30 October 2015, 08:21
Verboom, a Dutch agricultural contractor based in Zegveld - a small village in the middle of the Netherlands had been working with an Agrometer mobile slurry spreader with drag hoses for many years. They were even the first in the Netherlands to use a fully remote controlled unit, therefore moving away from the traditional tractor driven slurry pumps. This need to change is not just to find a more efficient way of working but also to avoid the reliance on a powerful tractor to drive the pump.
The Challenge
The company constantly strives to take the lead with innovative ideas. Bert-Jan Verboom visited the Agritechnica show in Hannover to research possible new ways to improve his umbilical pumping system. In doing so he encountered a slurry handling package from North America, standardized on a highly efficient Cornell pump driven by an engine without the need of a inefficient gearbox.
In September 2014 Bert-Jan had a meeting with Henno Schothorst - product manager at Cornell Pumps Europe - to choose which pump (4NHTB or 6NHTB) would work best with the hoses in use. The final choice was for the 4NHTB. This 4ʺ pump delivers over 400 m3/hour and has a head of maximum 140 mwc.
"Every advantage has its disadvantage", according to Bert-Jan Verboom. "The purchase price of the American pump is quite serious, but then the higher pump efficiency and its durability will quickly offset the costs."
Results after one manure season
"Without using a calculator I can already see the advantages," Bert-Jan says. "The most remarkable of which is that the pump already has an extremely high flow even at a low rpm. We fill around 200 cubic meters per hour at an idling speed. Once the unit is pressurized, we only need 1750 rpm. Theoretically that accounts for savings of 8-10 liters of fuel consumption per hour” “Although I don't really notice it in the field, livestock farmers are also very happy about the reduced noise levels. Another obviously positive aspect is the size of the particles that the pump can process. Every now and then I find pretty large pieces of plastic and hoof blocks. The diameter of 76 mm is much larger than what we were previously used to.”
"It was great to work on this project with Verboom," Henno Schothorst says. "Outside the Netherlands Cornell manure pumps are very popular because of their high efficiency and the unique Cycloseal®”. "That is a leak-proof shaft sealing extremely well suited for abrasive fluids like slurry manure. Bert-Jan Verboom will definitely see the advantages of that in the future..."