A catch can test tells you how evenly your irrigation system actually puts water on — essential for irrigating efficiently and fixing the areas that are always over- or under-watered.
Uneven irrigation shows up as uneven crops, wasted water and wasted power — but the cause is often invisible from the ground. A catch can test measures what actually lands across the field, so you can fix the cause rather than irrigate around it.
Common finds include sprinkler pack condition, worn nozzles, blocked heads, pressure variation and pump output problems.
Cans go out in a line along the whole length of the pivot or on a measured grid under a fixed sprinkler system, it runs as it normally would, and each can is measured. Wind, pressure, pump settings and more are recorded during the test.
You get a Distribution Uniformity (DU) and Coefficient of Uniformity (CU) score and a map or chart showing where the water actually landed or not, and how any system changes or upgrades would likely result in for system performance and productivity.
The catch can test shows you how well your irrigator will perform. In essence fixing any issues before they are an issue and affect production. The start or end of a season are the most common times people get these test done.
Common triggers are also often a crop that performs unevenly for no obvious reason, a system that's had nozzles or a pump replaced, or a season where water is tight when losses matter most. Tests can be repeated after remediation to confirm the fix worked.
This is an on-site service we deliver ourselves across South Australia and Victoria. Results can be logged against the site in BushLinx® so uniformity is tracked over the years rather than sitting in a drawer.
This is a quick overview. Specs, photos, how it works and real-world examples are on the Catch Can Tests page of the BushLinx® website.