I am new to Farmnest community and farming. I am having a 5 acre plot at Coimbatore in which i am planning to setup sprinkler irrigation system. The crops going to be cultivated are pulses and millets. So i have decided to go for small plastic impact sprinklers.
I am going to construct a farm pond and supply water to sprinklers from a surface pump from the pond. We have 1 free electricity supply with 5Hp limit. The existing borewell does not yield well, so a new borewell is planned at the lowest part of the plot. The question i have now is, can i install changeover swith to operate 3 pumps (2 borewell pumps and 1 pump for sprinkler). I will operating only 1 pump at a time? Does TNEB allow this? Last time we enquired an EN officer, he said they dont allow it. Or can i use the changeover switch for the borewell pumps alone and use a diesel powered high head pump for sprinklers?
Sorry for making a long post for a small question, but i just wanted to explain my situation better.
Thank you!
There is no problem in operating the Pumps simultaneously within contracted Limit of the Supply of Electricity you got Sanctioned.
But it is not proper to use changeover switches .You have to operate Manually one by one. But there are no changeover switches for 3 Phase supply.
Changeover switches are avilable only for Single Phase.
So i will try installing all 3 pumps and run one at a time. I will be getting a 5hp monoblock for sprinklers, i already have a 3hp borewell pump and the other borewell pump power rating will depend upon the new bore depth.
Thank you for your advice!
Usually when you apply under the free power scheme @ Rs.50,000 , the VAO certifies that you own the land and the “well”. The document doesnt say well/well’s, hence multiple wells operated under a single connection is not allowed most of the cases.
But people still do it. Check with relevant authorities if there are ways to do it. Many officials are apprehensive against use of c/o switches as a failure would mean the load drawn would be of 2 pumps load. This is trouble for you as well as them.
As Manne here pointed check if manual control of each pump is permitted.
On the other note,
I suggest;
A)Collect water to the farm pond through the borewells
B)Have a openwell submersible pump instead of monoblock to sprinkler irrigate
C)Select the capacity that can support head in m per valve
Thank you sir.
Some time ago we had enquired the local AE who said power can be used only for lifting water from multiple wells. It cannot be used for pumping water from a pond for irrigation. I just wanted to confirm the same.
So right now my option is to look for a diesel engine powered high head pump, or if posible supply the sprinklers directly from the borewell pump. With a max limit of 5hp, i think it is not possible to run even a single row of 8 sprinklers.
And regarding pump, i was considering one from Suguna pumps. They have a couple of sprinkler specific models. A 5hp monoblock was rated at 680LPM @ 40M head.
I will look at the submersible pumps too.
Thank you!
As far as my knowledge goes using same connection for multiple pumps is permitted that is by not exceeding combined capacity of 5HP.
With the current borewell depths around coimbatore it would not be possible to directly use sprinklers from borewell that too with a cap of 5hp capacity its next to impossible.
Idea of running borewell pumps to store water in the pond and then use a pump to irrigate through sprinklers is the best bet.
Suguna ones are of very good quality and their pumps are durable.
I believe you refered to their centrifugal monoblock high head model SWH22 H because I dont know if there is any other model that offers 680LM @ 40m head, but I would suggest you to go for SEH 20 as it would support a head of 50m as against 44m.
Most Sprinklers need atleast 3 ~ 4 bar pressure for the maximum throw, so consider having a max head pump.
Thank you Saravanakumar sir,
That is exactly the pump i was talking about. I will go with your advice and use SEH20 instead for better pressure. I roughly need 300LPM at 4 Bar pressure.
Also, monoblock delivery pressure & volume drops when suction is increased. The rated parameters you see are at zero suction which is not the practical case.
I suggest you opt for an openwell submersible pump that can support higher head.
We are using many such openwell pumps for high pressure applications and they are just perfect!
Sure sir, i would like to use a submersible pump. But the pond is going to be a little away from the house. I fear the pump might be stolen. In case of monoblock i can lock it away in a small room and hope it stays there. For now i will try to have a clay pond without liner. Can i use concrete footing to bolt the submersible pump at the bottom?
The openwell submersible models have a bolting base plate that can be bolted to a concrete ground or can be grouted. Plus most reputed companies also supply with a steel frame cage for ease of handling.
Please ensure that you do fix the pump well in advance before filling the water and leave sufficient time for the concrete to cure.
Thank you Saravanakumar sir. I have one more question. Is it possible to increase the agreed power usage limit from 5hp to 7.5hp? If it is possible then i can get a 7.5hp pump and run a slightly higer pressure.
what do you think of center pivot sprinkling machine?
This center pivot sprinkling machine is also called pointer-type sprinkling machine, a kind of irrigation equipment featured by saving water and improving productivity. It is mainly used for irrigating various agricultural crops, industrial crops and pastures, such as corn, wheat, vegetables, sugarcane, cotton, seedlings and grass, etc.
Dear Farmingmachine,
I am planning to grow trees in wide spaces rows too. So centre pivot would not be feasible for me.
I am in the process of setting up butterfly sprinklers for an area of 0.4 acres. It will be an under tree irrigation for banana crop. As soon as the work is completed, I will share the details with pics.
After a quite a long time, i have setup butterfly sprinklers for banana plot of size 90X20 metres. I have planted 600 Nendran suckers at the rate of two suckers per pit. Plant to plant spacing is 2 mts and row spacing is 3 mts. Between the two suckers in the same pit, the gap is 45 cms.
Regarding to the sprinklers, i used butterfly sprinklers. Roughly 350 LPH units. Sprinklers are spaced at 4 mtr in the same row and 12 mtrs between rows. That is there are 2 rows of sprinkler for 3 rows of bananas Cost of materials for the said plot was 16K, which includes 15 lengths of 2 inch 4kg PVC pipes, 15 sprinkler saddles and take offs, 300 mtr roll of 20mm plain lateral, sprinkler stake, riser and sprinklers and 15 mtr long flexible hose.
I am feeding the sprinklers from a pond of 100 Sq Mtr area and 3 feet water depth
Here is a picture of the plot with sprinklers running.
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