Solar pump troubleshooting and replacement after 14 years of continuous operation!
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2024
- Come along as we head back to the Robson Ranch to troubleshoot a very important solar well pump that waters 700 cows. #solar #wellpump #offgrid #homestead
Thanks for posting. You guys are fun to watch. A real team.
Man thank you for watching! I love our little team for sure!!!!!!
Thanks for showing us the scenery. I know those shots of driving were extra work and made your video better. Good work.
Man thank you!!!!!!! Yep they weren’t too bad, mostly scared of crushing the camera lol, but super glad I did it!
Really happy to see you including more artistic content video. Like the river crossing, and driving through the ranch property. It makes for more interesting videos. Good job.
Yes sir us too! I’m learning!!!! I thought about that on the way to the job actual and said to myself, I need to slow down and do this! Thank you!!!!
Really enjoy your content so very interesting I like how you explain the workings of these different pumps.👍👍
Man thank you! I’m trying to be as educational but fun at the same time. Thank you for watching!!
@@OkieWindmiller Your doing a awesome job👍👍
Thank you!!!!!
👊👊🤠🤠i like the shake up of diferent jobs. I see u are doing some new shot selections and combining the whole day in the videos. Thanks for the great scenery and what u 2 feel is worth showing us all. Remember, if u think it's pretty, beautiful, interesting, knowledgable, or just what u want show it all adds up to full featured video or blog if u will. Thank you both, enjoy.
PS: i understand it all takes time and extra work. Do what u can and not make it a hastle. Keep it fun KIDS hahaha.
Haha man I’m loving it and just had fun with different camera positions. That just got me started, all videos will have some of that mixed into them now, I hope! Thank you again for watching!!!!!
Cool shots of the truck crossing the river. That thing putting in work. Stay safe y'all.
Thank you! We’re trying to spice it up a bit, and that place makes it easy! Thank you so much for watching!!!!
A fine company you two have.
I worked for a submersible pump company for about a year and there was not a single aluminum pipe wrench on any truck. A lot of fun installing 1000' of 1-1/2" steel pipe for my first well, blisters abound. I was not unhappy to find out that that pump lasted until after I moved on and so I didn't have to round trip it in a day. No way the owner would split it up between two days, just work on through until you are done. The first install took almost a full day to begin with so I can imagine what the redo was like. Of course the owner ran the rig and didn't touch one of those big Rigid wrenches. It was interesting work because we did all forms of work on farms, gins, and rigs, even gas stations.
Take care and be sure to have some fun every day,
jack
Thank you Jack! That’s crazy, 1000 ft!! We wouldn’t know where to start, and steel pipe wrenches too! Yikes. We have it good these days for sure! Thank you for watching and commenting! I love to hear the stories!
Enjoyed it again. Thanks for posting.
Man thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes sir all over the world and I’m from 🇬🇧🏴 south east England Essex County
Man that’s amazing!!!! Thank you for watching all the way over there!!!!!!
awesome job when you are pulling pumps out it is safer to coil wire to the side so if it falls your not in the middle of it. On shallow wells it isn't as critical as deeper wells keep up the good work and stay safe
Thank you! I like living on the edge🤣! Thank you for the hint and for watching!!!!!!
Puddin suggested your channel. Its good to have friends, Good luck to you and yours my friend, may your channel become all it can be.
Man thank you!! He helped us out so much!!!!! Thank you for the best wishes and for watching!!!!!!!
Good job sir!
Thank you!!!!!!!
Good job again, yall. I saw water 💧. I have windmill to be put up soon. Old one from 1939. They say it will run. Well is first. Middle Texas. Yall have a great day.
Man awesome!!!!!! We love seeing water! Get that thing up!!!!! Thank you for watching and have a great day also!!!!!
I'm trying to watch this episode on Monday the 8th.
Damn Beryl keeps disturbing me.😂
Keep trying!!!!!!!! 🤪
That's the way God wants it
You got that right, and nobody has messed this place up yet! Thank you for watching!
Windmill man done a good job.😊
Man yeah! Thank yin sooooo much!!!! Mama said windmill woman too!!🤣
I always put the wire nuts facing up so any water will run off even on interior work, its a good practice. Pulled to many filled with water/corrosion from humidity, kinda the same idea as always crowning your cement even if its under ground, i'm old now and have seen allot of failures thru the years, little tips LOL
Man yeah thank you! I will take it all in. Makes since. Never thought of that! I guess I always have too much trust in the box, that it’s gonna keep it dry, but should know better! Thank you for watching!
When I was learning electrical, my boss said “wire nuts make better hats than buckets”.
That’s perfect!!!!!! I may have to use that if you don’t mind!
Do what you do,love your content.with you two all the way.
Aww man thank you!!! We’re gonna keep it up!!!!!
