12V 120W Pump+2*100W Panel+Controller

Updated: See below. I received all of my components. The controller instructions were in very very small print. The solar panel instructions were informative but there weren't really any instructions specific to this setup, but we'll always have YouTube. My plan was to run the pump during daylight with the panels and no batteries. Pump depth is about 60ft down in an 80 ft well. I used a 100ft 12ga extension cord (pump comes wired with 14ga wire). On my first go I had some trouble getting the pump to start up, E01 low voltage on the controller. The pump finally came to life and after about 10 to 15 minutes of running there was a loud pop and smoke from the controller. Prior to this I notices the display read 12v while I was running 24v. Turns out this controller is not auto-switching for voltage and MUST be set manually. Whoops. Luckily I had a spare controller. The following day I set everything back up starting around 9 am (I'm at a northern latitude). Controller set to 24v, voltage reading normal, then switched on and saw huge voltage drop, then E01 with no pumping. This continued until midday. I pulled the pump out of the well and put in in a large bucket to test. Switched the controller to on and the pump came to life. I set the pump back into the well taking care to make sure wiring and hoses didn't get all twisted. Switched back on and had a good flow rate so I could measure drawdown. Sadly it looks like this old well can't even keep up with 3.2 gpm. I waited for the static level to some back up for another test and when I restarted the controller I got the E01 again, and again, and again. This was around 3pm. I pulled the pump again, in the bucket, and it started right up. Put it back in the well and nothing. So for one final test I pulled the pump up to the 25 ft static depth and raised is slowly. As soon as I lifted out of the water I heard the pump spool up, put it back in the water but it couldn't keep going. My conclusion so far is that I may only get about 2 good solar hours. Anything outside that window and there's not enough power to run under load with the panels only. I contacted the company for suggestions. I want to know if adding batteries will help? But the questions I have is will the batteries take care of the initial startup then let the panels run the pump or will it run on batteries all day then have nothing left when the sun goes down? If the pump is running on the batteries will the panels be recharging them at all while they're under load? Update: I upgraded my overall rating to a conditional 5 stars. After almost a week of use I've tweaked the panel positioning and can start to get water around 9:30 AM with a steady flow between 10:30 and 11:00 AM going until around 4:00 PM. The pump draws the well down about 15 feet full on then the water depth stabilizes around 41 feet which made me happy. The pump supplies ample water to run our multiple drip lines and sprinkler hoses at once. In fact it likes the free flowing better. While it does have an internal bypass the motor loads up against back pressure and takes more power than the panels have to offer so I get the E01 on the controller. My next step will be to add the batteries so they can give the needed push the motor needs sometimes. I'm pleased so far and will perhaps add more panels one day.

I live off grid and depend on solar pumps. This pump frequently stops working. The controller runs through multiple error messages, mostly E02, and then spontaneously starts to work again, or doesn't for days on end. The pump often stops working even when the controller does. I wrote to the controller manufacturer and got no response. (I had to have someone else buy and ship it to me because they don't ship to Puerto Rico, so the purchase isn't under my name.) I am going to have to buy a different pump, as this all to often leaves me without water.

The Controller works for 10-20 minutes and then it turns off, making the water pump also to stop working. I will have to purchase a new Controller, this one seems to be poor quality.

It still works and we got it in July 2020 and it’s August 2020

We were looking for an off-grid way to aerate our farm pond in the hot summer months. We wanted the cooler bottom water to be pumped up to the home-made sprinklers, but not the mucky mud at the bottom of the pond. We've place the pump in a large bucket ( we drilled holes all around it for water circulation) and lowered it to the bottom, about 8 feet. The flexible hose from the pump to the sprinklers allows the sprinklers to move around a bit on the surface. We also added a 12V battery backup. The pump runs all during sunny daylight hours plus sometimes on cloudy days or even after dark. We're very pleased with the functionality and the quality so far.

All in all a good value. After one week of use, the system is working well. I installed it in a creek and am pumping the water to irrigate a 3000 sq. foot garden. I just installed and tested this item so can't say much about its durability, but it is working well out of the box. One issue is the almost complete lack of instructions-none for the panels, minimal and almost useless for the controller, and barely adequate for the pump. The seller states that the controller has a timer function and can work with or without batteries. However, there are absolutely no instructions on how to access those features. The controller instructions on the front and back are identical (exact copies) and consist only of telling you the order of connection and the meaning of the error codes. Most of the instructions for the pump refer to installation of the power cable, which don't apply because the cable comes pre-installed. That's a good thing, of course, but it took me a while to figure it out. I would consider this an entry level system and there should be better instructions for somebody like me with limited expertise in solar installations. Please also notice that the 24 volt kit comes WITHOUT a cable to connect the panels to the controller. You will need an extension cable with M4 connectors on one end and bare wire on the other. Admittedly this is clear from the pictures of the item, but one of their 12V kits comes with a cable, and I didn't notice that this one did not. My bad on that one, but wanted to make sure nobody else missed it too. Update. The new 20 amp controller that comes with this kit does not operate without a battery, nor does it have a built in timer. The answer by the seller apparently applies to the previous version.

I have always wanted to power something with solar energy. I decided to order this package after buying a piece of land, that had a well drilled, but no pump system. I am very impressed with the quality of the items that arrived. We installed the system and it works like a gem! A friend with solar experience helped and after testing the panels he said they were quite powerful. We used them to keep two 24v marine batteries charged, which is what runs the actual pump, but probably only one would be needed to do that job. I may actually use the second panel on a separate project. Very pleased.

I used a hose (100 ft), and a extension cord (100 ft), and two 12V batteries. It works great. I would buy it again.!!!