Life in the ‘deep freeze’!
Bowman CHP heat exchangers provide vital heating for the Halley VI Antarctic research station.
Bowman helps cut fuel costs at Australian vineyard
Bowman heat exchangers are helping to reduce fuel consumption at an Australian grape farm, as part of an irrigation system designed by consultants, Riverina Water Engineering and supplied via Bowman’s Australian distributor, Luxford Marine Industrial Solutions.
The 165 hectare Farm, 8a Benerembah in New South Wales, produces a wide range of grape varieties. Some of the vines are up to 800 m long which means the irrigation pumps require high operating pressures, making it difficult to control the fuel consumption of the system.
To address this problem, Riverina Water Engineering developed a new turnkey drip irrigation system, designed to operate with the lowest practical fuel consumption without jeopardising the integrity of the system.
The pump sets include two Iveco 6.7 litre turbo charged engines which were supplied without the cooling systems. Instead, Riverina Water Engineering retro-fitted them with Bowman GK190 charge air coolers (intercooler) and FH300 header tank heat exchangers in place of the OEM radiator and turbo air cooler. Filtered irrigation water now cools the combustion air, via the Bowman charge air cooler, reducing it from 140 °C to 50 °C, enabling the engines to operate at peak efficiency, reducing fuel consumption to just 13 litres of fuel per hour per engine, a significant saving compared to the previous irrigation system.
Bowman header tank heat exchangers and charge air coolers were chosen as they are an efficient way of cooling both combustion air and engine jacket water. The high level of cooling provided has helped ensure the diesel engines run at their optimum temperature, aiding fuel efficiency – even in the testing climate of a New South Wales summer!
