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Last winter, residents of Ukrainian cities and villages had to quickly learn to establish at least minimal comfort in conditions of a partial lack of electricity or a blackout in general. In order to restore the supply of water and heat in the premises, most owners connected the necessary equipment to batteries and generators. The exception was also the customers of drilling water wells, since submersible pumps and pumping stations work precisely when connected to a power source. However, it was during the maintenance of well pumping equipment that most often there were situations when the pump did not start.
Technical features of operation of pumping stations when connected to inverter generators
One of the rules of effective and reliable connection of the well to the water supply system in the house is the need to entrust all the necessary work to proven specialists. This is due to the specifics of the operation of the equipment itself, for example, when the motor is connected to the network at the moment when its rotor is stopped, a sufficiently strong starting current passes through the stator. At the stage when the motor spins up to the desired (nominal) frequency, the current continues to operate, but gradually decreases. The main criterion in this process remains the amplitude (difference) between the strength of the starting current at the beginning and its nominal value. This parameter depends on the design of the engine used, the mass of the rotor and the number of working wheels.
On the other hand, at the stage when the engine is not yet running (does not rotate), the pumping station can consume 2-3 times more energy. That is why during the long blackouts of last winter, the owners of houses and apartments were faced with the fact that the inverter generator with a capacity of about 4 kW could not start up the hydrophore, which is standard according to its technical parameters. In addition, such generators have a protective board that regulates the current consumption of connected devices and when the upper limit (maximum) is reached, the load is automatically turned off. In this way, it is extremely difficult to start the operation of a pumping station connected to a water well with single-phase asynchronous motors using an inverter generator. If the service drilling of wells Kyiv is only planned and carefully discussed with its executors, the issue of the possibility of maintaining a stable water supply to the house or farm buildings in the absence of electricity should also be discussed before the start of drilling operations and the purchase of all relevant equipment.
Peculiarities of starting pumping stations when connected to frequency converters
For stable operation of well pumps (or pumping stations) in the conditions of connection to backup power sources (generators, voltage stabilizers and other types of uninterruptible power sources), it is necessary to additionally install pumps with a frequency converter. They are considered an energy-efficient solution to the problem, as such a converter is able to supply the required alternating voltage and frequency of power to the motor, while controlling the speed and torque of rotation. In addition, the use of such pumps contributes to less wear and tear of the equipment, prevents its breakdown and extends the service life of the engine.
For example: during the operation of a pumping station with a frequency converter installed in the system and connected to an inverter or a conventional generator for the purpose of passing a "stress test", there should be no interruptions. At the same time, starting the equipment from the battery connected to the inverter requires a corresponding rated power, which should be equal to or higher than the maximum power consumption of the system, approximately 600-650 W.
Visnovki
When choosing a source of uninterrupted power supply for pumping stations, it is important to take into account not only the operational characteristics of the devices, but also their fluctuations at the time of startup. Since for most well drilling customers, the price is quite a critical factor in choosing the method and conditions of work, it is worth worrying about the use of a frequency converter or its planned presence in the system in advance. This will not only eliminate the risks of constant inrush currents, but also reduce the power requirements of batteries with inverters and generators, allowing more affordable models to be chosen.
