Remote Solar Pump and Tank Installation
Customer: QLD Cattle Grazier
Location: Kalapa QLD
Case Study ID CS-11
Date: July 2015
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Overview
A Rockhampton regional cattle grazier (located in Kalapa, QLD) contacted Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment Rockhampton to design, install and commission an economical yet efficient pumping solution to supply water for 50 head of cattle in a remote paddock.
The customer required a unique solution that required the mounting of solar panels to the top of a poly tank. Dowdens Pumping and Water Treatment contacted local business Nu-Tank to float the idea of establishing an ongoing Rockhampton-based partnership.
This partnership will continue the manufacture and delivery of Dowdens services, reliable solar pumping solutions in unison with the locally manufactured reliable one-piece water tanks to farmers, graziers and local industry alike.
The Problem
The paddock in question has no access to mains electricity or town water. Dowdens needed to find a way to efficiently pump the water drawn from a 12 m deep well into a newly installed poly water tank, eliminating the need to use the old onsite windmill.
Our Solution
A solar pumping system designed to keep overall costs down whilst still delivering a regular supply of water to the cattle with negligible ongoing service or labour was required.
The pump transfers artesian bore water via the supplied poly pipe to the nearby specially adapted Nu-Tank poly water tank. The tank then gravity feeds a series of troughs throughout the paddock, sufficiently watering the 50 head of cattle.
The Nu-Tank 15,000L poly water tank fitted with a Waterboy pump controller allows the pump’s flow rate and pressure to be managed via the easy-to-use electronic interface. The daily flow into the water tank is now approximately 6,000L, which is more than enough to water the 50 head of cattle in the paddock properly.
The top of Nu-Tank poly water tanks is rated to hold a much greater weight than the installed solar panels, meaning the environmental footprint of the solar pumping system was minimised, and the grazier saved money on the total project costs.
Key Components
- 3HRSS Waterboy submersible solar pump allows the system to draw and pump well over 6,000L/day.
- Waterboy controller has many built-in functions that are beneficial to the grazier, which includes (but not limited to): low water level cut out feature; pump speed control; operating lights telling you when the low water level is reached, causing the pump to restart automatically.
- The system is both affordable and easy to maintain, with negligible ongoing service or labour required.
- Total solar pumping systems environmental footprint was minimised using combined Dowdens / Nu-Tank technologies.
- Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment Rockhampton, together with Nu-Tank, aims to strengthen their business partnership, delivering affordable solar pump and tank solutions to local farmers, graziers and Rockhampton based industry.
Project Design Philosophy
Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment Rockhampton branches design philosophy for this project was:
- Cost-Effectiveness
- Innovation
- Ease of Installation
- Simple & Effective Pump Operation
- System Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance.
Customer Review
“Partnering with Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment Rockhampton has allowed both companies to better service the farming and grazier community with specialised solar pump / tank systems. Combining Nu-Tank’s quality storage solutions with Dowdens years of solar pumping expertise has seen the development of our unique and reliable solar pump / water tank products. We look forward to working closely with Dowdens in the years to come supplying affordable solar pump and tank solutions to farmers, graziers and local Rockhampton businesses.”
Stephen Trail
Manager – Nu-Tank
Brands used in this project
