Solar Water Pump | CHEAP Rain Barrel Solar Pump Setup
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- čas přidán 28. 12. 2020
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In this video, Robert shows you how he added a 12v 20 Watt solar panel to an existing rain barrel system to charge a 12v battery that provides power to a 12v DC transfer pump purchased from Harbor Freight which is used to water his garden.
Overall, Robert’s goal was to keep the overall cost low for adding the solar panel to the rain barrel system.
He also explains how working on projects like this continues to inspire him to continue working on solar energy related projects due to how amazing it is to be able to use free energy from the sun to power devices or systems.
Check Out Robert's Other Rain Barrel Videos:
CHEAP Rain Barrel Float Switch | DIY Water Pump Protection: • CHEAP Rain Barrel Floa...
DIY Automatic Watering System | WITH Mobile App: • DIY Automatic Watering...
Rain Barrel System | CHEAP Water Pump Setup: • Rain Barrel System | C...
Below you can find the majority of the parts Robert used in the solar water pump video.
Parts / Items Used In Video:
►20 Watt Solar Panel: amzn.to/346c4aB
►Ring Terminals (5/16” - 3/8” Stud 12-10 AWG): amzn.to/37ZcAKi
►Male & Female Disconnect Terminals (16-14 AWG): amzn.to/34U8TTZ
►12 Gauge Red & Black Electrical Wire: amzn.to/3o0082e
►10 Amp Fuse & Fuse Holder: amzn.to/3rCdnIB
►Cable Gland: amzn.to/37VzEcE
►Heat Shrink Tubing: amzn.to/37WSDUg
►Zip Ties: amzn.to/2Mcxzk5
►12v 20 Watt Solar Panel: amzn.to/3nTCCnA
►Solar Charge Controller (Cheaper Alternative): amzn.to/4aBYGLr
Tools & Other Components:
►Wire Stripper & Terminal Crimper: amzn.to/2KIoUFG
►Sediment Filter: amzn.to/38xI8qc - Jak na to + styl
OK, I watched two of your vids. I LIKE the way you have clear, concise and detailed explanations in your how-to - and WHY. Why is so important. Very impressed.
Excellent. Thank you
Good idea to drill a few holes with a fine mesh over the holes in bottom or lower side of tote just incase you have a leak. It would not be good to have a battery and solar current get soaked....
I love your videos. They are easy to follow. I love how you take your time and give all the elements of the project. I learned so much from you. Thank you for making an effort to help us all be more conscious of our environment.
I really appreciate the way you break things down, make it easy for pretty much everyone to understand! I also like how you repurpose supplies you already have on hand! Great video, thank you!
Your enthusiasm is infectious. The way you approach your projects is inspiring me to do these for my wife’s garden. She would love it.
Great work, really well explained and demonstrated. Helpful to me to understand what's involved and how to do this. Thanks from across the pond and please keep it up 😆
So insanely happen I stumbled upon this! Please don’t stop creating content! I’ve been looking into this stuff and was thinking how amazing it’d be for a solar powered pump. Amazing. Thank you for slowing it down, zooming in and really teaching us how it’s all done. Amazing video, thank you thank you thank you
These videos are top notch!!! Extremely helpful and timesaving with my decision making for my rain catchment set up. Thanks for taking the time to share. Very much appreciated.
Excellent quality video and instructions. Felt like I was watching an episode of This Old House or something similar. Nice editing and graphics.
Folks see people like you (and I) creating this stuff and remark "But you could just buy it."
We both know the value of doing it yourself!
Thank you.
Your videos are some of the best DIY videos I’ve ever watched. Extremely easy to understand, with diagrams where needed, good audio and video. Thanks a lot.
Thanks for the feedback and for watching!
What impresses me about your work is that it is so thorough! Good work!
Dude. That was without a doubt one of the best CZcams Videos I have seen in years. You were concise and answered exactly the questions I was trying to answer. Nailed it. Thanks!
You are such a good teacher. I love your videos and can't wait to build similar system for my rain barrel.
Fantastic video editing job! Free energy from the SUN? Who'd a thunk?!
Thanks for putting this up!
Thanks for listing all material using in this video. It's very helpful I don't have to find somewhere else. That is what i am looking for for my rain barrel.
Found this in 2022-VERY CLEAR & Concise & YOUR GRAPHICS HELP TO UNDERSTAND BETTER-Excellent!
Awesome, and thanks for the feedback!
