•Mi Mastitis Problem? (Continued from Pag* A ' tern, maybe the vacuum pump is 100 small which can lead to fluctu ations and injury to the teat.” The improper installation of a vacuum pump and the vacuum control is a common problem Stoltfus encounters. “It is always the first thing I check. If the original installer did not put the sensor in the right place there will be problems with the vacuum level. The sensor tells the regulator how much air to allow in the line,” says Stoltzfus. “I had a farmer who always received his bonus for a low SCC, but all of a sudden his SCC shot up. He had a bucket line and the sensor had been put on an elbow from the mainline and it was sensing and mixing at the same place and it should have been installed on the k< A . f L *SI * h j r V*i ***. V — - •**, "***' *''<s& : J *f*f*'i*W*-'* * --mainline at the receiver,” says Stoltzfus. Check For Leaks If the vacuum pump is too small another pump can be added to the system or a larger pump can “•replace the small pump. But if the system is losing vacuum it could be the result of leaks in the system. Leaks come from natural wear and ' occur at pulsator line drains where dirt collects, around gaskets, milk inlets, and at stall cocks. Although servicemen use a stethoscope to check for leaks the farmer can do the same thing by using a hose to detect the “hissing” of vacuum leaks. Pulsators There are few pneumatic pulsa tors in use on today’s dairy farms, but there are some and they have more moving parts than the mod em electronically controlled pulsa- FEATURES INCLUDE: ♦,» * » * * V * i *4- >V« WHpMt’ ‘ * AV ‘‘tsmw tors and therefore demand more maintenance. The pneumatic pul sator should be checked every six “If you wait until you have a problem , then you have waited too long. Many of our far mers have us in regular ly and of course we don’t sell as many major repairs that way.” of Jim’s Surge months. The farmer can prevent damage and malfunction by clean ing the dust and dirt from the pneumatic pulsator atleast once a month. This will increase the life of the pulsator, also. The electronically controlled pulsator has a more steady, con- Experienced Designs Computerized Drafting Blue Prints Assistance in Cash Flows and Financial Assistance Contracts Manufactured Best Quality Equipment Quality Construction Equipment Installation Clean Working Conditions Upon Completion Competitive Prices Customer Satisfaction Jim Lefever Arrangements in Feeding Lancaster Farming, Saturday,' June ' slant pulsation while the pneuma tic pulsator creates a pulsation which can be too slow or too fast causing the injury to the teat by an inadequate rest phase. Depending upon the type of sys tem in use the control box can adjust the open/close phase for the front teats at 50/50 and set the back teats at 60/40 because there is usu ally more milk in the rear udder. Make sure the milk/rest phase is appropriately set. An improper setting can damage the teats by not allowing enough lime for either function. Insuffi- MOOOvIn' 0 with Milk I Iw * W Lr rSHB cient time in the rest period will damage teats by prohibiting blood flow in the teat. “If you don’t have and injured teat, considering other sanitary practices are in line, the incidence of mastitis will be extremely low in the herd,” says Gingrich. Proper use of equipment is as essential to mastitis control as pre milking preparations and post milking teat dipping. As usual on the farm, no one practice is the cure to all problems. It is the sum of many which leads to success. a&to* ., i .vl > J *"**■ „ Ks-%r
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