Charlie Berberat knew there must be a better way to handle water suction hose, but he couldn’t find it. So he built it.
Berberat farms in the rolling country of the northern grain belt that straddles the Saskatchewan border near Roblin, Man. The grain producer also does custom metal work for other farmers and local agricultural contractors.
Metal fabrication work led to a project modifying a trailer for a custom spray applicator. The spray contractor mentioned he needed a better way to draw water from sloughs, dugouts and ditches.
Read Also
Selenium not deal breaker in coal mining: expert
Environmental scientist weighs in on coal mining debates in Western Canada, explaining selenium and the technologies and practices to lower its concentrations in nearby waterways to coal mining operations
Berberat could identify with the problems of sinking foot valves, plugged intake screens, wind-blown floats tangled in the willows and mud-filled boots. Locally there had been several cases of stolen pumps and water lines that were left at dugouts during the spraying season.
“I just thought about it seriously and came up with the solution. A boom that reaches across the water,” said Berberat.
Made of 2 x 2-inch mild steel tubing in .250 and .125 inch wall, the lightweight boom holds up to a three-inch (7.6 centimetre) suction hose seven metres over a water source. Using a cable winch or hydraulic jack for height adjustment, an attached foot valve/screen combination is lowered into the water with little surface disturbance. The same technique can be used to drop water into top-loading sprayer tanks, once the intake valve and screen are removed.
“Most of us are not as big as the men on the farm,” said Claire Berberat, Charlie’s spouse. “Handling these big water hoses can be an awful chore. But it is we or the older folks who end up driving the water truck. This makes it a lot easier and safer.”
Berberat built the first unit in March. Later that month he took the idea and a Lazy Boom attached to his 1974 International three-ton truck to the Yorkton, Sask., Farm and Leisure Show’s new invention showcase. He drove away with the Inventors Peoples’ Choice award.
“The boom can be mounted on trucks or trailers. It is light enough that one person can lift (it) off when it’s not being used,” said Charlie.
The couple said the trip to the trade show taught them about the need to be prepared for a crowd and the types of questions asked at a farm show booth.
Lessons learned in Yorkton will be applied in Regina this summer at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show. The top prize in Yorkton was a sponsored booth at the new invention area of the giant farm equipment forum held each July.
“At the booth in Yorkton we drew a lot of attention,” said Charlie. “You can learn a lot about your own product at a show like that. People come up and tell you how they could use it or what would make it better for them. You take all those ideas home with you and start making changes and refining the design.”
The Berberats say the most important lesson was about patenting their idea. Other vendors at the show told them to file the idea before another manufacturer took the idea as his own.
“As soon as we got home we called a patent lawyer that was recommended to us at the show and filed. It is important for us because we want to continue building the booms on the farm to supplement our income. Farming can be kind of tight these days,” said Claire.
For more information contact Charlie and Claire Berberat, Box 657, Roblin, Man., ROL 1P0; 204-937-4781.
