold as a combo so I might do that. We only use it for drip feed irrigation but if it does have enough pressure then I want to put the sprinklers on it too.

[@terrytyree9415]

You need a flotation switch for low water levels or you’re going to burn up your pump

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

There is so much water in these units we have never run out yet - the pump does detect flow though, so without a supply it does turn off, when I shut the valves if goes off so it should be OK 👍🏻

[@shellyomeara1067]

Apple cider vinegar will clear the mould in the animal water

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

We will empty it and get it all shiny again before the summer sun.

[@jussikankinen9409]

Pyramids were water pumps no need oil or slaves

[@HomesteadingUncontained]

Sorry, I have no idea what that means ❔