Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | What product are you applying? If the product is NH3 enter in the number of pulses for 1 Gallon for your flowmeter.
If you are using a Raven flowmeter use the number on the Cal tag for Gallons divided by 10 since the Raven Cal number is the number of pulses for 10 Gallons. Don't use the Raven number for NH3 since a conversion factor has been applied to obtain that number.
If you were using a Raven controller you would probably use the Raven converted number and then enter the target rate in Pounds of Actual "N" desired per acre. Your totals (Volume) would actually be Pounds of total "N" (not NH3) used.
When you use an Insight with Direct Command you enter the number of pulses per Gallon (Raven Number divided by 10). When you choose NH3 as the product, the Insight will apply the conversion numbers necessary to convert the number of gallons to Pounds of NH3 and/or Pounds of "N".
This is why when you choose NH3 as the product, one of screens asks you what you wish the target rate to be based on. For NH3 the choices are either NH3 or N.
I choose "N" and then enter the target rate in the Pounds of "N" that I am shooting for. I change the numerical items shown in the boxes to the right of the Map to: Rate of NH3, Rate of N, Acres and Container Level. By doing this any confusion of the Pounds NH3 versus Pounds N is minimized since they are both shown.
For example, if I chose Pounds of "N" as my target units and enter in 164 as the target rate, I would expect the display to show 200 Pounds of NH3 in the top box and 164 Pounds of N in the second box. The onscreen map is shown in Pounds of NH3.
When I hook up to a tank, I choose a new Region and name the Region with the tank number, I also reset the Container Level to Fill Event. I have previously defined the container level as 1200 gallons since this is a realistic amount that I can expect to apply from the tanks I use.
When I start appying with a "new" tank, the Region Area will be zero and the Container Level will be 1200. As I apply, the Area will increase and the Container Level will decrease. The Summary for each field will list each tank on a separate line (since I create a new region for each tank change) with the various totals etc.
This makes it handy to double check billing which is helpful since I have two different partners and we each pay for our own product. We typically apply to one field and then switch to another which can make the bookeeping a bit confusing for the gal at the fertilizer plant.
If a field is completed and the tank still contains a significant amount of product I can move to another field and indicate that tank for the Region name in the next field. The numerical indicators will show zero for the acres in the new field and the Container Level will continue from the level of the previous field. This is makes it easy to split a tank between partners when necessary by looking at the Summary. Also since the Container Level continues from its previous point, the Container Level will give the operator an indication of when to switch tanks.
Another point concerning NH3 application - during these colder periods it is very common to be "getting some vapor" in the NH3. When this happens the flowmeter's turbine will be spinning faster than it really should and thus the system will be fooled into applying less than you really desire.
Various solutions exist for this situation including slowing down, using larger plumbing, using double tanks, heating the tanks, air compressors or the like. These solutions work with varying degrees of success.
Edited by tedbear 12/1/2008 11:02
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Direct Command
