He Laid His Own Subsurface Drip Tape

2018 - Volume #42, Issue #5, Page #17

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When Russ Winter decided to install subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) on a 12-acre field, he built the machine to do it and laid it himself. He already had three 40-acre center pivots, supplied by a 10-acre lake he dug himself.
    “I have a 14-acre field next to the lake that’s too small and irregular for a center pivot. I decided to try SDI on it,” he says.
    Winter credits University of Missouri extension agronomist Rusty Lee with helping him figure out what was needed. To go deep enough and still come out of the ground at the end of the field, the plow shanks had to be designed just right. I checked with Rain-Flo, an irrigation equipment supplier, and asked if they would sell me the shanks.”
    Winter ended up buying not only the shanks, but also the tape reel holders and the system that feeds the tape to the plows. He still needed to build a 3-pt. frame strong enough to mount the plows.
    “I had an 8-row cultivator that hadn’t been used in years,” says Winter. “I stripped all the parts off the 5 by 7-in. toolbar and cut the 20-ft. length in half. I doubled it using 4 by 6-in. steel tubing for cross pieces. A neighbor who rents my pivot irrigated fields provided heavy-duty gauge wheels from a no longer used tillage tool.”
    Initially Winter had planned to mount 3 shanks on the toolbar, but Lee warned him his 150 hp. tractor was not big enough to pull 3.
    “Three would have been crowding each other on the 10-ft. frame. It just meant making a few more passes,” says Winter. “The problem wasn’t power. It was traction, even with front wheel assist. I couldn’t use draft, so I just put it down all the way and let the gauge wheels carry it.”
    Winter made a platform on the back for two helpers to ride and watch the tape feed into the ground. He used 1 1/2 by 1 1/2-in. angle iron, welded and bolted for safety. He also added a bar on the front of the toolbar to hold extra reels of tape.
    “Once I had everything installed, laying the tape was the easy part of the job,” says Winter. “I wanted to do it in March, but it rained every day. When it finally dried out, we laid the tape and tied it into a 4-in. supply pipe at one end and a 3-in. drain pipe at the other.”
    The applicator laid 15-mm drip tape with emitters every 24 in. at a depth of 16 in. Individual tapes are buried every 60 in.
    Winter planted the field to soybeans. By early August, the soybeans were up to his ribs, and he stands 6 ft. tall.
    Winter notes that the 2 shanks cost him around $900. He estimates total costs for the unit, including the reel holders, at less than $2,000. That didn’t include the tape, fixtures and other components that he purchased from Trickl-Eez, a Michigan firm, or pipe that he bought locally.
    Winter is already planning refinements for the 2019 crop year. This year he used a 30-yr.-old irrigation pump powered by a tractor’s pto.
    “I didn’t like leaving the tractor running,” he says. “I think I’ll look into an electric motor on the pump next year.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Russel Winter, 13 Seven Up Rd., Bellflower, Mo. 63333 (ph 636 297-4133; wintruss65@gmail.com).

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He Laid His Own Subsurface Drip Tape IRRIGATION Irrigation Systems When Russ Winter decided to install subsurface drip irrigation SDI on a 12-acre field he built the machine to do it and laid it himself He already had three 40-acre center pivots supplied by a 10-acre lake he dug himself “I have a 14-acre field next to the lake that’s too small and irregular for a center pivot I decided to try SDI on it ” he says Winter credits University of Missouri extension agronomist Rusty Lee with helping him figure out what was needed To go deep enough and still come out of the ground at the end of the field the plow shanks had to be designed just right I checked with Rain-Flo an irrigation equipment supplier and asked if they would sell me the shanks ” Winter ended up buying not only the shanks but also the tape reel holders and the system that feeds the tape to the plows He still needed to build a 3-pt frame strong enough to mount the plows “I had an 8-row cultivator that hadn’t been used in years ” says Winter “I stripped all the parts off the 5 by 7-in toolbar and cut the 20-ft length in half I doubled it using 4 by 6-in steel tubing for cross pieces A neighbor who rents my pivot irrigated fields provided heavy-duty gauge wheels from a no longer used tillage tool ” Initially Winter had planned to mount 3 shanks on the toolbar but Lee warned him his 150 hp tractor was not big enough to pull 3 “Three would have been crowding each other on the 10-ft frame It just meant making a few more passes ” says Winter “The problem wasn’t power It was traction even with front wheel assist I couldn’t use draft so I just put it down all the way and let the gauge wheels carry it ” Winter made a platform on the back for two helpers to ride and watch the tape feed into the ground He used 1 1/2 by 1 1/2-in angle iron welded and bolted for safety He also added a bar on the front of the toolbar to hold extra reels of tape “Once I had everything installed laying the tape was the easy part of the job ” says Winter “I wanted to do it in March but it rained every day When it finally dried out we laid the tape and tied it into a 4-in supply pipe at one end and a 3-in drain pipe at the other ” The applicator laid 15-mm drip tape with emitters every 24 in at a depth of 16 in Individual tapes are buried every 60 in Winter planted the field to soybeans By early August the soybeans were up to his ribs and he stands 6 ft tall Winter notes that the 2 shanks cost him around $900 He estimates total costs for the unit including the reel holders at less than $2 000 That didn’t include the tape fixtures and other components that he purchased from Trickl-Eez a Michigan firm or pipe that he bought locally Winter is already planning refinements for the 2019 crop year This year he used a 30-yr -old irrigation pump powered by a tractor’s pto “I didn’t like leaving the tractor running ” he says “I think I’ll look into an electric motor on the pump next year ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Russel Winter 13 Seven Up Rd Bellflower Mo 63333 ph 636 297-4133; wintruss65@gmail com

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