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Pasture Watering

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PureCountry

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Joined
Oct 25, 2005
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Location
Edgewood, BC, moving to Hardisty, AB
I know this has been discussed more than a time or two, but I don't feel like searching through past threads, so I'll just ask:

What types of pasture watering systems are folks using for pumping out of a well? We're planning on drilling a well for watering the new pasture we're seeding down this year, and can't decide on a system. I'm leaning towards a generator to power the pump, and have holding tanks for 3-7 days worth of water. That way we could pump them full once or twice a week, and then gravity flow the water from the tanks out to the paddocks where ever it's needed.

Any thoughts, pictures, ideas, free on-site consultation and installations are greatly appreciated. :lol:
 
This pneumatic windmill has caught my attention
http://airliftech.com/

Most of my water is from a well with submerged pump, then I use above ground pipe along the fenceline with quick couplings. I use 160psi 1" pipe. I've used two types of connectors, the ones from Powerflex and some from Kentucky Graziers Supply. I prefer the ones Powerflex sells. They are much faster to use then the gray ones you force in and use hose clamps.


quick%20coupler.jpg


I also use Pasture Pumps in some remote area, but each one is limited to about 40 head.

I have installed one Frost Free Nose Pump so far as well, I think it came from Alberta.[/url]
 
Grundfos makes a pump that can run on ac and dc of various voltages. I use it with panels but when necessary just plug it into the generator. Having said that, I like your model of storing water and pumping it infrequently.
 
Darcy I've got to head out to 4H but phone Arvid at 406 895-2657-he's got a system exactly like you described and can give you some good tips-if anything I'd put more than a weeks capacity in my tanks and maybe have two in case you spring a leak-unless your going to check daily.
 
Darcy-
As per our conversation storage is almost always cheaper than a better pump. We have neighbours that have had great luck as wel with stacking mining tires. I think their one setup is 4 huge tires high.
 
I remember seeing something like that for the folks who won the environmental stewardship award a couple years back. Same guy? Luc Tellier or something like that? If memory serves me, they just stacked them and put some caulking on the side walls to seal between each tire didn't they? It doesn't take much concrete or bentonite to seal the bottom.

BenH, what do you have as a power source for pumping through those lines? Is your well setup with a pressure system tied into grid power, or do you use solar or a generator? For us, setting up a well and holding tanks is easy, it's how do we get it out to pastures where we want to graze 1 acre strips with 500 yearlings? The spot where we are drilling is the high point, so we could gravity flow, but I'm not sure what size of pipe to use to ensure adequate flow to the far end and so on.
 
We have a 15,000 gallon corrugated galvanized tank for our water storage. Everything is gravity fed out of it. Our pump system is dc battery based with 1kw of solar and a 1.3kw vertical wind turbine that feeds 3 dc pumps. We have a dc generator that we use when the water level drops to low.

We use 2.5" poly pipe for the water lines that feed our water troughs and our frost free hydrants. 1.0 PSI = 2.31 feet of head. It all depends on the head that you have to what size water line to run.
We do not get out to our tank every day to check the water level. I do have a large sensitive PSI gage mounted in the shop. You can tell the water level by looking at the gage with in a few feet.



If you looking at airlift I think you have to keep the discharge line going up hill the entire run. We looked into a similar system a long time ago but it did not fit our land.
 
We've always used 1 1/4 inch pipe but the latest system my neighbor put in uses 2 inch poly pipe instead of PVC. He says the capacity and flow is unbelievable. I agree with NR, figure the storage you think you need and then double it.
 
ecofarmer - what brand of turbine do you have? Our local solar sales guy also has turbines, and on his own pasture he set up a unit with a couple panels and a small turbine. It pumps out of a well for 250 cows and he says it's the best system he has.
 
It's a Viking turbine.

Depending on where you live you need to look at vertical and horizontal turbines. Our shop and house both have turbines.
 
PureCountry said:
For us, setting up a well and holding tanks is easy, it's how do we get it out to pastures where we want to graze 1 acre strips with 500 yearlings?
Click to expand...
Just thinking about this proposition this afternoon PC and I'm thinking it could be mighty expensive. For 500 yearlings at say 8 gallons a day that would likely take 8 mining tires (assuming a capacity of 500 gall each) to hold one days water - multiply that by 3 or 7 days storage and you'll need to steal a load of tires from Fort Mac. I'm guessing pipelining would be expensive out in your country too - going with the bigger capacity 1.5 or 2 inch pipes over the number of acres you would need to carry 500 yearlings in a group. Don't get me wrong I'm a great advocate of water development but this looks like a very costly set up in an area of dubious rainfall.

As an afterthought I wonder how irrigating a quarter as an alternative would compare? That concept intrigues me.
 
With out having a constant pumping system it's hard to keep water in storage tanks even with 250 cows.

We have 3 pumps, a 1.3kw wind turbine, and a 1kw single axes solar system. Everything is controlled of the charge of the batteries but the generator that turns on when the water gets low.
-Our turbine gets 13 mph wind most of the time and produces about 20,000 gallons a day.
-A cold sunny day our solar will put out about 9,000 gallons (7 hours of useable sun).
-A hot sunny day our solar will put out about 7,000 gallons (7 hours of useable sun).
-Our dc generator will produce the power to pump about 1,900 gallons an hour.

I know it sounds like were pumping insane amounts of water but when you look at having 900 to 1200 cows depending on the time of year you think about it form a different side.


We had been looking at adding a second tank, a forth pump, and a second turbine for the last 3 years. The second tank was going to go up this spring but it was to wet and they will be back out in about 2 weeks to start back up.
 
When they stay cool there are less losses form over heating. Ok that was a line of bull droppings but this site will explain it.
http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~nate/AES/PV_Theory_II.pdf
 
If I had the opportunity to put in a new well I would seriously consider a solar one. All that I have been around are wind or ground flow but from researching and talking to some that are using solar now they seem like a great investment.
 
Think strong about solar. on a hot day with no wind the cows need water and it will be pumping every one of those days. Here in NW Nebraska we get a fair amount of wind, however it is not uncommon to have most of a week with no wind.
Figure on having plenty of water. The local NRCS does not figure anywhere near enough.
Here is my expereience: windmill motor broke and I ran a pump jack for about 3 weeks. 30 ft tank holds 10000 gallon of water. Had 110 pair drinking there. If I got back there by noon the second day there would be a small amount of water there but if I didn't get back till the middle of the afternoon of the second day, there would not be a drop of water left and the cows drank a fair amount of water while the tank was filling.

Solar cost a bit more than a windmill but it will be pumping strong when the cows need the most water. Cool cloudy days it will pump less hours and less water but the cows need lots less then.

I have a lorentz constant displacement pump and when I ran it on a generator it barely moved the power meter but when I ran a AC pump in the same well it was pulling the generator 75 % load. With the lorentz pump you need to buy a extra box to run it with a generator. I wish I had never paid for that box, after I got the solar panels hooked up I have never saw the tank not full in the middle of the afternoon with 110 pair on it. 160 ft to static water level.

I would still figure on a weeks supply and plan on checking at twice a week.

running a generator gets old fast and the gas (or diesel) run it will make fair payments on the solar. With the generator, when you get back to start it the tank is low on water which to me is way more worry than when I check and the tank is plumb full.

Have ran windmills all my life and anything new I will not consider using wind to water cows.
 

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