Most of the pivot problems we get called out for mid-season had warning signs back in winter. A worn seal, a sticky tower connection, a drive unit that was already labouring. None of it looked urgent in June. By January, with the paddock crying out for water and the whole district trying to book a technician at once, it’s a different story, and a much more expensive one.
Winter is the right time to get ahead of it. Here’s what’s worth checking now, what you can check yourself, and what’s better left to a technician.
Why off-season, not spring
It’s tempting to leave servicing until closer to the season, when irrigation is front of mind. But spring is when every other farmer has the same idea, and booking slots fill up fast. Winter also gives you time to actually deal with whatever you find. If a part needs ordering, you’ve got weeks to sort it, not days.
Get it looked at now, and if something needs fixing, there’s no pressure to rush it.
What you can check yourself
You don’t need a technician for a basic once-over. A bit of time walking the machine will tell you a lot:
- Visual inspection. Walk the length of the pivot looking for rust, damaged spans, leaks at joints, and anything that looks obviously worn or out of place.
- Drive units and tyres. Check each tower’s drive unit for oil leaks or unusual play, and have a look at tyre condition and pressure.
- Tower connections and alignment. Look for anything loose, misaligned, or showing signs of stress at the joints between spans.
- Sprinkler heads and nozzles. Check for blockages, wear, or heads that aren’t sitting right. These are cheap and easy to replace now, and a blocked nozzle you catch in June is a five-minute fix instead of an uneven paddock in January.
If everything looks straightforward, that’s a good sign. If something looks off, that’s exactly what winter is for.
What needs a proper service
Some things aren’t visible from a walk-around, and this is where a technician earns their keep. A full service goes well beyond a visual check, and covers the parts of the system that quietly cause the most expensive breakdowns:
- Safety system verification. Every safety mechanism on the machine gets checked and confirmed working.
- Electrical checks across the whole system. Panels, tower boxes, and motors all get checked, since wiring and connections degrade in ways that aren’t obvious until they fail mid-season.
- Gearbox servicing. Greasing and fluid changes on the centre drive and gearboxes, which need doing periodically regardless of how the machine looks or sounds.
- Control panel diagnostics and updates. Panels can flag developing issues, but only if someone’s actually running diagnostics rather than just checking it powers on.
- Booster pump checks. Control panels and fuses on the booster pump get looked over too, since a pump issue can take the whole system down.
- Sand trap cleaning. Sand traps get removed and cleaned where possible. A clogged trap puts strain on the rest of the system that’s easy to miss until something downstream fails.
Signs your pivot is overdue
A few things are worth acting on rather than putting off:
- It’s been more than a season since a proper service, not just a quick look
- You had any breakdowns or callouts last season, even minor ones
- The system’s been making a noise or running differently and you’ve just gotten used to it
- You’re not sure when it was last serviced properly
None of these are emergencies on their own. But catching a small problem now beats a breakdown in the middle of summer, when parts take longer to source, technicians are stretched across every farm in the district, and every day without water costs you.
What a Plains winter service actually covers
We run a comprehensive 22-point winter service, covering a complete visual and hands-on check of every critical area on pivots, laterals, and corner systems, right through to the electrical and control systems most farmers can’t check themselves. That includes full operational testing, gearbox and drive train servicing, tyre pressure checks, booster pump and control panel diagnostics, sand trap cleaning, and a full safety system check.
If something small needs sorting, we’ll fix it there and then. If it’s something bigger, we’ll talk it through with you before doing anything, so you decide how you want to proceed. And you’ll come away with a written condition report, so you know exactly where your system stands and what, if anything, needs budgeting for before the season starts.
Book your winter service below or call the team on 0800 752 467.
