The Hindu 13.06.2013
Students unveil sprayer that runs on solar energy
: Final year students of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering department at the PDA College of Engineering here have come
out with a cost-effective and time saving multi-utility sprayer that
operates on solar energy.
Varikuti Vasantha Rao,
Sharanakumar Mathpati, Uma Kariyannavar and Veena Rani, under the
guidance of Basavaraj Amarapur, assembled a back-mounted sprayer that
can be continuously operated for nearly four hours after being charged
for six hours. The solar panel mounted on top of the tank carried by the
person on the field would continue to be charged during the operation
also.
Varikuti Vasantha Rao, explaining the working
of the sprayer, told presspersons here on Wednesday that the sprayer,
including the solar panels, can be assembled at less than Rs. 6,000,
which is a one-time investment and would benefitfarmers, who could avoid
expenditure on fuel. The sprayer can be used for spraying pesticides,
fungicides and fertilizer.
He said farmers could easily spray pesticide or fertilizer in more than six acres of land in a day.
Mr.
Rao said it could be used for painting as well. A fully charged sprayer
could spray up to 575 litres at a time. Another added advantage of the
sprayer was that it could also be operated on battery during rain and
cloudy days.
Mr. Rao said the sprayer was a modified
model of the two-stroke petrol engine powered sprayer which was being
used by farmers. The students had replaced the two-stroke petrol engine
with a single DC motor, which can be operated by electrical energy
stored in the battery attached to the unit.
Head of
the Electrical and Electronics Department P.K. Kulkarni and principal of
the college S.S. Hebbal have congratulated the students.