| 2016-05-10 |    |
SmartRain Provides Control of Bauer Irrigators
A new online management and documentation system for Bauer irrigation systems comes with a free App for mobile devices providing alerts, reports and control functions.
The SmartRain package enables users of Bauer Centerstar pivot and Rainstar reel irrigation systems, as well as Bauer diesel irrigation pumps, to keep track of just one or several irrigation systems via an office computer, an Apple or Android mobile phone, or a tablet computer.
The SmartRain package for Bauer reel and pivot irrigators provides an internet platform for management records and an App for remote status monitoring, control and alerts.
“By receiving information remotely about the progress of irrigation sessions and any problems that arise, managers can save a lot of time and focus on other tasks safe in the knowledge that their systems are being monitored at all times,” says Adrian Tindall, Bauer UK & Ireland sales manager.
Bauer is a leading manufacturer of irrigation systems and equipment. Its reel irrigator range comprises the compact Rainstar T Series, which starts with the T32 handling Bauer PE pipe in 65-85mm diameters from 220-350m in length, and the full-size E Series, which tops out with the E55 XL carrying pipe lengths of 560-740m in 125-140mm diameters.
The Centerstar range of pivot irrigators is based on three sizes of fixed or mobile towers with boom configurations of up to eight spans covering 60ha and 150cu m/hr; 14 spans for up to 150ha and 400cu m/hr and 16 spans covering up to 220ha and 600cu m/hr.
All can be serviced by a diesel irrigation pump from a six-model range equipped with Caprari or Rovatti pumps and FPT Industrial or Deere Power Systems engines.
The SmartRain system requires installation of a solar-powered GPS controller, mounted on the chassis of a Rainstar reel irrigator or the Universal PRO-G control unit on the central tower of a centre-pivot system. Access to the SmartRain internet platform is by personal login from a computer.
The mobile application, which is available from the Apple Store and Google Play Store, provides remote control access to the irrigators and pumps, and receives SMS or email messages on designated mobile phones.
“On farms with multiple irrigators, the manager can receive status reports from all machines but allocate status messaging from particular machines to the mobiles of individual team members looking after them,” explains Adrian Tindall. “That way, operators on the ground get only the information they need to manage individual irrigators most effectively; simply knowing which of several irrigators will finish next and when can save a lot of time.”
The documentation aspect of the SmartRain package provides automatically saved records of water usage, and of individual irrigator operation based on measurements and information about soil conditions, soil moisture, the size and shape of different fields, to help optimise management and minimise costs.