I Think it's amazing and wonderful That such a small solar array can run such a large amount of water.Eleven gallons a minute is no joke! Sending love from Seattle.
Man yeah thank you! It’s pretty amazing for sure, waters 700 cows!!!!! Thank you so much way up in Seattle!!!!!!!!
That groundfos control box has a indicator on front that let you no if it on and pumping. Striped spline will cause most of the problems in your discrimination. 💯👍✌️
This isn’t a controller tho, it’s just the io101 disconnect. I wished it was the CU200 which does just what you’re saying. I love those.
@@OkieWindmiller the old style box. 🤣😉✌️
@@josephsaucedo8691 yep!
Shane never worry and be jealous of anyone else brother. Your doing a great job and if truth be told they should be jealous of you. Your content is different and it will show when you hit 10k then onto 15k or 250k. Quick question/observation! I guess back in the day they used steel pipe then galvanized now PVC pipe. I would imagine that's for weight and longevity. But are there many differences other than those that would increase the suction or efficiency of the pump?? Again you sir are the expert and I just am loyal and ask questions that may or may not make any sense. And have you had people inquire about projects and repairs since you started building a bigger fan base? I'll have more Q&A once I get to the end of the video. #smileandwaveboys
Thank you! So yes steel is still available, but it’s outrageously high. Also, galvanizing these days is sub par. 10 years or so is the longevity. Plastic is the same longevity but less than half the cost. Also the plastic is plenty strong enough. All good questions!!!! Thank you for sticking with us as we grow!
It was neat to see the big wind turbines in contrast to the windmills you work on. The past and the future in a big circle of progress!
Thank you! I thought that was important to add!!!!! Thank you for watching!!!!
IF there was a way taper the top of the well could make it easier to put on the cover or tape it on the outside YES!!?? Turn music down a bit. Great vid, Reminds me of the prairies, used to go to my brothers during harvest season to help as my a/c pass costs next to nothing to go
Man good idea! Thank you!!! Sorry about the music, I try to match it to our voices, but never comes out right. I will keep working on it! Thank you for watching!!!!!!!
Good one! Agree that the river crossing was a nice bonus. Thanks for taking us along. There's a lot of untapped material that you could add to these -- like 1) how long will it take to fill that first tank? 2) does the pump run all year? 3) what happens to the tank (and pipes) when the temperature is zero degrees? PS: wouldn't it be good customer service if you cleaned the solar panel before you leave?
Man all good questions. I will add those for sure! Only thing about the panels is you don’t clean them when they’re hot. I know it would be a nice gesture, but we don’t. We leave that up to the customer. They are instructed upon installation to do so late in the evening or early morning. We wait till they’re mid day hot when we service a well so we have enough voltage for testing.
Timber Rattlesnakes? Now that would be an exciting (and scary) video😢😢😢
Haha yep! It’s crazy, we aren’t even in the timber, but I guess they’re there.
@@OkieWindmiller My grandfather always said if you hear the rattlesnake it's a good thing. It's when you don't hear them you are in trouble 😮😂😂
Hahah that’s true! Sure don’t want to sneak up on one!!!!!!!
You should carry a weed eater on the truck so you don't have to work in the high grass, and see the snakes. Great channel you guys are making.
Man good idea! Yeah and chiggers!!!!! 😀
Ya'll will be at 10K before ya know it!!!!!!!!!!!
Haha buddy I hope so!!!!!!
The clamp meter that you are using will only read AC current. You will need a model that can read DC current and select the correct mode. There are two models from Klein Tools that will do this as well as models from other brands. You don't need to remove the test leads to measure current with the clamp meter function. That will add wear and tear and isn't necessary. The motor could be heard operating so you should be suspicious when the meter does not display any current.
Man thank you! Correct. I should have said that I use it for a reference only, I wanted to see a change in amps when the switch was turned on vs running amps, even tho I know it’s not the correct reading. I need to buy the CL800, just haven’t yet. Thank you for the education. I will keep getting better and be more descriptive when making my videos. I think you’re the 3rd person so far to catch that! 🤣. Please keep watching even tho I’m not real smart!! 😀
@@OkieWindmiller
You guys did another fantastic job. I really enjoy the windmill videos also. It is really nice to have the crane on the service truck and a second person to operate it most of the time. I used to always use a Fluke multimeter. Lately I have had good service from Kaiweets products. I use an HT206D digital clamp meter almost daily for both DC and 480VAC industrial motors. They are kind of cheap and I have had battery contact issues if dropped but I was able to fix that. I try to handle it gently. These are on eBay. Amazon, and direct from Kaiweets. There is some price variations and models that are AC only. This one or the CL800 would be perfect for DC work with solar panels.
