I spent most of the day Saturday in the blazing heat to finally install the solar aerator I mentioned in a previous post. It is comprised of 4) 55 watt 12vdc solar modules, some 12-2 SO cable, a switch box w/a voltmeter and ammeter, 2) 12vdc bilge pumps rated at 1000 gallons per hour each, some 3/4 plastic tubing, stainless steel cage for a pump filter, foam float for the nozzles, and an old steel pipe for a bottom weight.
Once I was finally able to turn it on, the sun was already far to the west. However, the performance was impressive for the money I had in it.
The following morning, Tenley and I watched it slowly rise in power as the sun came over the trees and the mist burned off. She joked about having it computer controlled to make it dance. Well, later in the day, puffs of clouds raced in the sky and the wind picked up too. I thought, there is no need to make it artificially dynamic, the forces of nature were at the controls, diminishing the flow then gushing forth and the wind changing the water splash patterns.
Now, I wonder how it will change the pond's environment. Usually in the Fall you can smell an off-odor anaerobic whiff once and a while. Meantime, I will monitor turbidity and color of the water. It usually exhibits many state changes though the year, but I'm not sure what they mean. I can only take note of variations from previous years. Of course, there are many forces at work like wind, nutrients, or weather anomalies to throw me off.
I'll be looking into getting some UV resist flotation foam for the nozzles to make an island for turtles, frogs, or waterfowl to perch on.
Bilge Pumps? Who knew!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Its been sunny for days and the pumps were performing strong. Today it is cloudy but they are still pushing a stream about a foot high.
ReplyDeleteThe normal high sun output is about 145 watts, today it is at 40 watts or 27% of full power. These panels have good performance in dim light