I like that you have normal tools, like the rest of us, not these super fancy tools you see on other sites. Really useful vid, thanks.
Great stuff. Thank you. Really clear explanation and a well paced, comprehensive video. Altogether very helpful.
Thank you for this tutorial! It was clear even to my meager understanding of electrical flow. You are the best teacher in the internet as far as I’m concerned.
I came to CZcams looking for ways to irrigate my shallow water well for irrigation purposes. I have multiple rain barrels as well. I have no clue how to connect that solar part, but ONE DAY!!! This is the video of yours that I’ve watched and I am amazed. Keep them coming.
Nice little project, clean install. It is the little details that show pride in your work.
Love it. Quality work. Just moved into a new house, got lots of plans, and something like this is definitely on the list.
I love this video. You did a great job with the project with no cowboy rigging but sound safety. I would love to see the next step. Thank you.
This was a great video. Nice that your initial box with the pump was tall enough to incorporate the Solar charge controller. Note: On you wood mount fo the solar panel, your bottom board that comes out from the house could use a stronger connection. By having it on the bottom of the vertical board, your solar panel will continue to put a little pressure on it, resulting in it getting loose. Suggest either using Kreg jig to mount that bottom board to the side of the house board instead of underneath it. If no Kreg jig, then just toenail it with two screws to the house board. (Toenailing-driving a screw/nail at an angle)
Well done. As usual no never disappoint. I was hoping you might use an arduino but I am always open to new ideas. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas.
Thank you so much you just answered a bunch of questions my husband and I had this will help us immensely blessed you!
OMG, this is so good. I love all the info and the commentary is right on point. Thank you.
Sweet!!! I literally looked this pump up last night and wondered how well it would work for lawn watering purposes. I recently bought a 55 gal plastic tank to gather rain water and by the next week stepped up to a 275 IBC tote which is 2/3rds full after a good rain.
All the best DIYers use Ryobi!! lol
Sweet setup! I like it. Now I gotta upgrade my system.
Thanks Jerry!
This is what I have been looking for to set up a out side shower with my ibc totes, what a great video thank you. If you lived in my neck of the woods I would hire you to install .
Thanks for the great video! Looking forward to the next session on remotely turning on your system. Thanks!
liked and subscribed. Loved how you went step by step on all the items needed. BONUS was seeing you use a covered bin (>$10) to enclose the controller items.
This is 100% what I needed. I have everything ready to do this and just wanted to find an how to video. Excellent job on the content and quality! Thanks
You're welcome!
I’m very interested in this setup as well as the possibility of remotely controlling it. I am planning on building an off grid greenhouse (to house my orchids) that I will need to have set up with water catchment, automatic sprinklers/misting as well as power for fans, heat, lights, etc. which would allow me to travel without any worries that my collection is being taken care of. Thank you for your excellent video. 😊
Wow nice job. Good video as well. I've seen so many of these where people don't take time to put in production value. A+++
Thanks for sharing, after watching your videos I feel that I can install a similar unit in my yard.
Awesome, glad to hear and glad to help!
These are some of the best I have viewed. I was planning on doing just what you shared. Now I have a head start on how to approach my project! Awesome!!
Great to hear! Thanks for watching!
Really appreciate all the effort in putting something together to share. Clear, concise and doable. Thanks.
Always great to hear!
Excellent video and thanks for the clarity. Simple block diagram goes a long way to connect things.
You have given me so much useful information here. Thank you for your excellent tutorial!
Dude this series is awesome this is just what I was looking for for my garden. Thanks for creating this awesome content
Thanks for watching, and Glad to help! Will try to keep them coming.
very good video, clear, helpful .. in these trying times, what to do .. so frustrating .. black clouds descending everywhere, or whoosh, dance in meditation to dispel them .. and more practical things too - subscribed to your channel, you seem level-headed and very good at these things, solar and water pumps .. I know nothing about - thank you!
love this video. I just came across it and will for sure look into your other videos. Informative and easy steps to follow. Thank you so much for your efforts and video content. :)
Just found your channel. Love your videos! You are easy to understand, and the graphics with tips are great. I’ve gotten several tips already. The links are nice too.
I have learned allot from your informative videos. You have many smart and effective ideas. Thank you so much for sharing.
Nicely done. I've been staring at my garden setup for some time now, and your project got me going.
Awesome!
Thank you for taking your time and showing that. I have two rain water containers with 340 gallons each and was in need to pump the water to my garden. This is a good info video that will help me to move on to a new way to transfer the water using something other than gravity because the pressure is not enough.
