A little irrigation pipe work......

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We have a contract with the state of Georgia to install these meters on iirigations thru out the state.  Here is a few pics of the last one I did.  I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Few more picsI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Painted, and then with the meter installed....One down and twenty four more to go on this contract...I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Nice catch!  By the time you get to #24, you will be able to do it in your sleep!Good work,,,,,,,,6013?DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:yea, David , it was 6013.  I generally use 3/32" 7018, but was out so I gave the 6013 a shot.  I have 24 left on this contract, but have been doing these for about 5 years now.  I've done installed probably 500 so far.  It's good money.  It just keeps you on the road everyday.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Nice work and a good quantity of it. You look to get a good variety of jobs, which always keeps things interesting. The work looks similar to a lot of the rural work around here. I was fascinated with the bale trailer you built a while ago and also the frame on the front of a John Deere. Farming on a bigger scale than we see here.What is the water source, well water? What is the reason for the meters, is there a charge involved for the water, or solely for measuring volumes? Down here for a new bore or pond, there must be provision for a meter. No actual meters fitted yet but it looks like it'll only be a matter of time. Then I expect they'll want to charge for the water pumped from the bore we put down.
Reply:Tractapac, I am in a VERY rural area here.  Agriculture here drives the economy, and most work is related to it in some way.  I do alot of ag and timber equipment repair and fabrication, and alot of irrigation work.  I've just now started getting into a fair amount of structural.  These meters are part of a state mandated law.  Every agricultural/commercial irrigation in the state of Georgia is required to have one installed.  They are being put on wells and ponds.  This one above was actually in a pond.  Right now there is a program where the state is having them installed at their expense.  a friend and myself have been in the program since they first started.  The purpose is mainly for research.  There is a big water war going on between the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida.  Florida is claiming that Georgia's irrigations are pulling too much water from the ground, etc....  The meters are being installed to have some type of data on a state level so that they know just how much water is being used.  So far not a single meter I have installed showed that there was as near as much water being used as was originally believed.  So that's a good thing.  Sorry for the long explanation, but maybe it will give ya some insight on why we are doing this.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Are those band clamps that hold the meter to the pipe?
Reply:looks like you had to weld a flange together with a flange ring and a reducer coupling, then "nest" the reducer into a pipe nipple. You could save a weld by buying the flange...just 2 cents..
Reply:sounds pretty crazy for them to think that too much ground water is being pulled considering that most of it gets reabsorbed.BTW Good work! I wish I was on one of your crews!(the grass is always greener there)
Reply:Thanks for the "long" explanation... I was curious as well.
Reply:Originally Posted by BobAre those band clamps that hold the meter to the pipe?
Reply:Thanks for the reply, don't worry about it's length, it explained things fine. If we sink a new well here, you have to monitor your closest neighbour's bore while you test pump to see if it's affecting their water levels. The outcome of this test and any recovery time may affect whether you get clearance to use the well. Most water out our way is used for kiwifruit irrigation or frost protection later in the growing season. As pointed out by Mark, most does get reabsorbed.
Reply:Mr Hammack, any plumbing supply company shouldbe able to get you an 11  by 4 threaded flange(11 is the outside diameter of the 6" flange, 4 is the threaded opening. twould save you some welds.
Reply:Originally Posted by Mark...sounds pretty crazy for them to think that too much ground water is being pulled considering that most of it gets reabsorbed.BTW Good work! I wish I was on one of your crews!(the grass is always greener there)
Reply:Weldbead, I will look into that.  See I am am 50 miles from the nearest city with any type of plumbing supply.  So most of my fittings come from irrigation dealers so it's usually hit or miss.  You just have to take what they have and make it work.  I will make some calls and check into that.  Thanks for the heads up.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I was kind of wondering why you built your flange to thread assembly like that. I figured it was probably a case of using what was available. I have built a lot of things like that but always had half a dozen oilwell supply stores handy to make things simple.
Reply:6" to 4" pipe thread nipples are a fair ammount more $$, not used as much. Also going from a 6" line, to a 4" line without a cone increases turbulance in the water, and since this is for placement of a flowmeter, it would be the right choice. (turbulance will effect the flowmeter accuracy) Hammack, keep burning, and since I am sure I will be the only one to say this to you, thanks for placing the flowmeter in the correct place.
Reply:not sure the threaded flange will cost  more than the plate flange plus  the reducer..but figure the  cost of the 2 welds saved.... 24 times....also it seems like the fitting we are discussing lies downstream of the meter, looks like at least 10 pipe diameters , so whatever additional turbulence it caused  would not affect accuracy...