Sick of fixing the same burst line? What one local sheep farmer learned the hard way

If you’re running more stock than you were 10 years ago, there’s a good chance your farm water system hasn’t kept up. That was the case for one local sheep farmer, and he learned a few things the hard way.

At a glance

• The farm: a sheep operation running around 10,000 lambs
• The problem: a 30-year-old system that couldn’t keep up, and constant burst lines
• What we did: about 1.5 km of new 63mm poly, new troughs, and a gravity-fed setup with solar backup
• The result: reliable stock water, and no more weekly pipe repairs

Sound familiar?

The system was put in by his dad more than 30 years ago. It worked fine when the mobs were smaller. But more stock means more water, and the old inch-and-a-quarter pipe just couldn’t keep up.

“We were just going around putting out spot fires all day long, fixing poly pipe, digging it up, fixing it. You’d go down six weeks later and it’d be burst again.”

The common mistake: adding pressure to old pipe

His first fix was to pressurise the whole system. It seemed like a smart idea, until the old pipe started bursting under pressure it was never built for.

The lesson: more pressure won’t fix pipe that’s too small or too old. Often, the answer is bigger pipe, not more push.

What fixed his farm water system

1. Back to gravity, with bigger pipe

We laid around 1.5 km of 63mm poly so water could flow in volume, without the strain of high pressure.

2. A built-in backup

A submersible pump fills tanks on the hill. If it ever breaks down, a solar pump kicks in and keeps them filling. “We’re virtually foolproof,” he says.

3. Solar that just keeps going

One of his solar pumps has been running on a dam for around 25 years. He’s since replaced old windmills with solar pumps too. “It just does its thing.”

Two surprises worth knowing

Your stock probably drink more than you think

Years ago, he worked out that his pigs were using about four times the water his pump could supply. “It was a bit of an eye-opener.” It’s worth checking whether your farm water system is actually sized for what your stock use today.

The best bore spot isn’t always where you’d expect

On a newly bought block, he wanted to drill near an old well. Scott from Finchetts advised drilling close to power instead. At 120 metres there was still nothing. “Talk about nerve-racking.” At around 130 metres, they hit plenty of clear, salt-free water.

What’s next

He’s now adding tank sensors, so he can check water levels from his phone instead of driving out to look.

His advice

“You just need to be worrying about what you’re doing day to day, not the water. Invest in it once, and make sure it’s not a problem you have to deal with anymore.”

Is your farm water system keeping up?

Ask yourself:

• Are you running more stock than when your system went in?
• Are you fixing the same lines over and over?
• Do your troughs struggle on hot days?
• What happens if your main pump breaks down?

If any of these ring a bell, summer’s the worst time to find out. Book a Finchetts farm-water assessment and we’ll walk your system with you, from source to trough, and give you a clear quote. No pressure, no obligation.

Book a farm-water assessment

Prefer to talk to someone? Call Hamilton on (03) 5572 3388 or Portland on (03) 5539 2266.

More farm water stories: Farm water solutions in Condah · From windmills to set-and-forget solar