Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 118 Location: Alberta/Saskatchewan
pricing out pivots « Thread Started on Oct 22, 2009, 8:51pm »
Looking for a new pivot, most of ours are around 20 years old. I have to decide between valleye and zimmatic. Any major benefits to one brand? Which one is more stable regarding wind and ridges? Is the 7000 series a lot weaker than 8000 (valley)
Joined: Jun 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 1,921 Location: Guymon, OK
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #2 on Oct 22, 2009, 10:18pm »
Generally I prefer Valleys, but Zimmatics are pretty good as well. If you have to tow them the Valley wins, hands down (T-Ls are easiest to tow, but hydraulics add a whole new set of problems). One complaint about Zimmatics is that the truss rods on an eight tower system are wider and lower to the ground than a Valley, so it's a little harder to get the backhoe bucket up to the main line to fix drops or something. I think Valleys are a bit heavier if you're concerned about wind, but we've only had a Zimmatic collapse once and we think a small tornado hit it (took out an abandoned elevator leg, too) .
If you've got rolling ground don't skimp for the 7000 series Valleys. They have less steel and weaker gearboxes. The ads always say they're for "less challenging fields," and I think they're marketed for guys who want to cheaply move away from flood irrigation.
I don't know if you guys have problems with sprinkler tracks, but I'll recommend spending the money for 38" tires. Back in the day a neighbor tried some short, fat tires to increase flotation, but they made just as deep a track as any other tire. At least bouncing over a skinny track is a little better than one that will swallow a pickup.
Joined: Feb 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 118 Location: Alberta/Saskatchewan
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #3 on Oct 22, 2009, 10:44pm »
Pierce doesn't have dealers in our area . The 2 main dealers are Zimmatic and Valley. Yes okanpanhandle I was planning on 38" tires ...of course the dealer priced it with lower tires. I cant understand why almost all the farms in our area use the wide short tires. i think I have to talk to the zimmatic boys because the 8000 would be quite a bit more money...unless zimmatic has a light version priced as well....not sure if the have different strength gearboxes and towers. I'm just tryin g to get rid of an old lockwood....its a pain.
Joined: Jun 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 1,921 Location: Guymon, OK
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #4 on Oct 23, 2009, 7:01am »
I'm pretty sure Zimmatic just has one model, so gearboxes and center drives are all the same. I really don't think you can go wrong with Valley or Zimmatic, it usually boils down to price, service, and personal preference. Good luck with whatever you choose. Nothing's more frustrating than dealing with a worn out, rusted out sprinkler.
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #5 on Oct 23, 2009, 8:00am »
valleys use all same gearboxes 7000 and 8000 gearboxes are the same differences in 7 & 8000 are more just cost cutting changes but still built heavier than the others, some of changes are smaller diameter truss rods and the iron on towers are smaller and the main pipe is smaller diameter. We have a 7000 8 tower on rough ground and runs no problem. Valley still believes in the big brother 8000 which is the reason they would rather sell them on rough ground or if you are pumping more than 1000 gpm. The 7000 is something to look at, like I said still built better than the others
Joined: Jun 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 1,921 Location: Guymon, OK
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #6 on Oct 23, 2009, 11:37am »
I guess the cheap (non-Valley) gearboxes are an option on 7000 series Valleys, not standard. There's no way I'd get them, though. Stick with the heavy duty gearboxes.
Joined: Oct 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 58 Location: Southern Idaho
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #8 on Oct 25, 2009, 9:14pm »
Zimmatic and Valley are two very good pivots. We looked at both when purchasing ours and they are both very sturdy, capable machines. We went with the Zimmatics because they have a very good dealer network here and their span pipe wall thickness is thicker than everybody else's by a small amount. We run 7 tower 1/4 mile machines instead of the 8 tower because then you've got one less tower to get stuck, fewer gearboxes, electrical parts, etc. and added up over all our pivots, we'd have the equivalent of probably 3 more pivots with the 8 tower machines.
Joined: Oct 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 31 Location: Joes, CO
Re: pricing out pivots « Reply #9 on Nov 21, 2009, 9:45pm »
In our neck of the woods a 10 year old zimmatic would have at least 10,000 hours on it. Every Valley sprinkler we have put up has been a 8000 series and no, the gear boxes are not the same as the 7000. The gear boxes on the 7000 series only have a one year warranty instead of 5 and are made in China. If they are, then it is an option that the producer has chosen and will add to the cost. Why would you put up a 7000 series if you are going to start adding options that come standard on a 8000 series? The 8000 is the only way to go in my opinion, but I am biased towards them, if not the 8000 series then the 7000 series and nothing else would even be considered. You get what you pay for.
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