Tower Stopper For Center Pivots

Tower Stopper For Center Pivots IRRIGATION Acessories 3-4-19 Art Nohl center pivot irrigates five quarters of corn and beans with his brothers near Hancock, Minn. Because all of the fields aren't next to his home place, he - like many irrigators - has had to constantly worry about the electric-drive center pivots stopping and reversing when they're supposed to. "As any center pivot owner knows," Nohl relates, "they always seem to move slowly when you're there watching them, but fast when you're back home." So, Nohl decided during the winter of 1977 to try to solve his problem. He and brother Alvin headed for the farm shop. A few days later, they had the answer. It's called the Tower Stopper, and will stop rubber-tired center pivots at any point in the field. The unit, now being produced commercially, consists of zinc-plated rollers mounted on angle iron frames. Two units are used for each center pivot. Nohl recommends placing the units in the wheel tracks, forward of the timing tower. It will function, however, with any tower of the center pivot. Here's how the Tower Stopper works: As wheels of the center pivot tower move up and onto the rollers, the wheels turn on the rollers rather than on the ground, thus preventing the tower from moving forward. This causes slight misalignment of the machine, triggering the automatic shut-off mechanism. "We call it secondary insurance. We realize that if an electric machine is kept aligned, it is factory-designed to reverse automatically, or to shut itself off when it runs into trouble. But I've seen cases where they weren't functioning properly, and disaster resulted," Nohl told FARM SHOW. In addition to farmsteads, other buildings, ditches and other obstructions, the Tower Stopper can also insure that you won't get chemical overlap, he points out. Rollers on the machine have a solid hex shaft and are spring loaded. They are easy to remove and change to fit the tire size of the center pivot, so that weight of the machine rests on the center of the roller. Since the combined weight of the two units is approximately 160 pounds, the Tower Stopper is completely portable. Suggested retail cost is $318 for the Tower Stopper, and $10 each for replacement rollers. For more information write: Mark Kellenberger, Tower Stopper Mfg., Inc., Hancock, Minn. 56244 (ph. 612 392-5847). By Ron Ross.

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