John Thom – Continuous Movement

Continuous movement provides many desirable and profit-boosting irrigation benefits, but it certainly isn’t a new concept — at least not for T-L Irrigation.

Electric-pivot and associated companies are suddenly making fantastic claims about turning pivots into “Super Pivots” with complicated add-on systems to allow constant movement. T-L Irrigation system owners may scratch their heads at this as they’ve had this suddenly “revolutionary” feature since the 1970s.

Every pivot and linear system assembled at the Hastings, Nebraska plant and delivered to fields world-wide for 50-plus years have been propelled smoothly and constantly forward by hydrostatic drives.

Owners of T-L pivots have long enjoyed even water and input distribution, reduced wear on gearboxes, more power to move over challenging terrain and a decreased chance of getting stuck. Spoking, frequent repairs and downtime were troubles for those producers opting for the jarring start-stop motion of electric systems.

The more a machine starts and stops, the more wear it suffers. A constant-move system suffers less wear,” says the product manager for structure and drive systems at an electric-pivot company in an interview with Irrigation Leader. An article in in Potato Grower extolls the benefits of a “super pivot” created by installing add-on technology as, “Maintained momentum that mitigates getting stuck in the mud; improved wheel tracking; precise application and uniform distribution of water, fertilizer and chemicals including foliars; …elimination of spoking; soft starts that enable larger wheels; enhanced irrigation and energy efficiency.”

Addons to make electric-drive systems achieve the desired fluid motion of a T-L system have slowly made their way to market. But much like the wheel, reinvention of a simple concept gets messy. “We’re glad they finally realized how ineffective these systems can be and that continuous motion is the superior way to apply water and inputs. We’ve been saying the same and providing a more elegant and simple solution for decades,” says John Thom, T-L Irrigation Co. Vice President.

The Potato Grower article also states, “[Grower] anticipates a 5 percent increase in Russet Burbank No. 1s just from the uniform distribution of water… improved distribution uniformity equals increased irrigation efficiency that, in turn, results in higher quality and yield.”

“We know,” says Thom. T-L pivot owners have long enjoyed even water and input distribution, reduced wear on gearboxes, more power to move over challenging terrain and a decreased chance of getting stuck. Spoking, frequent repairs and downtime were troubles for those producers opting for the jarring start-stop motion of electric systems.

Electric pivot customers seem thrilled with the results, which is an improvement on their current lacking systems. One potato grower who installed add-on technology to an electric-pivot system said in Potato Grower, “The two biggest advantages that I see are uniform distribution and less wear and tear. [He] also foresees the elimination of spoking and runoff that result from the repetitive starting and stoppings of spans to be a very big step.”

It seems great news for growers who have long faced these challenges with electric-drive systems but using addons to achieve the desired fluid motion of a T-L system seem a cumbersome solution to an already solved problem. Much like the wheel, reinvention of a simple concept gets messy.

“Electric-drive systems may be able to achieve constant movement with these changes, but the trade-off is adding unnecessary complexity to systems that already have too many moving parts,” says John Thom, T-L Irrigation Co. Vice President. “Safety is still an issue with electric systems, too. There’s no high voltage on a T-L system, nothing over 28 volts.”

Engineers for the adapted electric continuous motion systems boast of greater precision with alignment sensors, variable frequency drives, magnetic fields, micro switches, etc. Meanwhile, T-L systems achieve steady, constant power and torque through the simplicity of hydraulic pressure- powered worm gear or planetary drives.

“Our customers don’t have to worry about upgrading an old pivot or picking the option on a new one, continuous movement is just part of how T-L irrigation systems work,” Thom says. “We’ve been delivering this valuable feature to our customers for decades, just like we deliver a product that’s safe, reliable and simple to repair.”