The Performance Comparison of Gasoline and LPG Water Pumps Used in Rice Field in Shallow Groundwater Wells
Muh. Rama Pien, Haerani, Ahmad Munir

Universitas Hasanuddin

Abstract

One of technology application in agriculture is the use of water pumping machines to provide water for plants. Various innovations have been made to reduce the operating costs of water pumps. One example is the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to replace petroleum fuel. This study aimed to compare the performance and efficiency of gasoline and LPG water pumps in rice field. The observation parameters included calculating water discharge, calculating the cost of gasoline and gas fuel used, calculating the power produced by the pump when raising water, and calculating engine torque. The results showed that the water discharge obtained from the gasoline pump engine was 0,002808 m3/second, while for the LPG pump engine was 0,002961 m3/second. The cost required for the operation of the gasoline pump engine was Rp. 23,615/hour, and for LPG gas was Rp. 11,920/hour. In terms of power produced by the pump engine, the gasoline produced 136.322 W, while the LPG produced 144.158 W. The water pump engine operated at a torque of 7,84 Nm. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the use of LPG gas fuel in the rice field water pump engine is more efficient. This LPG pump also resulted in larger water discharge than the gasoline pump.

Keywords: Water pump, fuel, water discharge, torque, efficiency

Topic: Agriculture engineering