GET SUBMERSIBLE PUMPS EASILY OUT OF BOREHOLES

A farmer from the southern Free State used the metal-spoked wheel from an old maize planter and built it into a steel frame to haul submersible pumps out of boreholes. This not only saves on labour but also minimises the potential for leaks in the piping.

Thanks to a simple plan, Kobus Breytenbach of Koesberg Farm near Zastron, is nowadays able to effortlessly pull submersible pump out of boreholes.

“The minimum wage has resulted in minimum labour. We therefore have no more extra workers to pull pipes, cables and pumps out of boreholes,” Kobus explains.

“I’ve made a simple piece of equipment using scrap metal, and with which I’m able to do this work faster and with less labour.”

It was about two years ago that Kobus first began thinking of a mechanical alternative for extracting submersible pumps out of boreholes – a task that had previously required up to five workers.

In the design that he had in mind, a wheel would play a key role towards the ease with which a person could lift and recover the 50mm waterpipe and the electric cable that are attached to the submersible pump sitting at the bottom of the borehole.

It turned out that the ideal wheel for this was from an old LM maize planter that Kobus’s wife,

Antjie, was using as an ornament in her garden.

Despite facing strong resistance initially, Kobus was able to persuade Antjie to gift him with one of the planter’s metal-spoked wheels (having a 75 cm diameter) for the purposes of improving the farm’s efficiencies and productivity!

What made the LM maize planter’s wheel so attractive was the deep groove in its outer rim that could guide the waterpipe and electricity cable as a submersible pump was being extracted from a borehole.

The wheel is bolted to an axel that has been cut to the right size using a lathe. The axel is fitted to the middle of an iron frame (1m high and 75cm wide) made out of U-iron, and mounted on two roller bearings to ensure that the axel turns effortlessly.

The frame is stabilised with a solid base (1 m length and 75 cm breadth) also made of U-iron, and that can be shifted over the borehole casing. This not only gets the wheel into position but also ensures that it stays balanced and fixed when being used.

MINIMISE PIPE JOINS

Thanks to the wheel, only two workers are needed to quickly and efficiently haul submersible pumps out of boreholes, says Kobus. One worker makes sure the waterpipe and electricity cable run within the wheel’s groove while the second worker pulls these “over” the wheel and out of the borehole until the submersible pump emerges.

In addition to allowing this task to be carried out faster while using less labour, the wheel also minimises opportunities for human error such as inadvertently letting the pump fall back into the borehole or damaging the waterpipe.

For example, the wheel allows for the pump to be extracted at a comfortable angle and thereby reduces chances for a kink to develop in the waterpipe; something that often

happens when a group of workers is pulling out the pipe or when a farmer succumbs to the temptation of using a bakkie to haul out the pipes and cables.

Any kink in the waterpipe becomes a potential point for leaks that then needs to be joined. Leaks can have serious consequences.

“A leaking join above ground is easy to see and fix, but one below ground you only see when you haul the waterpipe out,” explains Kobus. “When a join starts leaking, it can lead to inefficient water provision when you least can afford this problem. A waterpipe should preferably never be unnecessarily kinked so that it requires a join.”

For more information, contact Kobus Breytenbach, 083 631 6844

Using an old maize planter’s metal-spoked wheel is a fast and easy way to get the job done, says Kobus Breytenbach about his mechanical alternative to the labourintensive job of pulling plastic pipes, electric cables and submersible pumps out of boreholes.

Kobus helps with guiding the waterpipe and electricity cable attached to a submersible pump, over his metalspoked wheel design. A worker (not visible in this photo) pulls the pipe and cable “over” the wheel until the pump can be extracted from the borehole.

Kobus’s metal-spoked wheel design at a borehole in the Zastron district.

Kobus’s metal-spoked wheel design used for pulling pipes, cables and submersible pumps out of boreholes.

The all-important groove in the maize planter’s metalspoked wheel.

The axel on which the maize planter’s metal-spoked wheel is mounted, is attached to the design’s U-iron frame with roller bearings.

The maize planter’s metal-spoked wheel is bolted to the axel to keep it sturdy.