The Ecostar 6000 is a new, more advanced electronic controller for Bauer Rainstar reel irrigators that provides new features including water usage records.
It’s been developed as an alternative to the standard Ecostar 4000S, which has a four-line display showing the status of the irrigator and is used to punch in set-point or retraction speed settings, and the optional Ecostar 4200 controller, which adds automatic stop/start, working hour records and variable speed operation, plus a remote access option via SMS.
The new Ecostar 6000 controller has a 4.3-inch LED touch-screen for entering and adjusting settings, although basic functions, such as ‘start’, ‘stop’ and reel-in speed or precipitation input can also be handled by a set of dedicated buttons.
The controller can quickly be switched between retraction speed and precipitation amount operating modes, a defined pipe length can be programmed to activate a signal lamp when the PE hose has been pulled out the required amount, and a timer can be set for an additional sprinkler irrigating around the Rainstar.
Users can store up to 12 different irrigation programmes that define retraction speed, pre-irrigation, post-irrigation and speed zones, and then retrieve them at any time to save having to enter individual parameters for every irrigation session.
Remote access via SMS on a mobile telephone enables irrigation managers to not only stop and start the Rainstar irrigator but also adjust retraction speed, check on the status of the machine and receive error messages – as well as a “run finished” message – on up to four phones.
Thanks to a digital input on the irrigator’s water meter, the Ecostar 6000 controller also records the quantity of water used since the last start, since the beginning of the irrigation session and the running total, and this data can be transferred to farm records software using a USB memory stick.
The new controller can be installed on Bauer Rainstar reel irrigators in 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, that tops out with the E55 XL carrying pipe lengths of 560-740m in 125-140mm diameters.
These Rainstar reel irrigators are equipped with Bauer’s energy-saving Vario water nozzle and TVR drive turbines, that together provide efficient reel drive with precise regulation over a broad operating range, even at high retraction speeds.
For more information visit: www.bauer-at.com.
