Solar Water Pump Fund Drive - Success!
Updates!
Our solar pump is now complete and operational, and more awesome than we dreamed! When we began the project we were excited about being able to eliminate our gasoline pump, for the sake of sustainability and maintaining our peaceful environment. We are very happy to have accomplished that! What we didn't anticipate was that now we have a system that operates silently, sustainably, and almost completely automatically. We are amazed by the way the water tank keeps filling up, seemingly by magic, and we don't have to do a thing! No more midsummer trips to the gas station for barrels of gasoline, no more worries about spark plugs, water in the carburetor, or moving the pump out of the range of flooding!
We continue to make improvements, including extending the stone masonry wall up and around the sump so that the pump will be safe from any flooding, and the sump is protected from filling up with mud.
3/27/11 - With a generous donation from Circle of Friends - and many others! - we have reached the goal of fully funding the solar pump! Now we are looking for a different kind of assistance - digging the 3-foot-wide, 3-foot-deep sump next to the creek! Installation work will start when the creek level is low enough to allow us to dig and work in the sump. Please stay tuned to the website and newsletters for updates. And thank you again to all our friends and supporters who are making this possible.
10/31/10 - Donors contributed a total of $3,282. Big thanks to everyone who donated! We will continue to direct a portion of donations and RMS's operating income toward the purchase of the solar pump and related equipment, with the intent of installing the new pump by next summer.
8/26/10 - CentroSolar America Inc., located in Scottsdale, has very generously made four 175 watt solar modules available to us at a very low price. With the purchase of these modules, we are now nearly 40% of the way to our final goal! Many thanks to Chris Wood, sales director at CentroSolar, for arranging the sale.
Reevis Mountain School has long desired to purchase a solar-powered water pump, to replace the gas-powered motor we currently use to pump irrigation water from Campaign Creek into our storage tank. To that end, we are holding a fund-raiser through October 31, 2010.
Picture 60 five-gallon cans, filled with gasoline, lined up in a row … this is the amount we use every year to fuel the gas motor. And imagine — amid the otherwise serene wilderness environment at Reevis — the noise of the motor running six hours a day.
Now picture zero cans, the amount of gasoline that a new solar pump would use.
Installation of a solar pump is consistent with Reevis’s principles of self-reliance and sustainability, will enhance the living environment at Reevis, and will save us the daily chore of operating and maintaining the gas pump. This solar pump has been in our plans for years, and now, with sustainability becoming more critical every day, we would like to accelerate this goal.
We have obtained a cost estimate from Sun Pumps of Safford, AZ, as follows:
Submersible pump (40-SQF-5): $1,900
Rack for 4 panels: $457
Pump controller: $325
4 solar modules (170 watt Sharp): $2,120
Interconnect (64 inch MC-4): $28
Five-year warranty: $250
Total: $5,080
Installation will take place as soon as the equipment is purchased. We estimate the solar pump will pay for itself, solely in terms of gasoline cost, in 5.6 years.
We are full of gratitude to all of the friends who have supported Reevis in the past and continue to do so, through financial donations, Country Store purchases, physical work, and brain-work. For the solar pump fund, we welcome donations of any amount — although we ask that you donate ONLY if it is convenient and a joy to do so.
Every donor will receive a letter of acknowledgment and progress updates, and the names of donors of $99 or more will be engraved on a permanent copper plaque to be mounted on the pump foundation. If amounts are collected in excess of what is needed for the solar pump, they will be put toward materials for the renovation of our 25-year-old greenhouse.
During the fund drive, RMS will direct all donations received toward the pump purchase, and will allocate 10% of Country Store sales to the fund.
If you would like to donate, you can use the little form below. This will add your donation to your Country Store shopping cart, and then you will need to check out the same as making a purchase. Or you can mail a check or money order (payable to Reevis Mountain School) to RMS at 7448 S. J-B Ranch Rd., Roosevelt, AZ 85545.
Even if you are not able to make a donation now, your interest in and support of Reevis Mountain School help to sustain us, and you have our appreciation!
