Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch were engaged by local beef cattle graziers Kurrajong Pastoral (located near Springsure, QLD) to deliver a GRUNDFOS RSI Invertor Solar Pumping System at the Crystal Plains property to supplying onsite bore water to the property's many beef cattle watering troughs. Crystal Plains is a 3,018ha (7,458 acre) Springsure buffel grass property located 52km south of Emerald and 22km north of Springsure. The property comprises 10 dams, three bores, 14 grazing paddocks, plus several holding paddocks and water squares.

Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton began the design of this solar pumping system with a site visit to record the height / depths of bores and to meet with the customers and garner their exact requirements for this system. Although not required for this particular bore inspection, Dowdens can offer our customers affordable Borehole and Drain inspection services using a range of Wireline Cameras. Our Wireline Cameras can operate up to a depth of 100m and deliver our customers high-resolution video and images straight to laptop / USB.

Once the proposal had been accepted, the Dowdens Industrial Workshop began sourcing the 18 x 270 Watt Solar Modules that were to be attached to 3 x 6 Module Fixed Post Array Frames. As an Authorised Grundfos Distributor Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton were able to confidently recommend a Grundfos RSI Inverter together with the efficient SP7-17 415V Submersible Pump to be mounted and installed on this solar pumping system. The system pumps directly from a bore to an elevated position on Crystal Plains where the customer is then able to gravity feed from their established tank farm to the greater majority of his property. On average the pump transfers 50,000L/day.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of innovative customised Solar Pumping systems for the commercial, agriculture and mining sectors of Central Queensland and the greater Capricorn Coast regions. Dowdens Rockhampton work closely with beef cattle producers to deliver innovative solar powered stock watering systems that not only minimise human interaction with cattle, but add value to the farms via efficient energy and water consumption.

The existing pump that Dowdens replaced was an old line shaft MONO pump that was operated by Diesel engine. The installation of the new Grundfos solar system lowered ongoing maintenance and operation costs considerably as the clients no longer had to replace the column due to the accumulation of rust. To ensure this wouldn't happen again Dowdens utilised stainless steel and poly pipe in the construction.

Operating costs were lowered via the system utilising a Grundfos Invertor with Sine Wave Filter Isolation Switch together with a tank level pressure switch - meaning the pump would start and stop automatically, only when needed. This automatic operation eliminated the need for the client to regularly drive to the bore to start and stop the pump. This increased pumping efficiency also saved on the overall cost of diesel to refuel the pump. The Grundfos Invertor with Sine Wave Filter Isolation Switch, together with the Grundfos SP7-17 415V Submersible Borehole Pump were pre-wired on a custom-fabricated steel mounting frame to enable easy 'plug & play' installation. Dowdens supplied 5km of poly pipe for both the tank fill line and the gravity feed lines.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branches design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Innovation - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective Pump Operation - System Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance. The entire Grundfos RSI Solar Pumping System was designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned on time and within budget.

Kurrajong Pastoral's Crystal Plains Solar Pumping System - Key Components:

• Grundfos 2.2 kW RSI Invertor
• Grundfos Sine Wave Filter & Lockable Isolator
• Grundfos SP7-17 415V Submersible Borehole Pump

• 3 x 6 Module Fixed Post Array Frames
• 5km of 63mm PN8 Iplex Poly Pipe with Plasson Ag Fittings & Joiners
• 18 x 270 Watt solar modules

...

As an Australian owned company that began life in 1973 selling and servicing agricultural pumps, Dowdens has grown to employ over 160 staff situated across 4 branches in Mackay, Proserpine, Rockhampton and Brisbane permitting us to confidently service customers throughout Queensland, nationally and internationally. From project inception through to final commissioning - the team at Dowdens has the ability to deliver complete specialised long-term engineered solutions that are practical and innovative, ensuring our clients benefit from greater productivity and reduced downtime.

With dedicated departments of industry trained engineers, draftsmen, project managers, sales staff and tradespeople including fitters, mechanics, polywelders, machinists, plumbers, electricians and boiler makers - Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment offer an unmatched range of world-class engineering solutions for any type of water management project. We truly are Queensland's premier one-stop-shop for solar pumping and water treatment systems!

Arabon Seafoods employed Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] to deliver a broad acre irrigation system watering their cattle feed pasture located in Bowen, QLD. Arabon Seafoods are a proud Queensland small business specializing in the sale and export of locally sourced live, chilled and frozen seafood.

Dowdens designed an efficient energy and water use irrigation system for Arabon Seafoods that utilises a Valley Two-Wheel-Linear Irrigator - the ideal irrigator for smallholder growers with limited access to electricity - together with a Nelson S3000 Spinner Sprinkler Package, Nelson 110VAC Shut-Off Valve, Valley Autopilot GPS Ready Control Panel and a Yanmar 10kVa 3-Phase Diesel Generator Set.

The Valley Two-Wheel-Linear Irrigator is a fairly standard machine in it's configuration but it's application to Arabon's cattle feed pasture is a departure from local practice. Most irrigation in this region is normally provided by low pressure boom type irrigators which are far less efficient in regards to energy and water consumption when compared to the Valley machine.

The system is required to pump water directly from onsite bores to the Valley Two-Wheel-Linear Irrigator watering 3.5 ha of cattle feed pasture. The irrigator's purpose is to provide water to a 'baleable' hay crop which is periodically onsold to local graziers as stock feed. The installation of a Valley linear irrigator has greatly reduced the number of irrigation runs that Arabon Seafoods has previously undertaken with their smaller boom type irrigator to water the same area of crop. Valley Two-Wheel-Linears deliver the ability to easily tow or swing the machine around to cover more acres.

Valley's 'easy to operate' Valley Autopilot GPS Ready Control Panel has enabled other Arabon Seafoods personnel to operate the irrigator which had always proved difficult in the past using a more dated irrigator. The GPS Ready Valley Autopilot Control Panel allows linears to automatically perform functions similar to a center pivot. The AutoPilot Linear measures the lateral position and direction of travel of the linear, allowing functions to be easily programmed to run automatically.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] are the sole Valley Irrigation Master Dealers for the Mackay / Whitsunday region enabling the best possible pricing and unmatched product support for all of our customers.

Arabon Seafoods contacted Dowdens Mackay in mid-2015 and requested a site visit and quote. Within a week the Dowdens Ag Sales Team were onsite taking measurements and discussing options with the business owners. A system was designed to suit the area and application, and the quote was delivered. Arabon Seafoods was happy with the design and pricing and instructed Dowdens they would budget for this system in 2016.

Fast forward to mid-2016, working closely with the business owners Dowdens had successfully refined the quote and sourced all materials to be supplied. The purchase order arrived with Dowdens in late May 2016 - the irrigator was delivered to site on Friday 24th of June. The installation commenced Monday 27th of June and the machine was fully operational and commissioning was completed by Wednesday 29th of June.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Current Best Practice - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective System Operation - System Reliability & Delivering Reduced Ongoing Maintenance Requirements.

The entire project was overseen and managed by Brett Hayes from the Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] Agricultural Sales Team.

Key Project Features:

• Valley Two-Wheel-Linear 'hose-drag' Irrigator with a 2.74m Overhang & 2 x 43.37m Lateral Spans
• Valley Autopilot GPS Ready Control Panel
• Nelson S3000 Spinner Sprinkler Package
• Nelson 110 VAC Shut-Off Valve
• 16.9" x 24" Tyre Package
• Yanmar 10kVa 3-Phase Diesel Generator Set
• 220m of 3½" Crusader Irrigator Hose

Wilmar Sugar Australia Limited employed Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] to deliver a broad acre irrigation system at their Gibson Creek sugarcane farm. Wilmar Sugar Australia Limited is Australia's largest raw sugar producer and one of the top 10 producers in the world.

The Gibson Creek sugarcane farm has a total area of 2,000ha, with works completed by Dowdens to date delivering irrigation to over 750ha of sugarcane - this project is still ongoing with the aim to irrigate the full 2,000ha upon completion. The broad acre irrigation system was designed, sourced, installed and commissioned by the Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment Agricultural Sales Team, which has over 125 years combined agriculture irrigation experience.

The system is required to pump water stored in Wilmar's onsite dam (which when completed will hold a total of 2,000ML) to various irrigation devices watering 2,000ha of sugarcane.

CLICK IMAGES TO VIEW FULL PROJECT GALLERY

To date the project has seen the team at Dowdens construct, install and commission six Valley Center Pivot Irrigators, with spans ranging from 520m down to 410m, and three hard hose poly line traveling irrigators.

Water for the irrigation system (sourced from Wilmar's 2,000ML onsite dam) required Dowdens to lay an extensive network of poly and PVC mains pipework ranging from 500mm to 150mm in diameter. In total over 12kms of mains pipe has been laid so far.

The entire system is gravity fed from the large onsite dam with a 6-cylinder John Deere diesel engine centrifugal pump feeding the six pivots, and three IVECO-Caprari multistage diesel booster pumps [pictured below] kicking in to raise mains pressure when water is required at the three hard hose poly line travelling irrigators.

The entire project was overseen and managed by Glenn Agnew from the Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] Agricultural Sales Team.

Key Project Features:

• Six Valley Center Pivot Irrigators installed with spans ranging from 520m to 410m
• The Valley Center Pivots were fitted with auto-start generator sets - eliminating the need for farmers to travel to each individual Center Pivot to activate once feed pumps are on
• To date over 12kms of mains poly and PVC pipe has been trenched, welded and commissioned
• Dowdens sourced, delivered and commissioned three hard hose poly line traveling irrigators [2x Idrofoglia & 1x Trailco]
• 1x 6-cylinder John Deere diesel engine centrifugal pump feeds the six Valley Center Pivot Irrigators
• 3x IVECO-Caprari multistage diesel booster pumps transfer water to the three hard hose poly line traveling irrigators when required

CLICK IMAGES TO VIEW FULL PROJECT GALLERY

Downer EDI Mining [a division of Downer EDI Limited] has engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Brisbane] to design, manufacture, install and commission a Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay and associated plant treatment equipment at the Meandu Coal Mine located in Tarong, South East Queensland.

Since January 2013 Downer EDI Mining has been providing mining services at Meandu Mine as part of their long-term rolling contract with TEC Coal Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stanwell Corporation Limited. Downer provides a total mine service to TEC Coal, including mine management, planning, drilling, overburden removal (including dragline and truck-and-shovel operations), coal mining, coal processing, rehabilitation, and maintenance of mobile and fixed plant.

Downer EDI's Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay project tender was won primarily due to Dowdens ability to expertly design / manufacture / install and commission specialised equipment, built in-house & onsite to meet our specific client's unique requirements. With a history of successful installations over the past 15 years within the Queensland Mining Sector, Dowdens is Queensland's premier pumping & water treatment organisation.

Downer's project brief to Dowdens Brisbane was for the design / manufacture / installation and commissioning of a Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay capable of processing a minimum of 5 vehicles per day, with each vehicle taking approximately 1 hour to wash. Meandu Mine required this new Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay to be constructed after the mine had recently purchased a fleet of new generation trucks (KOMATSU 830E Trucks) which are considerably larger in size compared to their existing fleet.

To ensure Meandu Mine continued to meet their Environmental Discharge requirements Dowdens designed and incorporated 4x Settling Pits & 3x Oily Water Separators into the construction of the Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay. In Queensland it is a legal requirement for mine sites to treat (separate) any sludge or oil from any waste water coming from a Heavy Vehicle Wash Bay.

Pictured below you can see the 4x large Settling Pits (empty) that are used to catch / store (via gravity feed) waste water from the Wash Pad area. The waste water generally contains some grease, oil, coal fine and soil (mud). The coal fine, mud and other solid particles washed off the trucks is allowed to settle to the bottom of the Settling Pits - the pits are then intermittently emptied by a Bobcat excavator.

The waste water (still containing grease and oil) is pumped from the Settling Pits via progressive cavity pumps into 3 individual 'Oily Water Separators' to remove the remaining contaminants. Once the waste water has been through this treatment stage it is pumped back into Meandu Mine's network of onsite holding dams to be used in other site extraction and processing applications.

Dowdens design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Current Best Practice - Ease of Installation - Simple Plant Operation - Plant Reliability & Reduced Maintenance.