You could over come the solar problem with more panels each set being aimed for the different times of the year, panels are much cheaper than they used to be. Luv your vids.
Man thank you!! Yep I’ve thought about that. I’ve even thought putting them facing east and west, but I’ve never acted on it since the tanks are always full. Thank you so much for watching and supporting us!!!!!!!! Have a great day Sir!!!!
@@OkieWindmiller Got a good helper/boss... I'm just a workmen too...
Man I do! She is the best! She’s been training me for 30 years now!😀. Thank you, I will let her know!!!
Shaneman!!
Zaneman!!!!!
That river is beautiful. Question, have you ever been to the Shattuck Oklahoma windmill museum?
Yes it is! No, we keep telling ourselves we need to go but still haven’t made it out there yet. Thank you for watching!!!!!
Your reading on the DC current with an AC meter will be inaccurate but it will read.
That being said my SQFlex motor to pump coupling came loose and wore out after 20 years down 450ft not fun to pull manually.
Man I bet that was fun to pull! Yeah I just use it as a gauge to show what’s happening down hole. I probably need to put that into a video so people will know what I’m doing, and that it’s not a true reading. I didn’t think anyone would even catch that. Thank you so much for watching and please keep doing it!!!
I wonder if Ty panels are producing AC or DC volts. DC is usually really hard to test with an inductive meter.
They are for sure DC. So since I’m not looking for a real number, I’m looking to see what the pump does between on and off. When I was trained on this, I was made aware that you can’t use this as a real DC current measurement with the AC meter, but can still see numbers move, which tells the story of what’s happening downhole. It’s a hard measurement since we’re not dealing with an exact voltage, so many variables. I hope I’m explaining this right, it’s the best I know. I would like to upgrade one day to the model that does measure DC amperage in the clamp like mine. One day! Thank you for watching!
What are looking at is the inductive pulse between on and off that tells you that the pump is getting and using current to run. They do make DC clamp-on ammeter, but they are pricey.
Exactly!!! Thank you, now I can explain it in real words!!!!! Yep I want one.
For as much money as some of these jobs cost to repair/service you would think if you were going to go solar you would have it to where the panel rotated with the sun and stays with all day long till dark then the panel rotates back the other way till it finds the sunlight in the am. That way it would optimize the maximum amount of solar sun power as possible?! Idk maybe im clueless and not thinking clearly.
Nope you’re not clueless! They have trackers available, for quite a lot of money. These do the job well enough in the 12 hours per day they pump that the extra pumping isn’t necessary. Good question! Thank you for watching!!!!
YOUALL CAN THROW A. FIT ❤ 😂😂😂
Hahahaha thank ya!!!!
Is that AC panel feeding an inverter and pushing alternating current into the well pump? If not you won't get an accurate reading with an AC only current meter.
Man thank you! Lots of people have told me that. I’m no electrician. I’m looking into one that is the same as mine but for both ac and dc. I’ve never used it for a solar yet, but wanted to troubleshoot it the way we do ac pumps. Thank you for watching and hope I didn’t run you off with my stupidity. Always learning and I will correct it on the next one and let the world know how dumb I am. Please keep watching, I will get better!
Is it better to replace the whole pump assembly than to just replace internal parts? What is a typical life span of the solar pumps?
If parts were more available, yes, I would have swapped the stator out and put it back in. Called and there is a 6 month lead time on parts, so the customer said nope, throw a new one in. This pumps date code shows to be 14 years old, which if you think about it, since it only isn’t pumping at night, that’s 7 years of constant pumping!!!!! If this was on a float switch, and ran when only needed to tip the tank off, I would be surprised if it didn’t make it 30 years or better! Thank you so much for watching!!!!
How do you check that DC pump with your amp meter on AC amps
So I guess you don’t. 😀
@@OkieWindmiller No I check mine on ohms that's the way we do it in Blanchard lol
Sweet! I wasn’t testing bad wires because I could hear the pump running, I just wanted to show people there is a way to check amperage to help figure out what it was.
So when I first started doing this, I had to make a call to the pump manufacturer to help troubleshoot a pump not making water, and even then I did t have a DC clamp meter, the phone tech said I could still do it with the clamp meter I still have, but the reading wouldn’t show true amperage, don’t need to know true amperage, just a change in what is on the meter between starting and running amps. He must have been wrong. Thanks to this and all the awesome comments, I spent the money on a DC clamp meter now, even though this is the second time using it. Thank you for watching and please stick around!
Was, were, don,t worry about it. Most of us say the same thing. Unless they are YANKEES😏
Bahahahaha yep I have to watch myself because I get corrected quite often! I’m glad you get me!!! Thank you for watching!!!
10k subs and you shave the mustache ?????? hahahaha
Deal!!!!!!!! Haha if that would work I would be sooooooo happy!