Author: Ripple Aquaplast

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Drilled Pipe – Getting the Spec Right

Getting your drilled pipe specifications right is important. This is why we give this topic a lot of thought at Ripple Aquaplast. After various meetings and discussions, we have managed to come up with a original formula for the raw material and hence the extruded pipe, which we are very satisfied with for the UK market. Manufactured by NaanDanJain Spain, we have made sure that not only does the pipe last the course of the dripper, but also, that the drip holes are precisely measured for leak proof operation.

Effectively, we have asked NaanDanJain to slow down the production speed, to minimise the risk of oval or mispunched holes.

Not only this, as the image shows, we have date stamped with the production date each meter of the pipe alongside a production code so each piece of pipe is fully traceable in the unlikely event of any issues during its lifespan.

Another one of the key elements to be aware of with the production of the pipe is the quality of the coiling machine. The pipe is effectively under very little torsion once coiled. This is a balance of the actual coiling process and the quality of the material being produced. This results in effectively zero oval or strained holes which allows the pipe to be sensibly stored waiting to be used in the field.

It is often underestimated the detrimental effect of coiling the pipe and the effect it can have on the integrity of the drilling. The resulting leaks, even if small, completely negate the CNL operation of the system with the resulting detrimental effect on the crop.

The product is available to order now! Our standard lengths are 20cm and 25cm in 300m coils. Of course all spacings are available to order. Both 20mm and 25mm diameter LPDE is available. So either call the team on 01925 818499 or follow this link: https://goo.gl/5GwS5T

Remember to specifically ask for NaanDanJain drilled pipe from Ripple Aquaplast and be assured of a quality product for prolonged, trouble free life.

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Filtration – What You Need To Know

We all know if you want to produce the most yield, ensure your crops are fed correctly. This doesn’t just mean having the best quality pipe or sprinkler, if your water isn’t up to scratch then nor will the rest of the system.

The water used in most irrigation systems can contain contaminants such as silt, sand, algae and other decaying organic matter. Depending on the type of irrigation system being used, the level of filtration required changes. An example of this being Drip Irrigation, as it needs much finer filtration than compared to spray irrigation, to prevent blockage.

Manual

Manual filters require regular user inspection and cleaning. Some manual filters are fitted with a brush or scanner assembly which allows them to be cleaned without disassembling.

Automatic

Automatic Filters are fitted with a timer and a pressure differential switch. When the pressure differential reaches a pre-set value, the filter goes into a backflush cycle and cleans itself. This type of filter would primarily be used for automatic irrigation systems.

Sand Filter

Sand filters are suitable for both inorganic and organic contaminants. They are tanks filled with sand or gravel media. Water passes through the bed of media and particles are trapped. Sand filters offer a much bigger surface area and as such can usually provide an effective filtration within the water velocity recommendations of the manufacturer. Cleaning is achieved by reversing the flow of water through the tank to lift and separate the sand. Trapped contaminants are purged to waste as the water flows through.

Screen Filter

These are the least expensive and most common filters. They work well removing sand from water, due to the very fine stainless-steel mesh that traps particles. In situations when you need to remove copious amounts of organic material from water you have better choices. The organic materials tend to crush on the screen and are hard to remove.

If you would like to enquire about the purchase or maintenance of one of our filters, please call the office on 01925 818499.

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Panlathy Farming

Panlathy Farming are a longstanding customer of Ripple Aquaplast, commissioned us to survey, design and provide a quotation for a reservoir pumping system. This would be for the recently acquired farm to the North of Inverkeilor, to expand their potato growing operation.

The farm came complete with a reservoir and underground water mains infrastructure supplied by a diesel powered irrigation pump. The decision, as with their other farms, was taken to invest in an electric pumping system comprising of a Lowara 45kW speed controlled surface pump with a 7.5kW submersible priming pump linked via a GSM controlled system.

This involved the relocation and upgrading of the existing power supply. The main use for the pumping system will be irrigation reels, although sprayer filling is possible as well.

How did we do it?

