Wanna bug-in or out? You're gonna need water.

Good point. Another interesting thing is that storing water, behind a dam or at a height, is by far the most efficient energy storage method man has. Many times more efficient than a battery, for example.

Okay. When you see the sign that says:


If You Can Read This
You Are in Range.


Just smile and wave...

In our case, the river itself is about 5 feet below the riverbank. I have a $20 'on demand' diaphragm pump (the type used in RV and boats for potable water - see Ebay or Amazon). This pulls 1 - 2 amps at 12 volts, so It will be hooked to a 30 watt solar panel. This will easily pump water about 15 feet vertically. The pumped water will be caught in a 55 gallon blue plastic barrel at the river's edge. A hose bib installed near the bottom of the barrel will provide the gravity feed to the first WaterBoy.

Note: A blue (any color, as long as it is not translucent) barrel is important, because sunlight will cause bacteria to grow inside the barrel, and quickly. Do NOT use the common white plastic barrels for that reason.

Interestingly, if you have standing water or a river / creek that you can wade into, you could simply drill a few 1/2" holes in the side of a 5 gallon bucket, near the bottom. Place the WaterBoy mechanism in the bucket and then set the whole thing in the water so it floods roughly to the midpoint. This will rotate the solar panel into position and pump water directly from the creek.

I have not done it, yet, but you could also skip the bucket and simply float the WaterBoy on a piece of foam or something and use the supply hose as a tether...

Lotta options...

I'm a science dummy so don't laugh. But could you adapt this to use as a pump for your central heating when there's no mains electric to run it?

I don't know the type of heating you are using, but I think the short answer is no. Completely different type of pumping.

Here in the shop, we have PEX tubing buried in the concrete floor. A solar-driven thermosiphon heats water and it circulates through the concrete. The only moving parts are the valves, and it requires no power whatsoever to operate. It doesn't eliminate the need for conventional heating in the middle of winter, but it comes close.

True. The system can be staged at increasing heights, and theoretically you have no limit (friction losses reset at each pump). You probably would want a common back-flow preventer so the water does not 'fall' back down if the sun goes away...

Regarding the pump itself, yes, it is a 'little water fountain pump'. But it is oil-free, sealed, rated for constant duty (30,000 hours), and you can replace it in a few minutes with a screwdriver. It would be wise to have a couple spares. They are less than $15 each.

Exactly! The pumps are nearly identical, except for power and capacity. Submersible, impeller driven, sealed shaft. The pump in the WaterBoy is about 1/4 the size of a typical marine bilge pump.

I hear that stuff can be deadly
Didn't a council woman in Cali somewhere nearly succeed in getting it banned?

:whiteangelbump: