Why Not Fiberglass ?
The problems with fiberglass that led Irrigation Craft to develop a more durable system are:
A contractor complained about how heavy our fiberglass enclosures were to open. We knew ourselves that the enclosures were not only heavy, but also they were prone to damage when people opened them and dropped them on uneven ground. We also noticed how hard it was for contractors to work on the stations. We saw not only our fiberglass stations having these problems, but our competitors fiberglass enclosures were also having the same problems. Technicians had to get down on their knees wet ground to service the equipment. With some of our competitors equipment the technicians had to lay down on wet ground to read labels or service the equipment.
Irrigation Craft solved some of these problems by mounting the electrical control panel and irrigation controllers on angled pedestals. This helped the service aspects but did not eliminate the heavy enclosures and their weaknesses. The Shadow Enclosure system has made dramatic improvements in all these areas.
The most important drawback to fiberglass enclosures is durability, and this is the primary reason why Irrigation Craft developed the Shadow enclosure system.
Fiberglass is fragile in thin cross sections (such as pump enclosures) and easily cracked, especially at hinge points, lock points, where holes have been drilled, and where any hardware is attached such as bolts, restraints, or gas pistons. Any attempt to make the fiberglass resistant to this problem drives costs up, makes the enclosures very heavy, which then adds another problem - if the enclosure slips out of the technicians hand and drops heavily on the ground the hinge area of the fiberglass can crack. Another problem with the hinging fiberglass enclosure is when there is uneven ground. Drop the enclosure on uneven ground and the enclosure can crack.
Some problems arose from what some might call abuse by the users. But Irrigation Craft felt that the enclosures should have been able to withstand rough use, that is their environment.
The problem is even worse on larger pump stations because the potential for "customer abuse" becomes greater. It is simple for a worker to lose control of a hinged piece, or to move the hinged piece too fast against a stop or gas piston, or for wind to "take" a lid, and the fiberglass cracks. Irrigation Craft experimented with anchoring restraints and limit arms in fiberglass enclosures and we found out that there is no practical way to anchor large hinged fiberglass components.
Customer abuse is not the problem, delicate enclosure material is the problem. A material was needed to withstand the rough use the enclosures will surely experience.
Next on the durability issue is scratches. Fiberglass gel coats are easily scratched. If the scratch penetrates through the gel coat (easily done), the inner material becomes visible. Irrigation Craft found a material that would not look so bad when scratched because the material is uniform in color all the way through so that scratches are not so visible.
Ever wonder why most fiberglass boats are white? Gel coat colorants cannot withstand the sun. Claims of "chemical and UV resistance" offer no real or useful information. Irrigation Craft noticed that competitor's fiberglass enclosures were fading noticeably within 6 months, and at one year the fading was dramatic. But then we examined our own stations and found they were fading badly within 1 - 2 years anyway, so to us there was very little difference, 6 months or 2 years is not acceptable.
Gel coats (the component of a fiberglass enclosure providing the smooth finish and the color) have a natural resistance to most common chemicals including insecticides and fertilizers. No reason to brag about that.
As far as UV resistance, what does that mean? Will the fiberglass gel coat withstand the sun's rays and not fade? That is the real question. Look at any fiberglass stations you may have specified or purchased in the last year or two and see if the fiberglass color has held up against the sun's effects.
In general, when exposed to the full sun, fiberglass will often fade noticeably within six months, and at 2 years the station may just plain look bad. Worse yet, the darker the color the faster the fading and the worse it looks.
We believe the Shadow system is superior to fiberglass in dramatic ways. The Shadow enclosure panels cannot be cracked or shattered PERIOD. Fiberglass enclosures are easily cracked. Irrigation Craft has paid much attention to making the lock system secure, long lasting, and resistant to vandalism.
This is how Irrigation Craft viewed our fiberglass enclosures:
Fiberglass enclosures look great in photographs, Shiny, Color of your choice, Shaped to please the eye.
Fiberglass was not durable when exposed to field use. People threw the doors open, threw back the lid, or the wind caught the hinged component and cracked the fiberglass at the hinge points, even though those areas were heavily reinforced, and even though continuous type hinges were used.
Restraints were installed but then those restraints became problems as they were ripped out of the fiberglass.
Fiberglass gel coats are soft and easily scratched. And worse yet, on dark colored enclosures these scratches stand out dramatically because the fiberglass beneath the gel coat is light colored.
We had always wanted to build black fiberglass enclosures, and we did build a few. But the fiberglass experts begged us not to use black because there were no black fiberglass colorants that could resist the effects of UV rays and sunlight for very long.
All dark gel coat colorants fade quickly due to the effects of the sun. This is why boats are typically white. Those boats not white are often racing boats kept out of the sun and expected not to survive long anyway.
Large fiberglass enclosures present problems with NEC equipment access codes. Due to how fiberglass must be molded with returns for strength, it is very difficult to build an enclosure taking into account NEC requirements for equipment working spaces.
If you are interested in a shiny, colorful, and attractive pump enclosure then purchase a fiberglass enclosed pump station. Handle all hinged components carefully, do not let vandals or rough lawn equipment near it, keep it waxed, repair it when it cracks, and be prepared to paint the enclosure unless dull and faded is your taste.
BUT ...
If you want your pump enclosure to be rough, tough, require no maintenance, be vandal resistant, and durable, choose the Irrigation Craft Shadow.
