Better known for their exploits on the hurling pitch, the Power family of Kilbricken Farm, Callan, Co. Kilkenny also run a substantial dairy herd consisting of 400 Holstein Friesian cows.
On their Co. Kilkenny holding, brothers Jim, John and Edmund Power have built up a 1,200ac mixed-farming enterprise.
The Power name and Kilkenny hurling go hand-in-hand and John is the proud holder of four All-Ireland medals, four Leinster titles and was twice awarded an All-Star award.
Away from hurling, their recently expanded 400-cow dairy herd, which is milked through a 50-unit Dairymaster rotary parlour, takes centre stage on the family-run farm.
With one eye on installing the new parlour, the farming brothers faced a new challenge – that being the large volume of water needed to clean the parlour every evening and the 20,000L bulk tank every other day.
With a busy daily schedule, having a reliable supply of hot water was vital for effective cleaning as well as controlling the Total Bacteria Count (TBC).
However, the farm’s existing electric hot water heating unit was struggling to reach the required 80⁰C temperature and was taking longer to fill the tank each time.
The brothers were on the lookout for a solution when Jim met Flogas Sales Executive Tommy Murray at Callan Co-op.
A free site visit was organised shortly afterwards to demonstrate how a hot water heating system, powered by Flogas LPG, was a cost-effective solution for the Power brothers.
How does the Flogas system work?
The Flogas system uses Andrews FastFlo water heaters to produce up to 15L of hot water at 37-80 degrees Celsius per minute.
The auto-ignition system eliminates running and storage costs when idle, so the farm only pays for the hot water that’s used.
Not only would the FastFlo heating be perfect for the farm’s cleaning duties but would also be ideal during calving season.
The FastFlo heating system is fitted with precise temperature controls, allowing calves’ milk to be heated up quickly and easily.
The brothers were impressed with Tommy’s proposal and the go-ahead was given to make the switch from an electric-powered heating system to a gas-powered system.
Making the switch to Flogas
Due to the size of the rotary milking parlour, Mark Murphy, a Registered Gas Installer from Heat Services Network, installed three cascading 56kW Andrews FastFlo heaters to produce 45L of hot water per minute and connected them to a Flogas LPG bulk tank sited nearby.
The installation was completed seamlessly, as in most cases Flogas can use existing pipework so no major changes are needed and there’s no disruption to farm activities.
“Any time I turn on the tap I have instant hot water,” Jim Power explained.
Kilbricken Farm has been using Flogas’ instant water heating system since 2012 and as the Power Brothers will tell you: “It has undoubtedly become a winning edition on the farm”.
“Not only do we now have instant hot water on demand for a range of activities on our farm, which has made a big difference to our workload,” Jim Power said. “We also estimate that we’re saving over 20% on our hot water heating bills as a result.”
For more information on the Flogas system call (041) 9831041 or Visit the company’s website