Water Blaster Dries Up Field Ponds

Water Blaster Dries Up Field Ponds MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 33-1-20 A water cannon may be the answer for field ponds. It will eliminate those temporary lakes that slow fieldwork for days or weeks. The big pump can move 1,000 gallons a minute, blasting it across more than four acres in a 190 degree arc for faster drying. Hoses can also be attached to move excess water to nearby drainage. "Guys in our area use them to pump out the low spots before seeding," says Dave Klassen, Double A Trailers, Two Hills, Alberta, Canada. "They also use them in the summer or fall to rescue crops from ponding caused by a heavy summer rain." Klassen admits the price of a water cannon can seem hard to justify. However, he also points out that getting a combine or tractor stuck at a busy time of the year can also be expensive. Double A has been making the systems for the past eight years. While the pulleys, pumps and nozzle are off-the-shelf components, Double A makes everything else. Prices fluctuate with steel costs. Two units on hand in mid-November were priced at $33,900 each, but steel has gone up 40 percent since they were made. Double A's water cannon boom is hinged for a transport length of 83 ft. When pulled to the edge of a water hole, a hydraulic cylinder on the boom pushes it out to its 111-ft. working length. Klassen says the suction end is usually backed into the slough about 70 ft. Once lowered into the water, the mesh-covered intake sits on a 40 by 40-in. platform. "Some weeds and such do make it through the mesh, but as long as they can be forced out the 2-in. irrigation nozzle, there is seldom a problem," says Klassen. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Double A Trailer & Contracting, Inc., 4802 57th Ave., P. O. Box 359, Two Hills, Alberta, Canada T0B 4K0 (ph 780 657-0008; fax 780 657-0016; doubleaa@telusplanet.net; www. doubleatrailers.ca).

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