Re: Oil proportion of biodiesel.

Pete Lynn wrote: 
A quick thought, I have long considered the potential of a centre pivot
irrigator modified into a large CNC type machine capable of automated
farming.  Basically it might be electrically driven and do everything a
tractor helps do now.  A gondola or conveyor belt a long the centre
pivot might be required for harvesting.

Anyway, the thought was that if electrically driven from some alternate
energy source, little fossil fuel would be required for biodiesel
production.  The energy cost might be much less and the alternative
energy yield greater.

Pete.

Maybe some more thought would be in order. It would take a lot of
modification. Here are a few things to think about.
Forty and fifty horsepower tractors were common when I was growing
up on a farm. Those tractors would pull a 3 bottom plow or a ten or
twelve foot tandem disc. A lot of tractors today are in the 150 to
200 horsepower range.
A center pivot typically has spans of 160 to 180 feet or so. The motors on
older ones were 1 HP. Now most manufacturer have gone to 1/2 horsepower.
Power draw at 480 VAC 3ø is about 8 amps or so. Standard length is usually
considered to be just at 1300 feet. That's the size that will fit in a standard
1/4 section in the U.S.
Traction would be one problem if you wanted to use the pivot for a tillage
operation. You're asking seven or eight sets of wheels to do the work of a tractor
making many trips across a field. How would the pivot pull anything without
tipping over from the side pull? They are designed to hold up a movable pipeline.
The planting/seeding operation would be another challenge. Ideal
planting depth for corn is about 1.5 inches, for soybeans 3/4 of an inch.
There is one more problem that quickly comes to mind. A pivot covers
about 120 acres out of a 155 acre field. What about the rest? Should the
farmer just let it be idle?


                                     Dean



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