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Comment by Robert Magnes on December 18, 2010 at 11:08am

I was thinking about that last night after I replied to you. I think you are right on that. I believe that it would draw more from the system to run a 12v pump of equal flow and head height. If I could even find one. I could use a bilge pump for a boat but they flow way more and would have to be choked down to far for the setup I have right now. I already have a valve on the pump outlet closed down about halfway.

Comment by Rich Milliron on December 18, 2010 at 10:19am

Assuming you had a 12v pump that had the same throughput as the 110v, would there be a significant lower drain on the batteries?  I would think that there is a big loss in the 12v DC to 110v AC conversion.   

Comment by Robert Magnes on December 17, 2010 at 11:13pm

The pump is a 110v with a converter. I bought the pump at Harbor Freight also. It pumps 70 gal. an hour. The batteries are 12v ones that I bought from a battery recycler here in Pasadena, TX. They are high rates used in large battery back up systems. People also use them for back ups for solar power. The system runs 24/7. The panels can keep the system charged great as long as we don't have to many cloudy days in a row. If the system goes down then I just plug it in to the house and break out the battery charger. I had to do that for about 3 days already. Winter in the Houston area brings a lot of cloudy days. I might just look for a 12v pump.

Comment by Rich Milliron on December 17, 2010 at 9:18pm

Robert, are you running a 12v pump or 110v with a converter?  Do you have four 6v golf cart batteries or ?  Are the six panels enough to keep the batteries charged, so they can run the pump 24/7?  This solar idea fascinates me.  I purchased the 4 panel set from Costco, but haven't done anything with it yet.