AC, DC or neither

[the mad german]

TC brought up an interesting point on my solar aquaponics thread,about his like for his AC system.

So lets hear what you like about your application. Is it AC, DC  a bell siphon that uses no power or other?

I don't view this as an "us versus them" arguement or discussion, But rather a pros and cons of all types of systems for the pumping of water, heating and lighting that each individual might need to consider when starting or expanding an AP system.

So lets hear what you like about your sytems. This might even be useful for some of the resident pros on here that give seminars on AP systems discussing the pros and cons to their respected or prospective clients as to the considerations of what they want to achieve or how.

i'll go first, now remember this doen't make my system better in any way...it just happens to suit my application and works for me.

Pros,what I like about my system is 0 electrical cost, Recently I went out of state for 6 days and thought for sure everything would be dead or dieing when I got back, I haven't built an automatic feeder so I had a friend drop in to feed the fish every other day.

I never have to worry about a power outage. The DC bilge pumps are dirt cheap, If my batteries go dead or bad I have plenty more in storage, Electrocution is severely lessened with low voltage DC and water.

I use a float instead of a timer for water level and exchanges to cycle my DC pump motor.

I built it for applications where there is no power being somewhat of a survivalist.

Cons, if you were to automate with a computer you would need AC for a computer, the controls for automation are mostly AC and need an inverter, for heating AC is quicker and more responsive, An inverter would be needed which steals 5% minimum from the DC to convert to AC. For applications with major amp draws you would need a lot of solar panels which are costly and lots of batteries.

Additional space, time and cost are huge factors when setting up a DC application. Most Ac equipment isn't a specialty item and can be bought the same day at a local hardware.

 

Anyways, just some thoughts to ponder, and am looking forward to others input about their likes and dislikes or pros and cons of their systems

The mad german

 

[George]

Too Rob, I don't need to monitor with a pc and log data automatically but I know that is something you do.  I regret that I didn't by the right component the first time but live and learn.  I'll check out SiliconSolar.  Thanks and good luck with your install.