The system is similar in design and layout to previous pumping systems, however we incorporated the latest in power saving technology and pump design.

The system comprised of the following:

  • 1 x 45kW Vertical multistage pump which will be the surface pump
  • 1 x 7.5kW 8″ Submersible pump with motor cooling shroud, filter and support feet.
  • 1 x Variable speed panel with start system for the submersible pump to ensure prime is maintained
  • GSM system to operate remote access via text on/text off system. This allows the user to stop and start the rain gun at will, be it on site or in the comfort of home.
  • 10m x 5″ Suction hose between pumps with fittins into the submersible and surface pump.
  • The suction hose includes a 5″ wafer non-return valve to maintain the pump prime between operations.
  • 1 x Float switch with 20m cable to suspend in the reservoir to provide low level protection cut out
  • 1 x 20 litre Pressure vessel which enables the panel to shut down the pumps with zero demand
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May Trip to NaanDanJain France

New Products and New Designs

Earlier in May, NaanDanJain France invited Stewart Penny and Simon Taylor of NDJ UK to hold commercial and technical discussions regarding the growing use of sprinklers in orchards in France and in what applications they are used.

Here we see a large frost protection system in Meauzac near Toulouse in the South of France. They take frost protection seriously here as they can have frosts of around -7’c and as we were driving around you can see quite clearly the farmers who took the risk and this year have lost the gamble.

This particular grower has 150 acres of apples and 50 acres of cherries. All the areas can be frost protected at once and this year he will see the benefit of the investment as they have seen -6’c when the system, was called into action. The system is actually triggered by a simple “wet sock” frost stat. The sprinklers are of course NDJ, from the 200 series the robust brass sprinkler with the red protective cover.

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A.P Barrie & Co

Soft Fruit Grower in Perthshire

Andrew Barrie owns and runs a significant soft fruit – both raspberries and strawberries – operation near the picturesque Vale of Strathmore in Perthshire, near the towns of Couper Angus and Blairgowrie. Colbeggie Farm takes pride in offering only the highest quality fruits which all goes to the supermarkets.

Andrew also takes great pride in his team and wanted to invest in upgrading the water supply to the staff accommodation for use in their showers, kitchens and general areas.

Following a site visit, Ripple Aquaplast’s technical team designed, supplied, installed and commissioned a new potable water supply by linking a borehole. 50,000 litre covered water storage tanks to WRAS approval, a twin variable speed pump set to supply 6m³/h of drinking water to the suite. Further expansion is planned in the coming months.

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Revisiting the Rig

Simon Taylor of NaanDanJain ensuring long term customer satisfaction!

It’s that time of the year when Simon Taylor of NDJ visits the rigs supplied and installed via Aquaplast and runs some diagnostics and checks.

This rig on the south coast is feeding a large area of blueberries and has 8 feed legs ( 4 sets of 2 ) and two pH probes to ensure super accuracy of the pH, as blueberries are very sensitive.

The job is made more interesting by the use of sulphuric acid instead of nitric on the request of the agronomist and the fact that the valve sections are over 100m3 in size!

With NDJ feed rigs up and down the country, Simon is always busy, however with remote internet connectivity, many queries are answered remotely, but it is always nice to get “hands on” from time to time.

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New Starter – Ryan Hampson

Ryan attended Myerscough College, where he achieved a national diploma in horticulture, plant science and sports turf. From there Ryan moved into green keeping and further into garden care and maintenance. By showing his skills and professionalism, he was entrusted with a team of six to provide garden care and maintenance to high quality gardens across the North West.

More recently and with over five years of commercial irrigation knowledge, Ryan has developed a strong understanding of drip and micro, problem solving, implementation and commissioning of fertigation rigs and controllers, irrigation design and open field system sales through to installation and support.

His new role, here at Ripple Aquaplast, is to be working closely with growers across all sectors and help solve their irrigation frustrations, reduce cost and achieve improved yield. He will be working, together with the customer, to develop systems to become worry free and reliable.

He will also be exploring and implementing new innovative products and ideas that NaanDanJain have administered globally. All of which are developed to increase profitability for the grower.

