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Business

30 November, 2021

Smart Conditioner Units

IT ONLY costs about $10 per year to power a system that will soften hard water sources for decades.


Smart Conditioner Units - feature photo

This will ensure livestock have access to clean and contaminant-free drinking water, and be less prone to illness and disease. 

In turn, this will boost livestock productivity and overall farm profits by facilitating weight gains and higher production of meat, wool and milk per hectare. 

High quality water that easily passes through broadacre cropping, horticultural and viticultural machinery and irrigation systems is also key to boosting the returns from these enterprises. 

To improve the quality and ensure the integrity of farmwater - and the subsequent success of irrigation and crop spraying systems - South Australian-based agricultural water engineering specialist Hydrosmart has developed an innovative physical water conditioning system. 


On the ground 

Hydrosmart’s technology has been used across all agricultural regions of Australia and is exported to several overseas countries that have recognised its potential. 

Hydrosmart chief executive officer Paul Pearce said the system was designed to help farmers improve the quality and performance of highly-mineralised, hard, salty, iron or calcium/ gypsum-affected water from bores, rivers, town mains and saline areas. 

He said it was based on particle physics research, which has established that scale layers and corrosion problems are related to how well minerals in water are dissolved. 

“Because our Hydrosmart system dissolves a broad range of minerals that buildup in water-carrying pipes, the water flows easier,” he said. 

“And, when dissolved, the minerals are held in suspension - without building-up to formnew scale. 

“These minerals then run out - with the water - through the pipes, pipeline drippers, sprayer units or other equipment that is in full-time contact with treated water. 

“After water treatment, the minerals become a valuable asset because they are better able to be metabolised by plants and animals.” 

Mr Pearce said that meant healthier crops and livestock for all types of farmers, and all property sizes. 

He said the system was a long-termeffective solution to tackle Australia’s diverse - and often harsh - water challenges to boost agricultural business returns. 

On-farm know-how 

Hydrosmart’s team at Parkside has been working with local family farming businesses for about 25 years to help themimprove on-farmwater quality and systems. 

Mr Pearce has had the longest-running water-specific outlet in Adelaide. 

“After working in water for so many years, I believed it was definitely something everyone needed - good, clean water,” he said. 

“I started some good partnerships with scientists and we have a biologist and electrical engineer in the team. 

“We found we could add value to water by using frequencies and a little bit of electricity, without any filters or consumables, and no waste streams. 

“We had seen the waste output and power being used with reverse osmosis (desalination), and thought there must be a better way. 

“The company evolved from that.” Mr Pearce said farmers were commonly using the Hydrosmart system for irrigation blockages in viticulture; wash down build-ups in dairies; improving saline bore water for stock and domestic animals in station country; and softening water in feedlots to help with feed conversion efficiency and weight gain. 

Economics stack-up 

Beyond improvements to water quality, the Hydrosmart process has the advantages of not producing wastewater and only using five watts of power to produce the necessary electromagnetic fields and resonance frequencies. 

This means low electricity input costs. The system can also run on solar power. 

“The units arrive complete as an appliance, are simple to install - taking only a few hours to set up - and are completely maintenancefree,” Mr Pearce said. 

“The water conditioner improves all water sources in a sustainable way, and works for decades without the need for any filters or consumables. 

“It simply requires a typical 10 amp power point, or solar panel and battery, and a location that protects it from the elements.”

Superior system 

The Hydrosmart process has proven to be more effective than simple magnets for water conditioning and has no waste streams, such as those produced when using reverse osmosis. 

It comprises a computer processor and plastic pipe wrapped in coils that is inserted into an existing pipe flow system - on-farm or from another source. 

Loop plastic pipe is used for units up to 100 millimetres in diameter and straight pipe is used where pipe diameter is 150-500mm. 

The system provides more than three metres of contact and oscillating/pulse time to activate the water molecules as they pass through the pipe.The electric fields and pulses disrupt and weaken the bonds of minerals on the water molecules. 

Mr Pearce said this led to wide-ranging benefits in improved water quality, particularly from highly mineralised, salty, iron or calcium-rich sources. 

“In short, our device softens hard water and releases minerals to improve overall crop and livestock production,” he said.

“Just like a good overnight fall of rain, farmers can see a difference in their crops and animals in a few days.” 

Research for the future 

Mr Pearce said beef producers, in particular, had recorded significant cattle growth rate gains after adopting the Hydrosmart system. 

“We worked with one Poll Hereford grazier who had been using bore water with 7000 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS) - which his cattle were not enjoying,” he said.

“We supplied a solar-powered 50mm sized unit to treat the water, and the cattle very quickly gained weight beyond what was being achieved prior to its installation,” he said.

 “This occurred due to the salts and elements in the hard bore water not having the same lock-up potential of nutrient uptake in the microbiome of the animals’ guts.” 

Vineyards, such as d’Arenberg’s, Jenke Vineyards and Hardys Wines, have also reported an uptick in vine health and growth.

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