Reddit reviews Seaflo 12V DC 1.2 GPM 35 PSI 21-Series Diaphragm Water Pressure Pump for Caravan/RV/Boat/Marine

Pump is a 12v 35psi pressure pump I got off Amazon for $30. It is only on/activated when pressure drops on the line (i.e. when you turn the faucet on).

The unit is fed via a 25ft 12v extension cord from the cigarette lighter in the car or off the car battery directly if you'd prefer. On the side of the unit I have a female cigarette lighter port which is where I run the male-male extension. There are two 2.1A USB ports which are always on so you can charge phones and stuff, a master power switch for the lights and pump (just in case a fitting were to fail and cause the pump to run all night and drain the car battery).

Electric pump user here - it's super noisy, but flows great, even with the major resistance of two huge filters in the way. Admittedly, I bought pretty much the cheapest pump possible, currently $30 on amazon.

Been using it for years, works great, self priming too which is super useful.
Photo of install including filters. First is a 1 micron sediment (I think, it's been a while) and second is a carbon matrix. First gets rid of any sorta "large" gunk, second removes bad tastes, chemicals, you name it. Same material as pitcher style water filters.

Also pinging /u/dcdcd101

This fence line is just shy of 90 feet and my setup works pretty well at that length. I used pretty small diameter pvc so it’s not much weight; I can’t imagine reinforcement would be needed for the watering— maybe for the vines depending. It’s not a raging torrent of water it basically is just a steady drip but it saturates pretty well when run in cycles and not run during the heat of the day.

My initial version of this setup was a single battery and small solar panel and it ran fine for a year or more (granted I’m in SoCal so we get a lot of sun)— I’ve since expanded a bit to a 4 battery setup and larger panel but just because I added two more pumps for covering other areas.

Here’s a picture of the control box of a basic single battery system with timer and a simple solar controller
https://i.imgur.com/JOfGqdp.jpg


Here’s some of the basic gear:

Water Storage
===========================

Current Water tank
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003H9WJMI/

(Although I’ve also used smaller/cheaper tanks like this for my vegetable garden, just might mean more refills depending on how often it’s run: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BFC5NIA/ )

If you’re looking to go super cheap, I honestly started my first setup with a couple modified 5 gallon plastic water bottles I stole from my office like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003B27RAA/


Power
===========================

Current solar panel for a 4 battery setup:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFMBF3G

Previous panel for single battery system:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PFGP0EA


Solar regulator (keeps you from blowing up the battery! The smaller panel comes free with one that works fine, I just liked this one better because it had more lights!): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L37KZI6/

Batteries, one is plenty for a single pump system:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003S1RQ2S/

(obviously if you wanted to build a system on the cheap you could bypass the solar entirely and drop $20 on a second battery that you leave charging and just swap them back and forth every week or three, depending on how often/long you run the system)


Pump
===========================

Current Pump:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072BXBQGC/

Although I’ve also used cheaper ones like these for drip systems and they were fine:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07699RMVB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WYMC492

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DLKT4OO


Misc
===========================

Timer (has like 16 stop/start memories which should be plenty for any configuration):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090MTLFO


If there is some interest next weekend I could draw up a complete wiring/assembly diagram and detailed parts list and make a separate post (and include all the sundries: wire, hose, clamps, filters, waterproof project box, couplings, drip heads, etc).

Seems like a solid deal. I don't use my autospihon tip and also just bottle straight from the spigot, so I personally wouldn't bother with the deluxe. I'd also forget about the one step cleaner and just go with iodophor or star san. Stove top should be fine for 5 gal extract, especially if it's gas. You'll want a thermometer and I'd say 3 gal kettle sounds small. The kettle should be stainless.

I'd say next most important investment beyond the stuff in the kit plus thermometer and kettle is a wort chiller. They are a total rip off. Just buy some copper tubing (3/8" x 50') and wrap it around something with a 6-8 in diameter. You can hook it up to a faucet, but you'll waste a lot of water. It is better to use a pump. A lot of homebrewers seem to use submersible stuff for aquariums, but I think something like this is definitely superior for power and pressure drop by the dollar.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DLKT4OO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

No problem on the questions. I'm glad you have some. This is the unit that I went with that I got off of Amazon. I went with 1.2 gallons per minute rather than something stronger because that will help me conserve water consumption and still have enough power to take a shower or other things.
Seaflo 12V DC 1.2 GPM 35 PSI 21-Series Diaphragm Water Pressure Pump for Caravan/RV/Boat/Marine https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DLKT4OO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zPgIzbFHZ75EA

While the disconnects do stop water on the female end, that is not the configuration that I set mine up with. The pump is a pressure switch pump that will only turn on the water pressure when you open the valve a.k.a. use your hose nozzle. The pump wires up with a positive and ground wire, so in my configuration, when I'm not using the pump I have it turned odd via a toggle switch. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

I plan to buy this water pump after seeing it in a video recently. If I can find the video I’ll link it. This water pump seems to fit exactly what I’m looking for.

