gsxrcraig
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|  | How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Thread Started on Feb 7, 2010, 12:58pm » | |
A little background. I am renting 3 quarter (CRP) that was irrigated before put into CRP. The previous farmer had 1 sprinkler that he would tow between the 3 quarters, they are connected. There is only 1 well on the property. We test pumped it and it's around 300 gmp now, no telling where it will go come season. All the underground pipe and electric lines are there along with the cement pivot centers. They had electric power at the well before it was put into CRP. The electric company pulled all the lines and it's not cost efficient to put them back in.
I will be putting a natural gas pump and either 1 or 2 valley sprinklers on it.
My question is what is the most efficient way to get electricity to run the sprinklers? I know there is a generator that can run off the natural gas motor. I know people who have diesel generators on trailers they leave at the pivot.
If I were to run a generator off the well motor I would need to put a clutch and radiator on the motor so I would be able to move the sprinkler without watering.
Thanks for all the help
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cotton2grain
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"I have planted, apollos watered, but God gave the increase." 1 Cor. 3:6
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| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #1 on Feb 7, 2010, 2:51pm » | |
We have 2 electric pivots and our power unit pulls the well, generator, and all . The well is pulled by a driveshaft. The generator is pulled by a belt off the front of the engine much like a alternator. This whole set up (generator) is bolted onto the engine, which is bolted onto a trailer with wheels. We don' t have any extra radiators or clutches to run just the pivot without watering. When we run just the pivot to move it out of the way we just fire the engine up and move the pivot.
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okpanhandle
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| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #2 on Feb 7, 2010, 5:49pm » | |
How far away are the nearest power transmission lines? I would think that digging an underground line for grid power would be cheaper in the long run than burning extra fuel to run a generator, especially since the lines going to each pad are already there. Nobody runs generators here, though, so I don't know the economics of it. I guess the big question is: how much horsepower is needed to turn the generator? A Chevy 350 would be more than enough for 300gpm, but what would an added generator do to horsepower needs and fuel consumption?
If I was forced to go the generator route then I'd do what cotton2grain does. Dealing with T-L sprinklers equipped with diesels to run the hydraulic pump taught me what a pain having a second engine is. It's just one more thing to fail at a critical time, and one more engine requiring fuel and maintenance.
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cotton2grain
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"I have planted, apollos watered, but God gave the increase." 1 Cor. 3:6
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Location: NE Arkansas
| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #3 on Feb 7, 2010, 7:53pm » | |
I am not for sure of gsxrcraig's situation. We have a 1/4 mile Reinke with LEPA nozzles and pull the well and generator with a JD 4D80 (which is about 80-90 hp) and were very surprised with the "mileage". We can uasally water all year (about 7-8 circles at 1" ) on 1000 gal of fuel. But keep in mind our water is very easily accessible, around 100-125 ft. It doesn't take much to pump from that shallow. Our electric co. told us that underground wire is about $13 a foot. That doesn't sound like much until you have to go 1 1/2 miles.
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"farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you are a thousand miles from the corn field." -Dwight Eisenhower |
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gsxrcraig
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| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #4 on Feb 7, 2010, 11:34pm » | |
Yes I am thinking the same thing about 2 different motors, just another something that can go wrong. We would be about 1 1/2 miles from the nearest power lines. The problem with that is I only have a 5 year lease on the place and I think they will be wanting to sale it in 5 years and who knows how they will try to sale it. I just don't want to dump that money into it and have nothing in 5 years. Atleast with a well motor and sprinklers I can trun around and sale them and the end of my lease. We have a variety of other motors we use 150 hp electric, 454's, and a 8.1. I am hoping this well, once cleaned out, will be more like 600+ gpm like the others in the area. I think it's somewhere around the 350 - 400 ft. dept range.
Thanks for all the help!
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okpanhandle
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| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #5 on Feb 8, 2010, 9:39am » | |
Feb 7, 2010, 11:34pm, gsxrcraig wrote:| The problem with that is I only have a 5 year lease on the place and I think they will be wanting to sale it in 5 years and who knows how they will try to sale it. |
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Ah, that explains a lot. I can understand why you'd be hesitant to spend a lot of money on it.
Good luck with the well. Hopefully it's just plugged screens or worn out bowls holding the water back; not exactly cheap to fix, but better than 300gpm permanently. We had a well pulled this summer and they ran a big brush down it to clean it out, but they said it wasn't dirty at all, just no water.
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deereman
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Location: Platte Center, NE
| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #6 on Feb 10, 2010, 9:26am » | |
We run 2 pivots with generators and no clutchs but have an air cooled deutz motor on one and a rad. on the other it works pretty good the whole bolting and unbolting thing is kind of a pain if it gets stuck alot but then again you just get used to it. The generators don't use all that much more fuel and are pretty darn cheap if you can find a used one thats the way I would go if you cannot get any line power cheaply.
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bigs1
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| | Re: How to get electricity to run sprinkler?
« Reply #7 on Feb 18, 2010, 9:07pm » | |
We have run pivots with 300 fords w/radiators,no clutches and generator's on them for years. Just like cotton2grain said, gen. runs off of belts at front of motor. Had real good luck with this set-up. Good luck and hope the well comes in better.
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