[blackdog]

Most people just park their tractor to the pump, hook up the PTO and let-er rip. Running parked old diesel tractors is a no brainer. $3,000 for an old tractor or $12,000 for a 50hp stand alone diesel engine which has no utility whatsoever? Hmmmmm........Which do you think the farmer does?

I've seen diesel tractors turning the shaft on irrigation pumps for a week at a time. Some sites even install a bulk tank which bypasses the tractor's tank allowing it to run forever.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Seems sensible to me!!!!

[Amerigomag]

Most people just park their tractor to the pump

PTO hasn't been used for some years in the central San Joaquin Valley on a commercial scale. This is article about 100 to 150 HP stationary diesel engines pumping high volumes of water on the east side of the valley and huge Caterpillar diesel engines on the west side of the valley pumping from several hundred feet.

A few specialty PTO rigs as still used but they're specialized for siphon pumping from large canals. These mobile giants are built on a D8 frames and the finished platform contains tractor, pump and a 48", hydraulically articulated siphon pipe. They must me mobile as they crawl along the canal bank to water each crop check individually.

Along the secondary roadways on the west side of the valley there are still examples of massive electric motors, moved only slightly away from their old well heads, because PG&E regulated them out of existence.

I stopped using a small 12 HP electric in 1997 to irrigate a 40 acre walnut grove because the power bill was exceeding $1,500/mo from May through September. A 75HP diesel could do a better job for 1/2 the cost including the payment for the rig.