Ryan will be travelling the country over the coming weeks, meeting growers and to initiate his new and exciting concepts.

If you wish to contact Ryan, call him on his mobile: 07771 615265

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New Farm Produce

New Farm Produce Install Eighth Aquaplast Feed Rig System

Eight years ago at New Farm Produce we successfully installed our first Aquaplast feed rig system to enable us to have accurate control of a raised coir bag growing system. After enormous success through the years we are currently in the process of installing our eighth Aquaplast feed rig system to allow us to control fertigation on a new soil grown strawberry site, showing our confidence in the equipment for both substrate and soil grown systems. With a user-friendly interface, accurate controls and the ability to have flexible watering and feed programmes the Aquaplast feed rig system has allowed us to improve our irrigation management by delivering a precise, effective output to each and every plant resulting in reduced water consumption and reduced fertiliser costs.

And we are currently looking at additional features to our systems such as a HMI (Human Machine Interface) software package and participating in a RTM (Real Time Management) project to enable even more accurate dosing.

“Aquaplast have undoubtedly delivered great results at New Farm Produce subsequently having a huge positive impact on our business.
We would like to thank Ripple Aquaplast for all their support.”

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Salop Leisure Plant Centre

After being recommended by Dafydd and Andrew Joseph of Dingle Nurseries, Welshpool, Mark Bebb, managing director of Salop Leisure in Shrewsbury approached us to design and supply an irrigation system at a new plant. The plant centre will complement their already bustling caravan and leisure sales complex. The design involved providing a suitable sized water storage tank with a pump to supply water to the various different irrigation systems – sprinkler, drip and hand watering, which were installed across the centre.

We were requested to find an installer as the weather and other factors had caused delays meaning that it would not be feasible to meet the Easter opening deadline. We worked in conjunction with one of our colleagues to complete the installation which included some reworking along the way to take into account changes in layout and design.

Pump and Tank

We opted for a galvanised steel water storage tank complete with steel roof and a 1mm EDPM liner for longevity. The pump supplied was a variable speed Lowara unit to accommodate the differing flow rates resulting from the differing irrigation types. The pump and filter were located in a pump house. The water was pumped to the plant area via a 50mm underground header.

Outdoor Beds

There were 35/40 raised beds to be constructed in three separate areas. Each of these areas where equipped with their own underground header pipe onto which we installed the control valves for the separate blocks. During the installation of the infrastructure we laid conduits with draw cords for the control system cables. The control valves were then connected to sub-headers with a take-off for each raised bed.

Shade Area

The shade area was equipped with a similar header and valve system to operate micro sprinklers suspended from the timber framework over each bay.

Drip on tree and specimen plant area

The areas of the larger plants and trees where equipped with a drip system allowing the number of drip points per plant to be altered depending on the pot size. This area is controlled by a single valve.

Hand Watering Points

We also installed several hand watering points throughout the centre with quick coupling connectors for hoses and lances.

Control System

All of the valves are connected back to a central irrigation controller located in the plant centre office. This allows the irrigation system to be operated automatically when the centre is closed. Irrigation can be automatically applied several times. The controller is expandable to accommodate more stations should the centre expand in the future.

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L M Porter

Complete system including auto pumps, wrap around feed rig and NDJ drip system.

  • Wrap Around Rig
  • A new 10 valve blueberry field with remote pump house.
  • Compact container of 8’ x 10’.
  • Customer installed all pipework to a very high standard and only required minimum time on site by Aquaplast engineers.
  • Flow rates and pressures checked whilst on site.
  • Dedicated blueberry site with initial planting of 4 Hectare of tunnels with 32,000 pots
  • Two NaanDanJain 2 L/h drippers per pot. Facility included to increase the number of drippers per pot if required
  • Future expansion capacity built into the pumping, fertiliser dosing and header pipe infrastructure
  • Ability to remotely control the irrigation scheduling and monitor the current schedules with historical data recorded
  • Alarms for non-function of irrigation and fertiliser doing systems