Valley® Irrigation Releases Hybrid Machine Configuration for its Award-Winning X-Tec® Motor

Valley® Irrigation recently announced a new hybrid machine configuration for its exclusive X-Tec® center drive motor.

The X-Tec motor revolutionizes the way growers think about center pivot irrigation, with patented FastPassTM technology enabling X-Tec to operate at up to twice the speed of ordinary center drive motors. The new hybrid machine configuration will revolutionize the way growers think about value.

This new option is configured similarly to how high-speed center drive motors can be combined with standard speed motors. The hybrid X-Tec pivot configuration uses the high-speed Valley center drive motors on the inner drive units and X-Tec drives on the outer drive units.

“At Valley, we are constantly working to make advanced technology accessible to growers,” Andy Carritt, Vice President, Product Development. “To provide more growers the opportunity to experience the many benefits of X-Tec, we are now able to combine X-Tec drives with high-speed AC drives. By doing so, we can reduce the grower’s investment for adding X-Tec with FastPass technology to pivots by about 40%.”

While significantly reducing the lap time of a machine equipped with high-speed center drive motors is a key benefit, the X-Tec drive is more than just fast. It offers:

• Full torque capabilities at any speed, making it ideal for tough terrain and low spots;
• Consistent, precision alignment;
• Electronic braking;
• Lasting durability;
• Soft starts, resulting in smooth acceleration; and
• The ability for frequent, light application of water to cool the crop canopy, maintain surface moisture during germination and prevent wind erosion. X-Tec is therefore a perfect solution for sensitive, high-value commodity crops such as potatoes, carrots, onions and alfalfa.