Wind-Powered Water Pump

[mansfield]

Hi, I'd like to ask if anyone knows anything about using a wind turbine to power a water pump? I'm enquiring on behalf of a friend who is a farmer and has very high water bills. He lives in the west of Ireland so there's a good deal of wind. I don't know much about how it could be done but he says it should be possible and he's heard of other people who've successfully tried.

 

[Marie]

Mansfield Use the "search" button to find a thread about 6 months ago under I.T.Broadband section on this subject in response to a question from me about water-generated power.

 

[z102]

Are you looking for a waterpump direct driven by a wind wheel or for a wind powered generator supplying the electric water pump with electricity?
The choice between the two different systems should be made on the facts of a.) quantity of demand and b.) the depth of the water table.

 

[mansfield]

im looking for a simple wind turbine that can pump water up to a large storage container on a height which can be used to supply the farm automatically as needed on a gravity feed basis. i dont know the depth of water yet but the demand is such that a large storage container would be enough to supply water to the livestock even during periods when there is not much wind activity. id rather a wind pump that did not require electricity. i dont know where to get information on such a system, suppliers etc. in ireland.

 

[z102]

These "windpumps" are not common in Ireland since they use a rather large exposed surface what makes them prone to -ahem- winddamage. They are better suited for low flow windspeeds similar to those of the flatlands in the US. Or the Netherlands - here in Europe.
It is important for any efficiency calculation to know what is wanted. "How many Watts?" is the major question. And therefore it is necessary to know the m3s per hour/day as well as the height to which these liters have to be pumped. Without these numbers any efficient advise is worth as much as a Lotto numbers forecast.
A "wind turbine" is usually turning movement from the wind (the spinning wheel/rotor) into electric energy. Whilest the windpump transmits the movement- either directly or with a transmission factor- into a mechanical pump.
These are two different things.

 

[mansfield]

im not too worried about the technical aspects right now. im more interested in sourcing suppliers in this country for now and i can weigh up the cost of set up with its technical features and its potential savings for me and its efficiency then. i know of one man who has successfully installed such a system and he is happy with the results so i know it is feasible but he bought the turbine second hand so i dont know of any suppliers. sustainable energy ireland only have information on turbines and suppliers of them for electricity production but not for water pumping.