*I can’t seem to find the video. Maybe someone else remembers... the person was dwelling in some type of small SUV/hatchback, the theme of the video was that it was an “experiment,” his test reservoir was a clear Tupperware container, and he was outputting to a kitchen sprayer.

The pump moves water until there is pressure on the line, then shuts off. Once you release the pressure (open faucet/sprayer) the pump will continue to move water until you once again pressurize the line (by closing the faucet/sprayer)

So the 5 gallon water tank lasts you all day?

So, let's shave that 4 hour run time down to a mere 1 hour, and you'll have plenty forever. Building it smaller (since you're only building ONE of these systems) doesn't save you a whole lot:

Loads per day: 32.5 Watt-hours.
Days without sun: 3
Hours of sun per day: 4

Panel needed: ~25 Watts. (You only need ~8 watts for your load, but I figure you'd want to recover from a cloudy day or three with only one day of full sun, so that's where the extra wattage comes in!)

Battery Storage Needed: ~100 Watt-hours; a 35 amp-hour, 12-volt battery would be fine, and keep you above 75% SoC most of the time. Long as the cart's outside and in the sun every day, the battery will last a long time!

Charge Controller: Cheap 10 amp PWM still works.

A specific shopping list because I'm waiting on a video to render before I can get on with my night:

Solar Panel:

https://www.amazon.com/Monocrystalline-Newpowa-Quality-Module-Marine/dp/B01M9B6RQI/

Charge Controller:

www.amazon.com/PowerEZ-Controller-Battery-Intelligent-Regulator/dp/B074TB6FS8/

Battery:

https://www.amazon.com/Powersonic-PS-12350NB-Battery-Nut-Bolt-Connector/dp/B0010AI3LM/

Water Pump:

https://www.amazon.com/Seaflo-Diaphragm-Pressure-Caravan-Marine/dp/B00DLKT4OO/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1522996286&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=SeaFlo+water+pump&psc=1&smid=A3EBZ5HHZPL73

Wire:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M0YDC6K/

This isn't copper, it's CCA, but for this amount of current really... :/ You're talking only a few amps at only a few feet, so it should be fine. (I mean, you're gonna get max less than 2 amps from that panel down to the controller, so really, you're not going to be pushing anything.

You can also use landscaping wire, if your hardware store carries 12 AWG landscaping wire. It's good for random small solar projects, or cut apart an old 12 AWG extension cord. (Or even 14 AWG if it's pure copper.)

You could get one meant for pressurizing plumbing, like they use in RVs, and then the pump would cut itself off. The extra sensor and switch for that will make it cost slightly more. Here is an example : https://www.amazon.com/Seaflo-Diaphragm-Pressure-Caravan-Marine/dp/B00DLKT4OO/ref=pd_sbs_200_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DLKT4OO&pd_rd_r=4A04Y6ZT6ZEB16T5CMB3&pd_rd_w=sAONb&pd_rd_wg=ea169&psc=1&refRID=4A04Y6ZT6ZEB16T5CMB3

That's the most "fire and forget" solution. Don't forget to connect the drain hose back to the water tank you use so if it gets to that part in the wash cycle it won't spray water everywhere.

This type of pump is how RV plumbing works - they have a water tank, a pump like this, and then tubing going to the various sinks and toilets in the RV. Some RVs do have washing machines. So a solution like this should work fine without issue. You can use a car battery for the 12 V or a 12 V battery charger or you might have a power brick for a USB hub or something that can supply 12 Volts and a sufficient amount of watts.

I've used this Seaflo 12v pump for two years with no problems. It's about $30.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DLKT4OO/ref=cm_cr_arp_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8

Timer and pump or [valve] (http://www.amazon.com/12V-Solenoid-Valve-3-4/dp/B007R9U9BM/).