33 APRIL 2022 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Solar Booster and Transfer Pumps Provide Solutions Adapted from Information by Dankoff Solar Though commonly associated with water well submersible pumps, solar water pumping sprang to life in the desert region around Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the late 1970s. The local motto ‘Water is Life’ is more than just lip service, as access to water dictates even the smallest infrastructure and community decisions. Lured by inexpensive land and wide open spaces, off-grid communities began to develop, but soon found the limits of technology when it came to water distribution. Enter Windy Dankoff, a known windmill repair wizard and innovator in off-grid circles. He could see the pumps being used for garden and crop irrigation were consuming far more energy than almost any other single electrical device in the off-grid system and set about designing a high-efficiency water pump. Launched in 1978, the result would be known as the SlowPump. Capable of DC direct operation, it could deliver up to six gallons per minute, and coupled with a battery bank could run nonstop for years. To avoid creating waste, the pump was designed to be rebuildable and repairable, in keeping with environmental mindset of the offgrid community. Soon, new challenges would breed new solutions. In the 1980s, the demands for stable water pressure within off-grid homes would yield a low-flow solar booster pump. Soon a high-lift, steady-flow pump would follow. By the 1990s, solar water pumping would begin to catch the attention of the commercial agriculture industry; driving the development of the highflow centrifugal pump, capable of flooding an orchard, and a high-lift ram to push fluid nearly 1000 feet vertically all - on just a few solar panels! Driven by a need to solve common offgrid challenges, many of Windy’s innovations remain in use in the water pumping industry to this day. Though it seems topof-mind to solve water transfer applications with submersible pumps, remember solar booster and transfer pumps, designed to do the job more effectively with less energy, may be your best choice. The Dankoff Flowlight Booster Pump provides city water pressure anywhere and has been a standard in home renewable energy systems since 1986. It is aneconomical choice for domesticwater supply, drip irrigation, andwater purification systems. WTR Looking for Events? Click on this box in our online issue worldwidedrillingresource.com
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