- One of two points. Another point out of frame to the left.
- The new pump
- Overhead irrigation pump
- Hand pump for priming
- Pressure tank (wrapped in tarp and heating cable for cold weather)
- 3 inch irrigation line
- Electrical box
- Mud
- 3 inch suction line
- 1-1/4 inch suction line with quick coupler
- The new motor is significantly heavier than the old motor, so I had to add bracing to the table to handle the start/stop reaction.
- Pressure relief
The Well
The small pump on the left is a standard pressure-controlled pump, feeding the water system through a pressure tank. A pressure switch turns the pump on when the pressure gets low, and turns it off when it reaches the target pressure.
The pump on the right runs continuously when the overhead irrigation is running. It's just turned on and off manually with the breaker in the electrical box. A 3 inch line runs up to 3 hydrants in different parts of the field, to which the overhead irrigation lines are connected. By overhead irrigation lines, I mean pipes that sit on the ground, with sprinkler heads that deliver water from above to the plants. In contrast to drip lines, which are buried in the ground.
The system has 11 essential valves (and a couple of utility valves) and 4 check valves. The two pumps are cross-coupled because when the large pump is running it starves the small pump, so we feed some of the output of the large pump back to the small pump so it has something to pump, which keeps the pump cool as well as providing some water for the drip lines and the wash lines and the preparation lines.
The tables keep the motors up off the ground, which sometimes floods during heavy rains.
Comments and faves
photofarmer (24 months ago | reply)
Overhead irrigation: