2 Acres · Economic Permanent RainGun · Erected 2006 · Dharapuram, Tamil Nadu · 15 Years of Service
This is one of our favourite projects — it came through our own relations and old customers. Mr. Palanisamy from Dharapuram first needed a better irrigation system for his goat fodder, but with very minimal resources: only 10,000 litres of water per day available for his 2-acre farm, and only 5HP of power allotted to the site. A second major complication: a 60-foot deep open well. Delivering a working RainGun system on just 5HP at that depth — requiring 3 kg/cm² of pressure — was a serious engineering challenge. On top of that, Mr. Palanisamy specifically demanded a cheap, economical system with at least a 20-year life span.
We accepted this as a challengeable project to prove our technical strength. Work started immediately and was completed within 20 days. Two RainGuns were installed, running at 65 to 75 feet radius depending on the open well's water level at any given time.
The system ran continuously for 15 years, from its erection in 2006 up to 2020, irrigating both goat fodder and groundnut. It stopped only when the open well ran completely dry — not due to any system failure. If water becomes available again in the future, the system can be restarted with only minimal repair work, since the valves — placed in open atmosphere — have experienced some UV and climate-related wear over the years.
Project at a Glance (Erected 2006)
| Project | Economic Permanent RainGun System |
| Location | Dharapuram, Tamil Nadu |
| Crop | Goat Fodder & Groundnut |
| Total Area | 2 Acres |
| Motor Power | 5 HP |
| Water Source | Open Well — 60 feet depth |
| Water Availability | 10,000 Litres / day |
| Operating Pressure Required | 3 kg/cm² |
| RainGuns Installed | 2 Nos. |
| Coverage Radius | 65 to 75 feet (varies with well water level) |
| Installation Time | Completed within 20 days |
| Year Erected | 2006 |
| Years in Continuous Service | 15 Years (2006–2020) |
| Current Status | Stopped — open well ran dry in 2020. System ready to resume with minor valve maintenance if water becomes available. |
"Only 5HP, a 60-foot well, a demand for 20 years of life, and a budget to match — that's exactly the kind of challenge we like to take on to prove our technical strength. The system ran for 15 straight years and only stopped because the well itself ran dry, not because anything we built gave way. That's the real test of an economical design."
— Nallamuthu, CEO, Thumba Agro Technologies — from customer project records
Yes, with the right engineering. Mr. Palanisamy's site had only 5HP power allotted and a 60-foot deep open well — requiring 3 kg/cm² of pressure to run the RainGun system properly. Thumba designed the system specifically around these constraints, successfully running 2 RainGuns at 65 to 75 feet radius for 15 years on just 5HP.
Pulling water from 60 feet and still delivering enough pressure at the surface for a RainGun to throw water 65-75 feet requires careful pump and pressure sizing — especially when only a limited motor power (5HP in this case) is available. This was one of the major complications in the Dharapuram project, alongside the very limited water availability of just 10,000 litres per day for the 2-acre farm.
Mr. Palanisamy asked for a cheap, economical system with at least a 20-year life span. The system ran continuously from its erection in 2006 until 2020 — 15 years of uninterrupted service — before stopping due to the open well running completely dry, not because of any equipment failure.
The system stopped in 2020 due to zero water availability in the open well — a natural resource issue, not a system failure. If water becomes available again in the future, the system can be restarted with only minimal repair work, since the valves — placed in open atmosphere — have experienced some UV and climate-related wear over the years of idle time.
Yes. Mr. Palanisamy's 2-acre farm grew both goat fodder and groundnut from the same 2-RainGun permanent system. A well-designed permanent layout delivers uniform, rainfall-like coverage across the full field, which suits multiple crop types grown in different sections of the same holding.
Valves and fittings placed in open atmosphere can experience wear from UV exposure and weather over time, even when the system isn't actively running. For the Dharapuram system, this means only minimal repair work on the valves would be needed to bring it back into service if the open well's water supply is restored.
We design economical RainGun systems around whatever power and water you actually have — no oversized, overpriced equipment required.
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