alchemysa
Veteran Member
We are renovating the shack and decided to plumb drinking water from the rainwater tank to a spout on the kitchen sink. Previously we have simply carried rainwater inside and run it through a pottery style filter. The rest of the house (bathroom, toilet, kitchen sink etc) is all serviced by a 240v pump from the bore. Its excellent water, but not for drinking. (240v is our standard voltage in Australia by the way.)
So the problem was, How to pump water from the tank to a small spout on the sink? Gravity would only do the job if the tank was at least half full and it would be tediously slow at the best of times anyway. A 'big' 240v pump would do the job but that would be expensive and huge overkill for such a small requirement. (Oddly enough, it seems that they don't make small 240v 'demand' pumps).
The solution seemed to be a cheap 12v pump, but the 'extras' to power a 12v pump can really add up, so before long it works out more expensive than a 240v pump. (By 'extras' I mean a car battery and permanently attached trickle charger or solar charger.)
Then I had a flash. The ideal power source is a 12v 'jump starter'. I got one for $30 'on special' at 'Supercheap Auto'. Its a relatively small one (600 amps), but thats more than enough to power the pump. But more important is that it has a built-in '2 stage smart charger' (i.e. a trickle charger) so I can leave it permanently plugged in. With this setup i'll always have water even during a power failure. The jump starter will be located in a powered shed. I just have to run a bit of 2 strand wire to the pump that will be under the tank about 6 feet away.
I haven't connected it up yet (the shack is 300ks away) but I've got all the bits and tested it here at home and it all looks good.
Heres the cost of the bits in Australia....
12v 4.5 litre per minute demand pump - $30
600 amp jump starter - $30
2 stage undersink water filter kit $90.
15 meters of quality hose $40
(I also have a simple in-line 'strainer' that will pre-filter the water before it goes to the pump.)
Maybe this solution will be of use to other TBN members.
(PS. The life of these jump starters is pretty good if the others I own are anything to go by. The oldest one I have is at least 6 years old and still going fine.)
So the problem was, How to pump water from the tank to a small spout on the sink? Gravity would only do the job if the tank was at least half full and it would be tediously slow at the best of times anyway. A 'big' 240v pump would do the job but that would be expensive and huge overkill for such a small requirement. (Oddly enough, it seems that they don't make small 240v 'demand' pumps).
The solution seemed to be a cheap 12v pump, but the 'extras' to power a 12v pump can really add up, so before long it works out more expensive than a 240v pump. (By 'extras' I mean a car battery and permanently attached trickle charger or solar charger.)
Then I had a flash. The ideal power source is a 12v 'jump starter'. I got one for $30 'on special' at 'Supercheap Auto'. Its a relatively small one (600 amps), but thats more than enough to power the pump. But more important is that it has a built-in '2 stage smart charger' (i.e. a trickle charger) so I can leave it permanently plugged in. With this setup i'll always have water even during a power failure. The jump starter will be located in a powered shed. I just have to run a bit of 2 strand wire to the pump that will be under the tank about 6 feet away.
I haven't connected it up yet (the shack is 300ks away) but I've got all the bits and tested it here at home and it all looks good.
Heres the cost of the bits in Australia....
12v 4.5 litre per minute demand pump - $30
600 amp jump starter - $30
2 stage undersink water filter kit $90.
15 meters of quality hose $40
(I also have a simple in-line 'strainer' that will pre-filter the water before it goes to the pump.)
Maybe this solution will be of use to other TBN members.
(PS. The life of these jump starters is pretty good if the others I own are anything to go by. The oldest one I have is at least 6 years old and still going fine.)
She's an EE. The solar panel is (guessing) about 55 watts/3.5 amps... pretty good size. We have a "base" camp in the middle of the property with ele./water/sewer. Basically, I'll take the some of the water guts out of the trailer. Will most likely fill a portable tank and top off a reserve in the cabin. Use the pump to transfer and pressure the system.