Glad to be able to help!
Just want to say thank you! Your videos have helped me out considerably with my own rainwater storage/pumping solution!
Awesome, great to hear!
Please, please, please keep making these videos! You are clear and easy to understand. I enjoy these very much.
Thanks Susan, I will try. Sometimes a little difficult juggling a full time job and working on these videos haha.
Wow! I appreciate your project and great instructional DIY. This will be my first solar project and I'm very thankful I seen this video.
Awesome, glad to be able to help.
Good stuff! Rigging up a little solar pump myself. Containing everything in a tub like that for water proofing is smart! Video is so good my fingers just naturally clicked the Subscribe button .
Yeah I’m with Anderson I like to see you add extra barrels to that system That was a great video again explain things real good I like that
Hmmm.... good idea...maybe I will :D
Simple, effective. When disaster strikes, your mind will be even more valuable. Nicely done brother.
disaster struck, Texas still going through it and fortunately stuff like this I do around the home and my life was a ton more livable than a lot of people's last week and even right now, Solar is AWESOME even on a small scale and the thought and work Robert put into even a small project like this is Awesome!!!!!
Again .. you knocked another one out of the park!
I go over every single video you make.
You make home life so much simpler.
I now have a more self-reliant home, thank to you.
Again, my sincere thanks.
Glad to be able to help. Thanks for the feedback!
How fortuitous! I was in the process of getting an electric water pump. NO MORE! Thanks for this informative video!
Bro you have inspired me! I had no idea these things existed. Thanks for sharing you've earned my Sub!
Awesome, glad to be able to inspire in some way!
I have been looking for a video on just this! Very well done, inexpensive and so informative! You should teach others how to make a perfect video. Keep up the good work and I am now a subscriber!
Man I love the detail and the clarity of instructions. I’m an old dude 74 and sometimes it takes that extra clarity for me to understand. Thank you thank you thank you
Awesome and thanks for the feedback!
Great video!! I am planning a slightly different application but this gave me insight on how to design a similar set up to draw water from a river to an non-potable tank-
Always great to hear. Good luck with your project!
You made this series dead simple. Much appreciation!
Always good to hear! :D
i made a off-grid garden watering system on a timer that triggers a 12v water pump ( using one of my solar systems ) to turn on for 4 mins every tues , thurs , saturday to water my garden while i am not at my camp site .
That is awesome!
Great explaining and visuals! Cool project. I'm looking forward to watching your other videos
Thank you so much for your thorough, yet simple, instructions and explanations. I am planning a pump system, and I'd like the ability to adapt it to solar in the future, along with my greenhouse fans and ventilation. Your videos show that this is very doable!
Yep, definitely doable! Go for it!
Thank you. God Bless you for your instruction. I am VERY new to delving into solar, though I am in a deep rural area and ready to take the plunge. Keep up the good work.
Great to hear, and thanks for watching and your support!
Excellent video. If a rookie never done this before like me can follow along you know this is a well paced clearly articulated process. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the feedback LK!
Love this! You are a great teacher, also! Everything was so clear and easy to follow. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback Sandy!
Omg! Every CZcamsr should have to watch your videos to learn how to put out content. Hands down best videos.
Wonderful video. Currently 100% tied to the grid, I see this as a great example of how to take steps in moving towards renewable energy.
Most definitely!
I’m going off grid soon and will definitely be utilizing this system. Thank you.
Awesome! Good luck with your project!
Keep the knowledge coming. You are a great teacher, you explain things so well.
Thanks Carmen!
Awesome system and great video explaining how you built it.
great video, i shall be doing something similar this year. thanks for the inspiration.
Great video, I hope to hook my rain barrels up to a similar system one day using an on demand pump that you mentioned in the prior video. You also mentioned wanting to remotely control the water pump in the future. I am a big fan of automation too. Hooking up to a simple timed power control may be the easiest. So you just have the pump powered on a timer. There is probably a more sophisticated method of hooking into an irrigation system type of setup that also accounts for recent rain, etc. That would be fantastic but is beyond my current know-how.
I agree. I've seen some of the devices you've mentioned in stores, and I think for simplicity and user friendliness, that would probably be the best route to take to get something going quickly. For my application, I plan to approach it from a DIY standpoint to keep my costs low since I have the needed components already, but it will take a little more effort.
Great video, and yes, a video on remote control of your watering system would be great!
