Portrush farm turns to Flogas for hot water solution

From milking to mixing milk to washing down: why Flogas offers the perfect hot water solution

James Taylor farms 500 acres of land on the edge of Portrush. Some of the land has been in his family since his great-grandparents moved there in 1918.

The present business was started by his grandparents in 1949 and it is now run by James in partnership with his parents.

Traditionally a beef finishing operation with a little arable crop as well, the family moved into spring calf dairying several years ago. In early 2020, they began calving and milking from a herd of 260 crossbred dairy heifers and installed an efficient 50-point rotary parlour.

Could a hot water solution benefit your farm?

However, the new operation greatly increased the need for large quantities hot water on demand. They began searching for a similarly efficient solution for hot water needs, not only for the calving and milking but across the entire farm.

James first became aware of the Flogas Instant Dairy Hot Water System via a farm contact. Attracted by the efficiency and on-demand benefits it offered, he made further enquiries and was subsequently introduced to Craig Johnston, the local Flogas area sales executive.

Craig paid a visit to the farm to go through everything in detail. With a lot of experience in this area, Craig was able to give James sound advice on how the system would work for all his family farm’s hot water needs.

The other benefits also impressed them as well. Aside from on demand hot water delivering temperatures from 37⁰C to 85⁰C, there was automated gas delivery and no hot water storage costs day or night. It also brought a reduced carbon footprint and full control of how much hot water was used and when. The heater is located outside the parlour, so noise levels are minimal and won’t disturb the heifers.

James said: “We decided to opt for the Flogas hot water solution as the team were so helpful in not only explaining the benefits of the system but also advising on tank and water heater siting.”

Once agreement was reached, Craig and a registered Gas Safe engineer did a site walkthrough and advised on the best location to install the hot water heater units. A Flogas bulk LPG tank was delivered and sited then connected to three wall-mounted hot water heaters.

The installation of the Flogas LPG tank to power the new wall-mounted heaters had minimal disruption to the farm’s day to day activities. Since then, the family hasn’t looked back.

James said: “After milking we run a wash through the milking plant, then we drop the temperature down to 40⁰C for water to mix milk for feeding calves. Then, it’s back up to 85⁰C for washing down the calf feeding equipment. It’s been of great benefit to our calves’ health.”

Discover more at www.flogasni.com/dairy