Why WETiT Waves don't have Spray Nozzles
For many years, WETiT have been frequently asked why they don’t have nozzles for teat spraying in their Wave (foot placement device). The WETiT Wave was originally developed to enhance the accuracy of the Platform Magic teat sprayer for rotary sheds. It was never designed to use for teat spraying, even though much thought has been given to this concept.
Since release in 2004, the WETiT Wave has been installed in over 700 rotary sheds nationally and internationally. One of the reasons for the success of the Wave is that it is the brainchild of a company which specialises in teat spraying and invests heavily in research and development. A large part of this being on the farm because years of experience have taught WETiT that nobody knows better whether something is doing a good job than the person using it every day.
Through extensive testing and trials, Director David Carey and Product Development Manager Brian Sexton have proven exactly why spraying from underneath the cow doesn’t give effective coverage.
- Spray nozzles fitted centrally within the bail will not give spray coverage to the outsides of the teats as they are in the spray shadow.
- There is scientific evidence that it is not necessary to spray the teats the instant the cups are removed.
- The bridge mounted type of teat sprayer sprays from side to side at the udder while the cow moves past the fixed spray nozzle, achieving the most effective spray coverage.
- The large cost of fitting spray nozzles and solenoid to every bail challenges the cost effectiveness of the ‘individual bail’ system.
- The high maintenance cost for the ‘individual bail’ systems when something as simple as a blockage occurs.
- Coverage on the back of the teat is not possible if the cow moves back.
- Some brands of teat spray settle out and create an Iodine sludge, which corrodes filter meshes, creating multiple blockages.
- Initial setup cost can be significant due to the number of components and installation time.
- If two nozzles are used per bail, a 60 point shed would have 120 spray nozzles to remove, and flush out the lines if the teat spray reacted badly causing a chalky residue. It would take days to fix.
- Solenoid electrical caps need regular servicing and checking for corrosion. A standard check would take 60 times longer.
- The need to phone a service technician is much higher due to the size of a hassle if one occurs. WETiT has always had pride in making a robust, farmer friendly system, which invites a small simple check-over as part of the milking routine. Any spray check of an ‘individual bail’ system would require the total of all bails to be sprayed. Time and chemical wastage would stop these checks from being done.
- Cup removers can go out of flavour, and if the ‘individual bail’ system relies on the cup remover for a signal, then the teat sprayer couldn’t work. On occasions that the cup remover is out of operation there will be not teat spraying if it relies on a signal from the cup remover.
WETiT has invested significant time and money over the past 10 years in other technologies that are more effective at getting full teat coverage to the complete teat surfaces.
<< Articles | New Teat Sprayer >