“Do you want a miniature Zamboni driving around you in your barn? Of course not!”
With cold temperatures here, it’s time to winterize your Lely Discovery 120 Collector.
If your barn doesn’t freeze, it might seem simple to keep the water on your Discovery Collector spraying. I’ve seen some owners wrap heat tape to their water lines and toss a small de-icer in the water reservoir. Should keep the water going in that cold corner that the Discovery parks in, right? Wrong!
There are 2 reasons you shouldn’t try to extend the function of your Discovery’s water spray into the winter. After I review them, I’ll explain how to winterize your machine in a few minutes.
Reason 1
While it is simple to keep your water delivery from freezing, but it isn’t simple to keep your machine from freezing. The small water lines inside the Collector don’t take very long to freeze and when they do, it can cause damage. While the fittings that break are cheap, there is a chance the spraying water gets all over the electronics. This can cost you $$$ in call-outs, parts and downtime.
Reason 2
Assuming your machine doesn’t succumb to freezing damage, the water spray could continue to operate perfectly in just freezing temperatures. However, the concrete floor of the barn is often colder than the air. The results aren’t that different than a skating rink. Do you want a miniature Zamboni driving around in your barn? Of course not!
Winterizing
So how should you prepare your machine for cold temperatures? You need to drain all the water from both the reservoir and the collector. Fortunately, this is straightforward and can be done in a few minutes.
The simplest approach is the lazy one: turn off the water supply during the morning barn chores and then switch water off for all routes on the Collector. The machine will use up all the water in the reservoir and drain itself over the course of a couple of routes.
If you prefer a more direct approach, remove one of the spray nozzles on the collector and activate the water spray manually. Removing the nozzle speed the water delivery from a 30-minute mist to a 5-minute dump. While the machine drains, shut off your water supply and drain the reservoir by holding the water station nozzle tip in with your hand (or boot). Once drained, turn water off on all routes using your tablet.