Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yes EB, that is the style although not the brand I used in PM, proved to be very good. 24 volts is better that 12 because the Amp load is half that of 12 volts. A little more expensive to buy the equipment but pays off in the end. That particular wind gen set on the eBay I can do for 990.00 but it only puts out 1.5 amps at a wind speed of 22 knots
The big one that really punch out some amps ( 11 amps at 20 knots) cost around 2500.00
When I said I have not been able to find "continuous operation" pumps in DC, that is not strictly true, they are out there like the ones talked about by B2B, but I have been trying to find some that are inexpensive.
The pumps that have failed has been the bearings and they are not replaceable on the cheepies....

Muzza

Muz, genuine question here,

what benifit does halving the amp load have?

The total power consumption will still be the same

Steve

I think that you will find that the King pumps that AA refers to are AC - pug into 230/240v but have a 24v trnsformer. They are available here on ebay and other internet stores. You may know them better under the brand Resun. They are continuously rated pond pumps. I personally think that pond pumps are the way to go for contiuous operation - as they have been proven for such use.

I will proably use a Davey Sump pump that I already have in my possession for my first big system, but in future I would like to try out the pond pumps. The one I run on my small system I got second hand with the pond, it is a Resun. Looks pretty old and not too well treated, but has been running for me for a few months with no hitches.

For a BIG continuous flow system (which I am unlikely to have for years), I like the look of this pump 18,000lpm pond pump

i'm fairly sure my pump is a resun, has been going non stop since i sunk the tank, works a treat.

i ended up removing the internal "sponge" as it was getting clogged after about three weeks. i was just going to wash it, but the inlet grill seems small enoguh to stop things getting in and jamming the impeller

Steve

Steve, Benifit of 24 volt = lower amps less loss through wireing, can use smaller wires and it is just more efficent. There is less voltage drop across a system.
Muzza

Cool. It was the only thing i could think of, but didn't thing big enough.

IXIXR (current squared times by R)

I guess if you were wiring up a couple of pumps in a nice sized system and had a fair cable run then you could save a bit!

Copper has gone through the roof!

Resun, yes, another good brand. I think once the passive siphon is nutted out properly, and adding my ebb and flow theory of using a continuous flow to fill an ebb and flow (slow fill fast drain) we might be on the verge of saving many pump failures.

I am electrically challenged but have an expert to look into this thread and others on alternate power supply and backup power soon as I get to that stage.

Will of course share anything I learn here.

Ok - reason I asked is:

I have recently been informed of Community Water grants from the Dept of Environment and Heritage... Grants of up to $50,000 are available for people who want to setup up community water projects. Sections include water efficiency projects, water recycling, rehabilitation etc. Being a teacher (science/marine studies/agriculture) and being on Norfolk Island, I am always on the lookout for projects that will help to expose kids to my philosophies (as Murry said - self sufficiency) that have a community spinoff. My submission, due in a few weeks, is to centre around aquaponics and go into two sections; efficient water use and water recycling to build an aquaponics demonstration centre here at the school. The idea is that the kids would run it and we would run workshops for interested community members so they too can start such systems if they want. One of my biggest bug-bears here on the island is the lack of self-sustaining practices present. If you want fish you take out a boat and catch a boat load (no kidding - restraint is not something that seems to be in the vocabulary here...) and bring it back and keep what you want and sell the rest. It makes no sense to me to do this when you could sustainably produce your own fish, leave the saltwater fishing to recreational fishing, which here is comparatively small (we climb down 50-100m cliffs to go fishing here!) and then market this at the fishing tours/charters scene etc. I have just built 15 fishtanks with the kids and there is a lot of interest in keeping/breeding fish on the island - it would be great if it could be combined with growing vegetables too (which can at times be in very short supply - and forget getting fresh fruit). My sticking point is the power supply. Wind is probably our surest bet because it is almost non-stop all year round, but the sun out here is unfiltered (no pollution) and is strong for much of the year too. I have looked at the fischer and paykel systems for both wind and hydroelectricity but I can't see where I can locate a wind gen at the school around the kids and other classes. So I keep coming back to solar.

Murray, with your solar panel, do you run it from the car battery (12V DC) to an inverter to boost it to 240V AC? I am wondering if this is a viable theory to explore?

OZV, i'm not an expert, but i'm under the assumtion that wind will probably give you more output for dollar. Wind generators get a bit of a put down becasue they are a little useless unless you have a good number of quite strong wind. BUT if you do, then i reckon look into this seriously, the wind blows at night too! Solar is great too, but its still quite pricy fer Watt.

Sorry to anyone if my info is abit out of date! Feel freee to correct me

Hi OzV,
I just have my solar panel going through a small regulator directly to a 12 volt car battery.
I was talking to a bloke from Golburn the other day and he has just put in a solar system which can deliver 5000 watts of 240 volt to his home, he said it works great, but after a week of overcast sky he has to run a gen set. His battery bank will hold up the 5000 watts for about 3 days (of no sun at all) then begins to drop off. Cost him 22,000.00
It would take me about 4 years to get the money back on my current power bill, so it is gradually becoming a more realistic project for lots of folk I believe.
Great way to go if you have the dosh to spare.
He has all solar panels, not much wind at his place
He got all his stuff here Rainbow Power
Muzza

Believe it or not I have to be very careful about putting in alternative power here. An Australian company offered to donate an array of solar panels so that we could supplement our power use with solar power. Currently (no pun intended ) our electricity on the island is supplied by two large diesel generators and this is supplied by the Norfolk Island Govt at a premium. The NI Govt refused to allow the solar panels to be installed because, in their words, we weren't worthwhile as a customer if we we going to use alternative power and they'd cut us off all together. So it's all or nothing here (unless you get caught). It drives us batty especially when we have so much sun and wind and even tidal and wave action at our disposal. There are people who do use alternative power but they have been removed from the island's grid because Admin don't see them as worthy of their time or effort.

At least they're honest about it!

make you sick, doesn't it? See now i'd do it just to stick it to them, sounds like you pay premium rates anyway, which makes the alternative more viable. Work out how many KW hours you consume per day then speak to Muzza and see how many KW hours per day the setup he was talking about can supply. Smething to seriously think about. Big deal if you have to have a couple of gennies on standby for backup. I'd do it for the point.

MUZ, i might have mis-understood your post, i took it to mean that the guys system could supply 5kw power. But the rate is just as important. If it can supply 5Kw for 3 days, then this is HUGE, and for 22 grand i'd convert my place! It would be like running 10 vacuum cleaners for 72 hours! Maybe you could get that guy to do a little write up of his install.

Steve

There's some good examples of systems plus ones the staff have at the Rainbow Power link Murray gave which might be helpful Steve:

8 Example Systems

Staff Systems

Probably should mention the sunballs/cubes at Green and Gold Energy too.

Edit to add:

Quirks Energy have lots of cool stuff too.

Sawthat sun ball on new inventors. That guy lives like 5 minutes from me and his factory is 2 minutes away. Very exciting possibilities there.