Benefits of the Water Flow Indicator for farms
Tuesday, 03 May, 2022
50/50 sharemilker Colin Beazley has always had water issues on his 250ha Wellsford dairy farm, due to its size and multiple water sources around the property. The property’s shared water pump services the owner’s dry stock farm as well as the dairy farm. If the dry stock farm has a leak then Colin has no water supply - sometimes for a whole day if the owner is off-site.
“Our other issue is that we pump uphill to tanks and from there it goes downhill,” says Colin. “So, a leaking trough won’t be a problem for a while. Everything can still look 100 per cent, but we might have a huge trough leak down in the bottom gully and not know it.”
When Colin went to his local store 18 months ago, he saw Gallagher’s Water Flow Indicator on the shelf and thought it could be an easy solution to his water woes.
“I’d been recommended other products on the market, but most of them looked like they would be a lot of work to install and monitor,” he says. “With Gallagher’s Water Flow Indicator, I can just drive past it, take a quick look and know which way the water is flowing, if at all.”
The Water Flow Indicator comes in two sizes and fits most water lines. It is made up of a clear piece of piping, with an orange impellor in the middle of it. The impellor spins as water flows through the system, showing any irregular water flow, water direction and speed. By installing the Water Flow Indicator at important junctions in water lines, farmers can find leaks quickly by visually checking for abnormal water flow. If there is no water flowing through the system the impellor won’t spin. You know the water lines are full and you don’t have a leak.
Colin purchased a Water Flow Indicator as a trial. After a month he realised how much time and water it was saving him, so he installed more around his farm. “We’ve now got five Indicators on four pumps, which covers all our water sources,” says Colin.
“The Indicator is an easy way to determine which way the water is flowing, whether it’s going back towards the dry stock farm and leaking or going out to the dairy farm. We can tell instantly by looking at the Indicators whether we have a problem or not.”
The dual colour impellor makes it easy to see water direction and speed. It is compatible with standard pipe fittings and is available in 1¼” (32mm) and 2” (50mm) sizes. It is made of high quality, UV-resistant, engineering-grade plastic that’s easy to install and clean. “What’s great about the Gallagher Water Flow Indicator is that it shows the direction the water is flowing, which is the more valuable information for us,” says Colin.
“There’s also minimal maintenance and upkeep. I’ve only had to clean one unit so far and it was pretty easy. It puts my mind at ease when we have the right gear in place, especially last summer with the big dry, and when we ended up supplying water to many surrounding farms. The Water Flow Indicator really has become a crucial part of our water system and helped us be even smarter about our water use.”