Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations I'm no electrician so dont laugh... :)

So this may be a dumb question, but I wanted to create more circulation in my pond and a 55 to 70 lbs thrust trolling motor hooked to the corner of the dock would do this great for me in my 1 acre pond. My question is can I convert the DC to AC somehow so I could put the trolling motor on a switch? Is that even possible? lol Or would it just be easier to get a good battery and a small solar panel for it?

thx,
RC

A battery and a modern computer controlled battery charger would be a simple solution. The new battery chargers that are computer controlled will not over charge the battery when not in use but will keep it "topped off" to full charge. Just get a charger that provides a few more amps than what the trolling motor pulls.

Another alternative is a regular DC power supply. Power supplies are made to run such things as high power radio transceivers. They are a regulated power supply to supply filtered regulated voltage as a battery replacement. No battery needed. Then you could just switch the power supply on and off with a switch.

Sorry, RC51, can't help with electricity. I just stopped blowdrying my hair in the bathtub.

How many watts is the motor and is it 12 or 24 volts?

I have a 600 watt 12 volt driver on hand. It is a very well made Meanwell driver.

Basically this driver has 120volts in one side and 12 volts out the other. Good DC power with little to no feedback on the AC line with lots of good RF filter. I can send you a part number you could google if you wanted.

I am a technical adviser for Ocean Clear LED solutions Inc.

Cheers Don.

A DC power supply would be best. Putting a load on a battery with a charger connected makes most chargers drop off line in my experience. Perhaps a "starter charger" would not drop off, but those are $$$.

Twelve volt trolling motors draw about one amp per pound of thrust. A 50 pound thrust Minn Kota trolling motor draws 50 amps and uses 600 watts of power. If you used a power supply like Don suggested above, you would need to run the motor somewhat slower than high speed.

I use a 50 amp power supply on my HAM radio equipt. But don't know how well it would hold up to outside elements plus...they are about $300 for a good one.

New old stock, $150 Canadian Eh.

Hope I am not breaking any forums rules just looking to help a fellow pond guy out.

Feel free to order one that may be closer and maybe bigger if you need. These meanwell drivers are rated 15% more so a 600 will handle 690 watts for a short time. All you may need to do is give it a shot of compressed air to dust it out once a year. Over load circuit will just pull voltage out so your motor will just run a bit slower. Once cooled off it will self re set.

Cheers Don.

Of note, motors will take quite a bit of surge current when first spinning up, and if they cannot get it, they may never start turning yet still consume power and burn up (depending on starting load). Lead acid batteries are very good at supplying that current needed. A motor pushing water wont be that bad since load at start will be quite low, but it is something to consider when sizing up a power supply.

Note that most of those trolling motors are going to be brushed motors which are not designed to be run 24 and 7. It will run out of brush very quickly as compared to a brush-less motor.

The better bet is to use aeration instead. It is more energy efficient by a long shot and will move deeper water also if placed to do so. A good system is designed to run 24 and 7, and will run off of 110VAC so no power supply needed. Run the air line rather than electric.

Some good suggestions so far for making this work!

Here's a good question though.
Have you considered adding an Aerator instead?
They too move a lot of water and perform another vital function.
Two solutions for the price of one.

A couple more factors to consider. Like safety and cost.
Using a motor to move water, is not real cost effective, energy wise.
And,no one ever got hurt swimming too close to an aerator.

If note, you can direct water flow with a pipe and aerator so that the rising column is directed to a side rather than allowing to go straight up.

It's cool to see when people help each other just like that.