What are the hassles with getting flow rate to the end of a CP?
If your system has been designed according to the flow rate that you can supply to the machine and the emitter spacing is correct there should be no hassles maintaining the flow rate to the end of your Centre Pivot. The longer a CP (or the distance from the cart to the end of a LM) the greater the pressure is required to move the water. Because CP&LMs discharge water across their entire length, as the machine gets longer, the flow rate gets larger. As the flow rate gets larger, the velocity in the pipe increases, and additional pressure is required to overcome frictional losses. CP&LM manufacturers should design systems to ensure adequate performance over the specified length, but you should request an appraisal of the operating costs to ensure that the pipe diameters selected are appropriate. Good irrigation engineering practice is to build in a 5-10% extra capacity to handle pump wear over time. Some CP&LMs use groundwater systems and aquifers are rarely fully assessed so that as pum
