Dairy and agriculture
Dairy and agricultural electrician for Northern Colorado
Most of our more than ten years in the trade has been spent on dairies and farms. A dairy is one of the hardest electrical environments there is: constant washdown, a corrosive atmosphere, and a parlor that has to run every milking no matter what. We build for that from the start.
The work
Electrical work across the whole operation
From the parlor to the manure system, a dairy runs on motors, controls, and circuits that work in water, dust, and ammonia. Downtime costs milk, so the work is planned around the cows, not the contractor.
Scope
Parlor, barns, feed, and manure
In the parlor that means vacuum pumps and their drives, milk cooling equipment, wash systems, lighting, and the power to gates and parlor equipment. In the barns it is ventilation fans, lighting, and waterers. Feed systems bring mixers, augers, and conveyors; manure handling brings pumps, separators, and scrapers. Shops and commodity buildings round it out.
As operations expand, older services often end up carrying loads they were never sized for. We look at the whole service before adding equipment, not just the new circuit.
- Milking parlor power and controls
- Vacuum pump drives and controls
- Barn ventilation and lighting
- Feed mixers, augers, and conveyors
- Manure pumps, separators, and scrapers
- Washdown-rated enclosures and fittings
- Service upgrades for expanding operations
- Standby generator transfer
What wears out
Why dairy electrical fails, and how we build against it
Standard commercial methods do not last in a dairy. These are the failures we see most, and what we do differently.
Corrosion at terminations
Ammonia and moisture attack copper, terminals, and steel enclosures. We use corrosion-resistant enclosures and fittings suited to the area, and keep panels out of the worst of the atmosphere where the layout allows.
Water in enclosures
Washdown water finds its way in through conduit entries, worn gaskets, and poorly placed fittings, and conduit can carry condensation straight into a panel. Sealed fittings, drains where needed, and careful entry placement keep it out.
Motors and fans failing under load
Ventilation fans and pump motors work hardest in summer heat, exactly when a failure hurts most. Correct overload protection, sound connections, and drives set for the load extend their life.
Stray voltage concerns
When cows are reluctant to enter the parlor or behave oddly at waterers, stray voltage is one of the things worth checking. We investigate the grounding, bonding, and wiring on site and tell you plainly what we find.
Rodent and equipment damage
Exposed cable gets chewed, hit by equipment, or pulled loose. Protected routing and conduit where traffic and animals are present prevent repeat calls.
Process
What to expect when you call
We know the schedule revolves around milking, feeding, and the weather, and we plan around it.
- Call or send photos. Tell us what failed or what you are adding. Photos of the panel and equipment nameplates help us come prepared.
- Site walk. We look at the equipment, the environment it sits in, and the service feeding it.
- Straight answer. What it will take, what it costs, and how much downtime, if any, the work needs.
- Work planned around milking. Parlor work fits between milkings, and material is on site before anything is shut off.
- Closeout. Labels, updated panel schedules, and a plain explanation of what we changed.
Questions
Dairy electrical questions, answered plainly
Can you work around our milking schedule?
Yes. Parlor work is planned for the windows between milkings, with material staged before anything is shut off. If a job will not fit in one window, we agree on a plan with you before we start.
What enclosures hold up in a parlor?
Corrosion-resistant enclosures rated for washdown, such as stainless steel or nonmetallic, with fittings and gaskets to match. The entries and fittings matter as much as the box, because that is where water usually gets in.
Do you investigate stray voltage?
Yes. If you suspect stray voltage, we check grounding, bonding, and wiring on site and tell you plainly what we find and what we recommend.
Do you work on feed and manure equipment?
Yes. Mixers, augers, conveyors, manure pumps, separators, and scrapers are all motor and control work, which is the core of what we do.
Can you set up standby power for the parlor?
Yes. We install standby generator transfer so critical loads such as vacuum pumps, milk cooling, and ventilation can keep running during an outage.
Related
Related work
Dairy work leans on the same drives, motor controls, and plant controls listed on our services page. Many dairies also run digesters, covered on the industries page.
Start a project
Something down at the dairy?
Send photos and a description of what failed or what you are adding. We will get back to you the same business day with a straight answer.