Rob Black & Padman Stops - Eliminating Syphons with "Thru-the-Bank" Setup & Automation

Описание: 1 What is this layout?
• Padman PEXL Dropbox with an EDT timer on it.
• 5 Ha down-the-slope field.
• Pontoon distributes water to 40 beds.
• The 700m field is watered in 6-7 hours.
• Twice as much water as a 63mm syphon uses.
• 400k Litres / day each furrow
• Tail water pumped back to increase flow.
• ½ hour timer preparation saves changing 40-60 syphons.


2 How many syphons have you eliminated using Dropboxes?
• This bay has 40 beds. It’d need 60 syphons for 12 hrs.
• Equivalent of 40 syphons going through DropBox in 7-8 hours.
• I have eliminated 5000 syphons.
• I can handle irrigating my 600 Ha by myself, but split the 6 properties with 1 other workman.
• Uninterrupted sleep, 1 & ½ hour setup in the morning and an hour run at night.
• Only change if paddock doesn't have automation.

3 What are the benefits of using timers?
• I have 1500 Ha, 600Ha is irrigated. Automation allows me to do 6-7 hours work a day.
• I can set up timer at 2pm, go water skiing, come back at 7am next day & everything is done.

4 Has your productivity increased since using Timers?
• I used to be exhausted from starting syphons, having a 2 hr siesta during the day and changing syphons again at 2am.
• 12 hr syphons aren't suitable everywhere, some are 6-8 hrs.
• I've got away overnight 6-7 times this season.

5 Are they easy to operate?
• My 16 yo daughter can come out here and set them up, getting her to do it is another thing.
• You need to make sure to choose + or – 24 hours. Nothing I do is over 24 hours.

6 What are the 3 main benefits of our DropBox unit?
• My pontoon area needs to be dry when watering stops. If water runs to another paddock, I can’t control that.
• Syphons can help that, but you have to setup and then take down a Roto-buck area to do a pass.
• With the DropBox I do the pontoon at the start of the season. I don’t touch it during the season or in between waters. In spring it dries out.
• 100% water-tight doors offer a huge amount of value.
• There will always be erosion, waters circulates.
• There was sinkage here, but we’ve fixed that and it’ll be right for years now.

7 What are the 3 main benefits of going Thru-the bank?
1. I sleep at night. Very rarely do I get out of bed to water.
2. My time. I am productive during the day. I might only do 6-7 hours work but it’s more than when I was running syphons.
3. Fast watering has improved my yields by 20%. I’ve gone from 12 to 14 ½ ton average from last year.

8 What advice would you give anyone that was thinking about going with this system?
• Talk to someone who knows about irrigation, like a water engineer & don’t be afraid.
• You will make mistakes, but once you get it mastered it is a brilliant system.
• It gets you down the paddock, to make sure, to turn it on and get it going.
• You have to see what the water is doing on the farm.
• Link this with a chatterbox for the first watering to get your timing right & it is fantastic.