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ROTACON WHEEL TRACK SOLUTION
Talk to a farmer about his centre-pivot irrigator and you will inevitably find yourself talking about the problems caused by wheel tracks or ruts, about irrigators getting stuck and breaking drive mechanisms (usually in the middle of the night).
Wheel ruts have up to now been an inevitable consequence of operating a centre-pivot irrigator. Because the wheels travel along the same circular path on each and every revolution, the ground on this path becomes slightly depressed and from this point on water collects in these depressions and they become a rut for the water to run in. The water will then make its way to the lowest parts (deepest ruts) to present an even bigger problem on the next pass. The strain on the irrigator to drive the wheels along these ruts becomes greater and greater with each revolution, until the machine fails.
Farmers have attempted to reduce this problem by filling the wheel tracks with sand, rocks or even concrete. While this reduces the wheel track problem to a limited extent, it introduces other problems with water run-off and with operating machinery such as harvesters or cultivators in the irrigated area.
Manufacturers and after market suppliers have come up with many varied "solutions" to the problems associated with wheel ruts. They include fitting a third wheel, dual wheels, tracks, soil stabilising chemicals and constructing the machines and drive lines stronger. At best, these "solutions" only delay the onset of the problem.
Rotacon have taken a new and dramatically different approach and provide the ONLY REAL BREAKTHROUGH in this area. The Rotacon Wheel Track Solution (RWTS) addresses the fundamental problem. That is, that the wheels travel on the same circular path with each revolution. Fitting the RWTS to a centre-pivot irrigator ensures that the path for each revolution is slightly different to the path for the preceding revolution. There is no opportunity for the ruts to form!
The Rotacon Wheel Track Solution simply increases the diameter of each rotation, until after 7 rotations the wheels have moved out 2 meters from the inner-most revolution. The RWTS then winds the irrigator in again over another 7 revolutions.
Over a 4 to 5 day watering round the total of 14 revolutions equates to 2 months of operation.
At this point the operator disengages a chain, rewinds and engages it again to provide another 14 revolutions.
The operator (farmer) is always in full control and can at any time reverse the operation and so use a narrower strip of land to run over, or even completely stop the process and hold the irrigator in the same wheeltrack for growing a winter crop.
The simplicity of the Rotacon Wheel Track Solution is remarkable. The principle is the same as that of a goat tied to a tree with a chain wrapped 7 times around the tree. As the goat unwinds himself he gets further away from the tree, but if he continues to circle the tree in the same direction he will wind himself up again.
The prototype RWTS has been in operation for a full season watering almost non stop for 200 days, applying 35mm every 4 days. The irrigator is an 8 year old,100 ha, REINKE.
The Rotacon Wheel Track Solution provides stress-free irrigation. No stress on the irrigator frame, no stress on the drive lines and most importantly no stress on the farmer.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the Rotacon Wheel Track Solution - click here
| For further information on the Rotacon Wheel Track Solution - click here. |
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