Water level sensor – Farmo, Water Rat
Farmo’s water rat remotely monitors the water level in an individual trough or tank.
Benefits
The water rat is light and easily transported. It can travel with the mob when they move into a new paddock to monitor the water trough.
The device sends an alert to notify that water levels are below normal if:
- the trough is damaged
- a water pump stops working
- a pipe leaks.
Through the water usage graph, pump health and issues can be identified early, reducing the risk of stock going without water.
The water rat makes inspecting troughs and tanks more efficient, especially in the summer, with reduced travel time and labour required.
How it works
The water rat floats in the trough or tank and uses accelerometer tilt sensors to detect movement. It sends data to your phone, tablet or computer.
When the water rat reaches low levels, it tilts over and triggers an alert. If the water level rises again to normal levels, another alert is sent to advise the level is normal.
Farmo water rat dashboard information
Installation and power
The water rat is installed by attaching a magnet to its side to activate it and placing it in a trough or tank.
We recommend tethering it to the side of a tank to allow an alert to be sent when the tank is 50% full, rather than when the tank is completely empty.
Powered by a lithium-ion non-rechargeable battery (8000 mAh Li/SOCl2) for long-term use.
Connectivity requirements
The water rat uses a NB-IoT connection to send data.
Pricing model
Upfront hardware cost with ongoing subscription costs for data and service.
Return on investment (ROI) estimate
Return on investment (ROI) estimate
The below table demonstrates costs of using the Farmo tecnhnology over 3 years, compared to no water monitoring.
Estimated ROI is based on manually checking tanks and troughs at our Kybybolite property, which is not as regularly patrolled as the Struan farm. Considering the 37km distance between the farms, water runs are reduced by 50% using the water rat.
If your property relies on reticulated water, these costs will be considerably higher.
| Costs | Manual water checks | 1st year using Farmo | 2nd year using Farmo | 3rd year using Farmo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Purchase price + ongoing data costs1 | - |
$680 ($545 hardware + $135 data subscription for 1 device) | $135 | $135 |
| Labour cost2 | $4,387.50 | $2,193.75 | $2,193.75 | $2,193.75 |
| Motor vehicle cost3 | $3,090.24 | $1,545.12 | $1,545.12 | $1,545.12 |
| Total costs | $7,477.74 | $4,418.87 | $3,873.87 | $3,873.87 |
| Savings4 | - | $3,738.87 | $7,477.74 | $11,216.61 |
| Return on investment5 | - |
450% of costs recovered |
818% of costs recovered |
1081% of costs recovered |
- Prices current as of April 2022.
- Estimated labour cost of $50 per hour to check waters.
- Motor vehicle costs estimated at $0.72 per km.
- Savings calculations estimated from a 50% reduction in labour and vehicle costs each year from reduced water checks.
- ROI calculations assume no water issues have been detected in 3 years.
Monitoring devices do not eliminate the need to inspect tanks and troughs, but they can be checked less frequently. The investment costs will therefore be recovered in the first year of installation, even if no water issues are detected.
If a significant water loss event went undetected for a few days, livestock weight loss and death would cause production losses.
See it in action
To view the water rat, contact the AgTech Extension Officer at Struan and Kybybolite demonstration farm.
Struan AgTech field day demonstration
Contact vendor
Nick Seymour – Farmo
Email: nick@farmo.com
Phone: 0434 555 804
