[RE-wrenches] DC fountain pumps

[Windy Dankoff]

Jay - Submersible brushless DC pumps are easy to get from eBay. They are circulation pump made for general, non-solar applications like liquid cooling of electronics etc. With the right strategy, mine has been running for about 6 seasons in my small fountain.

Mine is a 24V rated pump running PV-direct at about 17V. Example of power:  If rated about 7 watts at 24V, it draws about 5W at 17V. A 10W module runs it almost every day even in less than half-sun. To see this one, search eBay for DC40-2470 Brushless Motor DC 24V 1A Magnetic Drive Water Pump.  You'll see many others of various sizes listed.

These micro pumps have small passages with little space for debris to pass. A fountain naturally collects leaves and debris. For my fountain, I a homemade intake screen that is five times the size of the pump, so it can run for a few months before some easy cleaning is needed. I started with 2" PVC pipe with large slots. Wrapped first with evaporative cooler mat, then landscape weed barrier fabric, and bound simply with electrical tape. I've only had to rebuild it once in 10 years. Most years I just clean the surface as best I can. This is the key to the project success and I'm amazed How well mine has worked. It sticks a few times a year. I knock it with a stone and if that doesn't work, I take it apart and maybe find a little seed or something. A pump larger than mine will be less prone to debris.

Hope this helps!
Windy


> On Mar 5, 2024, at 2:07 PM, re-wrenches-request at lists.re-wrenches.org wrote:
> 
> From: jay <jay.peltz at gmail.com>
> Subject: [RE-wrenches] DC fountain pumps
> Date: March 4, 2024 at 3:33:57 PM MST
> To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
> 
> 
> HI All
> 
> Any recommendations for quality DC fountain pumps?
> 
> Brands, suppliers etc
> 
> thanks
> 
> jay
> 
> 
>