Solar Power
Solar Pumps
Replace Gas Power
on Lower Musselshell Ranches
 Ranchers
in south central Montana know the value of sun and water. A handful of them use
energy from the sun to water their cattle in sites far away from power lines.
Solar-powered pumps deliver water
to stock tanks on the Painted Robe Creek watershed on the Lower Musselshell, illustrated
in the two examples pictured here. The pumps, sponsored as a demonstration by
the Lower Musselshell Conservation District and the Montana Department of Environmental
Quality, replace gas-powered equipment for off-grid ranch operations and protect
the creek, which is subject to low flows late in the season.
 "The
quality of water in the creek is affected by low flows early and late in the season,
and also from the geological formations it flows through," says Rob Krause,
a technician with of the Conservation District.
Site No. 1 (metal tank and steel
panels) is about a mile from the Painted Robe Creek and one mile from electricity.
The system was installed on an existing well 100 feet deep with the static water
at 25 feet. The Solar Jack SDS-Q-128 submersible pump was installed at 65 feet.
Krause used two 80-watt Kyocera Panels mounted on a TRPM 2MOD Tracker, controlled
by a PCA10-30B controller and a float switch mounted on the tank. This system
will produce 1,000 gallons a day minimum at a total dynamic head of 65 feet for
the eight available grazing months, or 700 gallons a day at a total dynamic head
of 155 feet.
"The system works well in this location, and in the first season of use seems
very reliable," Krause said. "The steel panels were put around the system
for protection from cattle, deer and elk. Also, a board is in the tank for the
birds to get water."
Krause said the cost of the system is comparable to burying a pipeline from another
well, "and much lower than putting electricity to the site." The original
source of power to pump this well was a mechanical windmill. Later, a gasoline
engine that needed to be attended daily powered the system.
Site No. 2 (with the Fiberglas tank) also was previously powered by a gasoline
engine and pump jack. The site is about 200 feet from Painted Robe Creek and two
miles from electricity. The well is 125 feet deep with the static water at 15
feet.
The Solar Jack SDS-Q-128 submersible
pump, installed at a depth of 35 feet, is powered by two 100-watt modules, controlled
by a PCA10-30B controller with a lightning arrester mounted in a breaker box.
The water level in the tank is regulated by a mercury float switch that can be
adjusted for different on-off levels in the 1,100-gallon Fiberglas tank. This
system will produce 2,000 to 2,500 gallons a day.
The solar panels on both tanks
are fitted with sun tracking equipment.
"The availability of fresh reliable well water and grazing management will
add pounds to the cattle for the producer," Krause said. For more information,
contact:
Rob Krause
Technician NRCS
109 Railroad Ave.
Roundup, MT 59072
1-406-323-2103 ext.108
rkrause@mt.usda.gov
Lower
Musselshell Conservation District photos
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