Case

Securing reliable water supply to mid-north cattle stud

The Situation

Tilkah Brangus Stud, located in Mondrook on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, breeds Braham / Black Angus cross cattle, to cater for clients from Melbourne to Townsville. Stud owners, Bob and Margaret Ezzy, have been breeding Brangus cattle for nearly 30 years.

Grazing animals, including cattle, need water for metabolic functioning, including body maintenance, growth, mobility, cooling and reproduction, and without sufficient water, they suffer. It is therefore imperative that stock watering troughs are supplied with fresh drinking water at all times.

In early 2017, the farm was experiencing continuous problems with some small electrical pumps, that were failing to ensure adequate water in the holding tanks, and were frustrated by a constant need to be back and forth filling tanks for stock watering.

The Solution

Bob Ezzy approached BK Pump Service, a business operated by his son, Brad Ezzy, on the Gold Coast of Queensland. With an intricate knowledge of the Stud and its stock watering requirements, Brad recommended two Grundfos SQFlex systems – one drawing from the dam using a floatation system, and a second drawing water from a well, both to fill tanks that are utilised to replenish stock water troughs.  

“I knew that Dad would need a reliable system with in-built safety parameters, so using a Grundfos SQFlex together with a CU 200 solar controller made sense as it provided control information and maximum protection,” says BK Pump Service’s Brad Ezzy.

The SQFlex system has a wide voltage range, built-in maximum power point tracking (MPPT) as well as dry-running, voltage and overload protection.   

The pumps used in both systems was the SQF 2.5-2N, which is a 3” SQFlex pump with helical rotor is for high heads and low flow rates.

The CU 200 control unit is a combined status, control and communication unit especially developed for the SQFlex system. It also enables the connection of a generator supply back-up in case of insufficient solar radiation.  

“The CU 200 also allowed us to fit a float in the 22,000 L tank so that the pump starts/stops automatically. Lastly, the option for generator back-up without having to buy and add-on inverter was another factor”, says BK Pump Service’s Brad Ezzy.

The Outcome

The systems were installed by the team at BK Pump Service in July 2017.   

Since the installation, the systems have been operating seamlessly to provide continuous supply of water to the stock watering storage tanks.  

“We are lucky enough to have a son in the pump industry, so getting Brad’s advice and expertise was key in our decision. We’d also
heard a lot of good things about Grundfos from other agriculturalists in the region,” said Bob Ezzy.

Bob and Margaret are pleased to have some time back to work on other works on the property, now that they no longer need to fill holding tanks for stock watering.