Key Project System Components are listed below (click for component specs):

• 3x 47kL Poly Tanks for onsite Raw Water storage
• 1x Southern Cross 100x65-250 Cannon Pump
• 1x Grundfos 3kW Hose Reel Pump
• 8x 65mm Orion Sentinel Water Cannons
• 6x Heavy Duty Hose Reels
• 2x Foaming Units
• 1x 13.5kL Detergent Storage Poly Tank
• 1x 1kL Dilution Poly Tank

• 1x Grundfos 0.55kW Detergent Transfer Pump
• 4x Grundfos 7.5kW & Tsurumi 3kW Submersible Sump Pumps
• 2x Oily Water Seperators, Associated Pumps, Instrumentation & Control Board
• 1x Oily Water Hydrocyclone Seperator with Netzsch iFD-Stator® 2.0 Pump, Instrumentation & Control Board
• 1x Skimmer Pump
• 2x Control Panels
• Custom Built Associated Galvanised Pipework

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch were engaged by the Queensland State Government's Department of Environment and Heritage Protection to deliver an efficient solar pumping system at the disused Mount Chalmers Gold Mine (located 15km North-East of Rockhampton, QLD).

As part of this sites ongoing rehabilitation process the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection needed an efficient solar pumping system to recirculate contaminated mine water collected from a sump, back into the main pit, thereby eliminating any contaminated mine water runoff from site. The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has been managing the key environmental issues at the Mount Chalmers Gold mine since the former operators Affinis Pty Ltd was placed into liquidation in December 2014. EHP is also supported by other government agencies including the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation (DSITI) who are providing scientific advice on technical aspects of site management. The primary ongoing focus is to prevent any discharge of contaminated water from the site.

With limited mains power available to the site the use of solar power was a perfect fit for this pumping application. Solar powered pump solutions are always improving, none more so than Grundfos Solar Water Solutions. During initial site inspections the pumps required operating duty was calculated to be 13L/sec @ 18.5m Total Head. To meet these high flow requirements a Grundfos Solar Inverter (RSI) was selected to power the Grundfos R Series Submersible Pump [SP46-3 5.5kw 415V] that the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection already had onsite. The Grundfos R Series SP46-3 is a Stainless Steel pump capable of handling the low pH, slightly acidic mine water (measuring between 2 & 3 pH) needing to be pumped.

Utilising a combination of Grundfos Solar Water Solution products (inverter / pump / solar panels) appealed to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection as it meant Dowdens could supply a system that not only costs less to install and maintain, but importantly can pump a larger volume of water under solar power. Put quite simply the ability to run large 415V pumps capable of greater pump duties is making the decision to 'go green' and install solar powered systems more attractive in the current climate, for miners and farmers alike.

Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton initially visited site to establish location of the solar arrays and calculate pump duty. Once known the following components were sourced and prepared for installation: 36 x 270 Watt Grundfos Solar Modules, 2 x 18 SolarTerrace Module Fixed Array Frames, 7.5 kW Grundfos RSI Inverter & Sine Wave Filter and 200m of 110mm PN10 Poly Pipe. The Grundfos SP46-3 5.5kw Pump was attached to a specialised float that sits on the surface of the sump (pictured below). Pump starts & stops via a level float switch mounted on 4m pole that can be swivelled over to the sump's bank should any maintenance be required.

Local contractors were then engaged to complete the site earthworks and trenching needed for all electrical conduits. Once the solar array support posts were cemented in place, Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton assembled the SolarTerrace Array Frames and mounted the 36 modules (2 x 18 Modules) ready for the electrical components to be installed.

Electrical contractors RILEC Electrical (accredited electrical/solar contractors) completed the electrical fit-out. As part of these works Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton delivered the Grundfos Solar Inverter Sinewave Filter & String Connection Box (pictured below) to the RILEC workshop so it could be mounted in a powdered coated, lockable enclosure with sufficient ventilation to ensure the inverter remains cool during the day. RILEC then brought the control box to site, mounted it and completed all wiring to meet electrical standards and the site specifications. All commissioning of this system was undertaken by Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branches design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Innovation - Ease of Installation - Simple & Reliable Pump Operation - System Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance. The entire Grundfos RSI Solar Pumping System was designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned on time and within budget.

Mount Chalmers Gold Mine ~ Solar Pumping System - Key Components:

• 36 x 270 Grundfos Watt Solar Modules
• Grundfos R Series Submersible Pump [SP46-3 5.5kw 415V]
• 7.5 kW Grundfos RSI Inverter & Sine Wave Filter

• 2 x 18 SolarTerrace Module Fixed Array Frames
• Specialised Float to suspend the Grundfos Submersible Pump on the sump's surface
• 200m of 110mm PN10 Poly Pipe

...

