Shadow Enclosures
1988 - Irrigation Craft pioneered fiberglass enclosures in the irrigation industry by manufacturing our own molds and introducing our first fiberglass enclosed irrigation pump station in 1988. Fiberglass enclosures served well for many years until the problems inherent to all fiberglass enclosures led us to search for improvement.
2001 - Irrigation Craft developed a superior system we call the Shadow.
What kind of material is Shadow made of?
Irrigation Craft uses a product from the marine industry called Starlight XL® . Starlight XL has the following interesting properties:
Low Surface Tension - Starlight XL has very low surface tension. This feature prevents paints, adhesives, and glues from sticking to the surface. Only a few engineered adhesives can be used, and then only with special surface preparation. This feature makes Starlight XL highly resistant to graffiti.
No Cracking and No Crack Propagation - Starlight XL cannot be cracked or ripped at any normal temperatures (sub-Eskimo to Sub-Sahara). You can hit it with a sledge hammer, drive a nail through it, or drop a car on it for that matter. The material can be cut (as easily as fiberglass), but where you stop cutting the cut will not enlarge because tensile strength is constant and there is no grain and no such thing as crack propagation.
Sunlight & UV Resistance - This is one area where Starlight XL exceeds fiberglass dramatically. Fiberglass gel coat is a polyester based material easily and quickly degraded by the sun, regardless of claims to the contrary. The Starlight XL materials used by Irrigation Craft maintain their color stability for many years more than fiberglass, and with no care required.
Why Black ? - The best color for making an object disappear into a green landscape is BLACK. This is because our eyes tend to ignore black, as though shadows do not count. Are you purchasing a pump station with an enclosure to make the station look good? Or are you purchasing a pump station that you would like to minimize in the landscape?
Features of the Shadow Enclosure System
Cooling Fan or Vent ?
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Irrigation Craft provides a squirrel cage blower on every pump station with air cooled pump motors. |
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Irrigation Craft provided this blower on our old fiberglass enclosures as well because we determined that passive venting is insufficient in hot environments such as South Florida, regardless of the type of enclosure. |
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Some have claimed that this blower is not needed, or that they have never had a problem. However Irrigation Craft has learned otherwise. Find out more about why this fan is needed. |
Locks & Hardware
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Hinges, lock mechanisms, and all fasteners are stainless steel. |
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Hinges are full length continuous type. |
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Locking system uses two restraint points on each door. |
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All exterior fasteners are Torx vandal resistant (requires special tool). |
Aluminum Skid
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The Shadow equipment skid base is manufactured with welded aluminum plate. |
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The sides and all strengthening members are made of welded aluminum angle, channel, tube, and z-bar. |
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Equipment is rigidly mounted to this aluminum skid with stainless steel machine screw bolts. |
Follow the links below to learn more about the Shadow enclosure system.
Go to the King Plastics Company Web Page
