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I've written previously about my first off-grid solar power setup.  Now, I want to share the addition of a 12-volt water pump. 

Product Review: SEAFLO 12V 5.5 GPM 60 PSI Water Diaphragm Pressure Pump
I purchased this water pump so that we can pump harvested rainwater out of our IBC 275 gallon totes - uphill - to our plants.  I can plug the water pump directly into my battery booster, my truck, or another vehicle's battery.  I've heard that this will also operate when directly connected to a solar panel (no battery required) but I haven't tested this yet. 

I recently used this trailer to bring our pigs in for processing, figured it might be helpful for others to see how it was built. The sides are built up to around 3 feet high with 2x12" rough cut material, pressure treated 4x4's, and half-inch carriage bolts.  I also added hog panels to bring the overall height of the walls to over 5 feet. 

One of our major objectives was to be able to restore the trailer to its original "equipment hauling" function, meaning the walls need to come off easily.  (Why buy multiple trailers...?)

Growing up, I spent a lot of time on my grandparents' 20-acre farm in Ottsville, Bucks County, PA.  They purchased the raw land in the 1960's and built a house on it.  The property has a pond, maybe 100 feet in diameter, and it always stays full because it is fed by an active stream.  I went ice skating on it during the winters.  They raised beef in the lower fields and watered the animals using the water from the stream that runs through the property.  It was only a sunny, but I caught my first fish out of that pond. 

My grandparents were born a few years before the Great Depression and I frequently to ask them questions about their perspective on modern society.  They lived through World War 2, Vietnam, 9/11, and Barrack Obama.   Recently, the conversation turned to water management and I brought up their pond.  It turns out that building small ponds was a popular thing to do after World War 2.  Today, who knows how many permits and inspections you need, and from which bureaucratic agency. 

By now everyone has heard about using solar energy to generate power.  Sometimes, you heat water and circulate it using a pump.  Other times, you capture electricity and store it in batteries for later, or sell it back to the grid.

My First Kit: Good for camping

Kit consists of:

• Coleman 18w Solar Kit
• Black & Decker 500 watt portable power station