Thanks! If you haven't already found it, I have created 2 videos showing just that on the channel. :D
I enjoyed this video. I’ve been working on this very thing myself. Your video was very detailed and appreciated. Your rain barrel water setup showed up in my feed. New subscriber here.😊
Awesome, and thanks!
Great videos. Honestly this is one of my favorite channels. Thank you.
Awesome to hear and thanks for watching!
New sub, great info in video. Filmed very well, for someone such as myself- not as familiar with this type of project. Thank you!!
Glad to hear it was helpful and easy to follow.
Great job! Keep making videos. Not everyone can articulate the process in videos as well as you.
Thanks and will do!
Great stuff! Good to see you use a fuse in the circuit!
Well done! I wish we were neighbors - we have complimentary skill sets ! Cheers!
Thank you. Your videos are very thorough easy to follow. Really looking forward to you doing more videos on small solar projects. I plan to do a rainwater capture system and wanted it to be solar. I wish you would do a compost bin that rotates using solar power. I’ve seen some videos where they use a 1/3 hp motor. Thanks again for your video.
Thanks for the feedback. I have seen videos regarding the compost bin as well. It is definitely something I want to look into more.
Robert, this was an awesome help for me! I’m planning to create a system just like this one for my parent’s gardens. I’ll be following your future videos for sure! Thanks for all the hard work and I love your efforts towards clean energy!
The links are so clutch, I’ll be ordering these parts soon!
Thanks for the feedback, and as always, glad to be able to help!
Awesome!
Great video! You now have a new subscriber. Currently, I use solar for off grid workshop but I really liked this video as I'm building a rain water collection system also.
That's great! I would like to build an off grid workshop one day as well when time allows.
another great video Robert - very clear and informative! Thanks...
Great video documenting the setup steps and testing voltage of battery and the solar panel. Ty vm I learned a lot.
Great to hear Roger!
Top quality, thank you for these videos full of information!
Thank you so much, great video, that I'll watch again and again to get my setup correct!!
Great job. Keep em coming! I enjoyed the pragmatic and straight forward approach to your videos. Seriously, great job. :-)
I'm almost sold on doing this now. Loving this series
Go for it! :D
By far the best video on youtube for this type of water set up. And I've watched quite a few. Great job.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback!
Great upgrade to the system! Very impressed with your ingenuity constructing the system. One thing I may suggest in your plumbing is to add a pipe union fitting on the output side of the pump. As it is currently shown, if you have to remove the pump, you will have to cut the pipe to remove the pump. With a union, removal becomes much easier.
Great suggestion!
set up an irrigation system to everything you regularly water, then set a switch timer on the positive or negative lead for the pump. Set it to water everything at sunset so you don't hurt the grass or plants in strong heat. You can use those cheap common plugs that turn lamps on or off on a timer.
I'd also put a cut off float in the rain water barrel so that the pump doesnt activate if there is not enough water inside the barrel. Simply put a relay switch at the top of the barrel, with a float (from a toilet) on a long metal rod pushing on the relay at the top. the water will always push the float upwards unless it is below the level you set.
MAN... You Win. These are the best!
Thanks Mike!
Brilliant! Thank you very much for explaining everything clearly and with enough detail. Appreciate your efforts!!!
No problem Kris, I enjoy it!
I've been enjoying these videos! I've been through the hardware store often enough to know all the things you're using, but it's still good to have a video going through the process.
And the best part: nothing 3-D Printed (take THAT, CZcams recommendation algorithm!)
One thing I would have done different is to use clips to secure the cable from the panel to the bin, and put in a drip loop at the wall lower than the point where it enters the gland on the bin to prevent water from running down the cable and into the bin. That's the kind of stuff I picked up on my job as an ISP installer: drip loops everywhere a cable goes through a wall.
Very very good tip about the drip loops. Funny enough, I read or stumbled upon a guy recommending that a few months back.Thanks for sharing.
Came across this video and checked out a few others. Damn fine job sir, keep up the great work.
Thanks Chris!
First video I've seen from this channel. Very helpful and informative 👍. When you mentioned it was winter I burst out laughing. Being Canadian I didn't expect that.
Haha, welcome to the channel Tom!
Another Great video sir. We're in the planning stages of a small offgrid cabin and your videos are so relevant a.t.m.
I'm an electrician by trade, my guess is you have some experience by the way you handle your tools and the way you go about things. Great to see and thx for the product links. Have a great day and stay well. Thank you for the video.
Glad to be able to help!
I am interested in the remote control idea. Great design and well presented instructions.