As an Australian owned company that began life in 1973 selling and servicing agricultural pumps, Dowdens has grown to employ over 160 staff situated across 4 branches in Mackay, Proserpine, Rockhampton and Brisbane permitting us to confidently service customers throughout Queensland, nationally and internationally. From project inception through to final commissioning - the team at Dowdens has the ability to deliver complete specialised long-term engineered solutions that are practical and innovative, ensuring our clients benefit from greater productivity and reduced downtime.

With dedicated departments of industry trained engineers, draftsmen, project managers, sales staff and tradespeople including fitters, mechanics, polywelders, machinists, plumbers, electricians and boiler makers - Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment offer an unmatched range of world-class engineering solutions for any type of water management project. We truly are Queensland's premier one-stop-shop for solar pumping and water treatment systems!

Anglo American have engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's [Mackay] Engineering Department & Fabrication Workshop to rectify an issue with a new valve station installation that was experiencing water hammer, resulting in the longwall mining operation being suspended at their Grasstree Coal Mine, located at Middlemount in the centre of the Bowen Basin, QLD.

Underground mines require water management systems in place to manage working water that is utilised for production, dust suppression, hydraulic jacks etc. Mines employ various methods of underground water transportation systems including Longwall Boost Pump Stations & filtered water from the mine surface networks. The filtered water system is an important piece of infrastructure for underground coal mine providing clean water for dust suppression & feeding the powerful hydraulic piston pumps that are used to jack up the roof in the longwall mining process.

When water is fed into an underground mine it is received at a very high pressures due to the vertical drop to the mine workings. This pressure needs to be reduced & controlled to levels that can be safely managed in the underground operations. Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment has provided Grasstree Coal Mine with several Pressure Reducing Valve Stations over the life of the mine, enabling reliable & trouble free operation.

Responding to the urgent help request from Grasstree Mine, Dowdens immediately travelled to site to undertake system 'fault finding' & begin planning the delivery of a timely & cost effective solution to the problem.

As a direct result of Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's long standing & responsive working relationship with Anglo American's Grasstree underground coal mine, the Dowdens Engineering Department was called on to assist with a new valve station installation that was experiencing water hammer resulting in the longwall mining operation being suspended. Dowdens Engineers attended the mine site & listened/observed the problems that were being experienced such as pressure surges & water hammer in the feed pipes leading to the longwall operation.

Dowdens Engineering Dept. designed & developed a Pressure Setting Spool sized specifically to meet the specific duty required. The spool was custom designed using engineered fluid mechanics to reduce the pressure before it entered the valve station, taking part of the load off the station. Pipe supports were also engineered to provide a secure installation of the station.

The timeline to find the solution & manufacture the components was very tight. Engineering - Concept Design - Drawings & In-House Fabrication of the unique Pressure Setting Spool Piece [with roof bolt anchoring points] were completed & delivered to Grasstree Mine within 5 days from the first site meeting! No other pumping / manufacturing / engineering firm in Queensland was able to deliver such an all-encompassing product solution in the above mentioned time-frame.

Dowdens design philosophy for this project was: Fast Turnaround - Cost Effectiveness - Ease of Installation - Simple Plant Operation - Plant Reliability & Reduced Maintenance.

The unique system required at Grasstree Coal Mine needed to address the following issues:

• Reduction of water pressure 'spikes'
• Surge control of high pressure water
• Provide system roof bolting anchoring points
• Secure range piping & bore column

Key Project Features:

• As filtered water flows vertically from the surface the pressure at the mine level can be several thousand kPa. Normal orifice or flow restrictors induce high velocities in a very short space with resulting cavitation & sonic sound which can erode the components & reduce their effect. Dowdens customised Pressure Setting Spool Piece dissipates the energies over a larger area resulting in lower component wear & longevity of the systems performance
• Water hammer was reduced & pressure fluctuations were controlled, allowing the valve station to operate at the flows & pressures for the specific location & duty
• Dowdens Pressure Setting Spool Piece has resulted in no more loss of coal production