Yenda Prods Irrigation, (previously known as Riverina Water Engineering), are no stranger to the water-moving power of John Deere engines, regularly using the powerful 6068 John Deere engine on agricultural pump builds requiring big water movement. Even the king of Power Equipment’s John Deere industrial engine lineup, the 500hp 6135, has been applied to their larger scale builds. This expert team in irrigation have also applied the smaller sidekick in the John Deere engine range to a popular pumping solution – the John Deere 3029. Damon Cammish of Yenda Prods Irrigation explains why;
Yenda Prods Irrigation rely on John Deere power for custom pump reliability
“The John Deere 3029 is a strong engine – a simple mechanical engine really,” says Damon Cammish of Yenda Prods Irrigation. Damon says Australian-made KY Pumps coupled with John Deere engines make for a formidable agricultural machine. Certainly an Australian/American combination that Riverina farmers in New South Wales, Australia, are putting their trust in.
“The John Deere power is usually an easy sell for farming professionals too,” says Damon, “because they know the backup is there and of course the reputation as a good engine.”
Yenda Prods Irrigation has been matching the John Deere 3029 (57.7hp @ 2,500rpm) since 2016 in up to 12 inch pumping units for lift pumps utilised in all manner of crop irrigation and other farming across the districts YPI serves. “There is a lot of cotton and rice in this district,” Damon says, “but irrigation and water provision applications are many and varied.”
Farmers love the KY Pumps attached to a John Deere because they’re robust and can handle tough tasks. “Farmers like the fact that KY Pumps can handle a lot of trash and in most cases are fixable by the farmer if something goes wrong,” Damon says.
“The pump itself has standard ‘off the shelf’ replaceable bearings, is self-priming and even if a vane gets bent within the pump itself, the farmer can usually fix it themselves. They’re tough units.”
The 3-cylinder John Deere 3029 making all this tough work happen is a 2.9litre, vertical water-cooled diesel engine with a compact profile. Supported by five main bearings, the dynamically-balanced crankshaft of the John Deere 3029 drives machinery from the front of the engine.
The inherently smooth power delivery of this design is further enhanced by the engine’s 45-degree, forged steel connecting rod design that allows the use of large connecting rod bearings for increased durability. Add to this replaceable wet-type cylinder liners and you have an engine that lasts and can be rebuilt to original OEM specifications when necessary in the future.
Understanding just how the John Deere’s are expected to perform makes it clear why a strong, long-lasting engine is vital in this type of farming activity.
“Typically the engine would be revved up hard in the priming process of getting the water into the pump and irrigation system, then throttled back to move the volume of water necessary over a certain number of hours,” Damon says.
Volume is the name of the game here, with the smallest of the pumping systems attached to the John Deere 3029, (a 12 inch model), capable of moving 20 million-plus litres per day. “The largest pump we would couple the John Deere 3029 with would be the 12-inch model KY Pump and that could be expected to deliver 20 million litres in a day.”
Damon says the pumping regimes are designed to have the engine running towards the bottom of its fuel curve, (around the 2,200-2,400rpm mark), for efficiency over the long hours of water movement. “We try to keep the engines working within 50 to 75per cent of their load delivery, because that also gives space for harsher operating conditions or higher temperatures,” Damon explains.
“But every application has differing power requirements, so we design the systems to suit” he said.
Yenda Prods Irrigation ensures custom irrigation packages are coupled with the right radiators and exhaust systems with their John Deeres. They continue the “simple design” philosophy by usually applying vernier throttles, (with dial adjuster for finer throttle control).
“We find the farmers usually prefer this option, again because it’s simple but still gives fine tuning ability,” Damon said, “although automated control is sometimes a preference too – it just depends on the operation.”
Whilst it may seem simple enough to apply power to a pump through a front flywheel and crankshaft applicaton, Damon Cammish knows better. “We install suitable side-load kits for running belt & pulley configurations,” he says, “this takes the pressure off the crankshaft of the engine when you tighten the belts to run the pump properly and increases the engine’s longevity.”
Fundamental design principles of good stand-alone pumps may not have changed in many decades, but every application is as diverse as the primary production serviced in the Riverina by Yenda Prods Irrigation.
Cotton fields and orchards to vegetable farms – even massive chicken farms – need Yenda Prods Irrigation pumps driven by John Deeres.
“The running regime of the pump decides a lot of the design factors,” Damon says, “How harsh will its environment be? Will it be expected to run 8 hours straight? 24 hours straight? We have to factor all of this in, not just the amount of water to be moved.”
One thing is for sure though, with John Deeres driving the pumps, Riverina primary production will be getting the power it needs through the combined expertise of Yenda Prods Irrigation and Power Equipment.
Check out Yenda Prods Irrigation’s work and range of services at www.rwe.com.au
