Cycle Reducer for Jet Pumps

You may see a term not familiar in some of my blogs and in my estimates.  It is a product called a cycle reducer.  It is been used in some form or another for 20 or 30 years, but I have streamlined it and made it work for any jet pump.

Every few years the well drilling industry digs up some forgotten technology and “recycles it” .  We have always had problems with the jet pumps cycling and with newer “smart” technology, we thought we wouldn’t need these devices any more.  The new “smart” pumps are about as adept to true field conditions as leaving your smart phone on the edge of a full bathtub with a two year old in it!  The electronics fail prematurely and we see other issues that couldn’t be foreseen even by the manufacturer.  This is for Jet pump systems only since they usually incorporate their electronics in the pump body.  Submersible technology is certainly proven with “smart” technology.

I will not describe a cycle reducer except to tell you it works for what we claim it to do, which is reduce the number of cycles a pump must endure during any given irrigation zone including drip zones.  It is entirely manual with no electronics.  It is fully adjustable (unless you are one of those people who can’t leave a valve handle alone, and then we will take the handle off), which gives it some adjustment if using for differing applications.  It works with a small bladder tank to ensure even pressure on the zones (which helps pop them out of the ground and keep them there).  Using one of these valves enables the average irrigation system to run a drip zone at the same time as a regular zone as long as they are timed the same.  This requires a little extra design for the irrigation man, since two lines have to be run instead of one.  One pipe is high pressure and the other is relatively low.  This is just an extra option, not a requirement.  Most people don’t take advantage of the dual zone capability since they only have one or two drip zones anyway.  It does save energy by running both though!

A cycle reducer is only needed if the pump is capable of pumping 75% of it’s capacity.  Any less and other methods would be better serving the pump.

Thanks for reading

Jody