Automatic solution for clean floors

The Lely Discovery Collector, a common product in many countries, is now available in New Zealand.

It operates at times of your choosing and follows a route that you select, 24/7, year round. The company says it will save time and money while reducing total effluent storage capacity.

Lely says that since 2005, its Discovery 90 S and 90 SW have been cleaning slatted barn and shed floors around the globe. In 2016, Lely entered the market for automatic cleaning of closed floors with the Discovery Collector C1 – where effluent is collected by a vacuum pump. The recently released Discovery Collector C2, which is available in New Zealand, has an increased driving capacity and charges wirelessly.

Rather than pushing the effluent forward, the robot collects it and unloads above a dumping point at the preferred location, before recharging again for the next route. For an optimal cleaning result, the Discovery Collector C2 can use water to thin the manure at the front and to prevent new manure from sticking to the floor in the back. This water is tanked independently and stored in two water bags in the effluent tank. As the effluent tank becomes fuller, the volume of the water bags decreases so that more space becomes available for effluent.

As a result, the machine is compact. Cows can easily get around it and the Discovery Collector C2 can drive under (separation) fences and through cross alleys. With an efficient 24V lithium battery, the robot only takes around 3 kWh per day in electricity consumption. “All by driving programmed routes based on your planning, specifically made for a shed’s daily rhythm and that of cows,” says Lely.

The Discovery Collector C2 navigates independently using built-in sensors. The preferred route can be programmed and schedule set around peak and off-peak traffic times.

Lely Discovery Collector doesn’t need cables, corner pulleys, and raised cross alleys as with, for example, an effluent scraper. Fewer obstacles allow cows to move more safely through the barn and/or shed. It also allows for more flexibility in the design of the total farm concept, for example, when considering automatic milking.

Lely says with the Discovery Collector C2, floors are cleaned automatically to the farmer’s needs. The compact robot navigates between cows, sorting gates, cubicles, and waiting areas. This ensures a clean floor which is conducive to, free cow movement and cow comfort.

The first four Lely Discovery Collectors have been installed on Bruce Dinnington’s farm in Dacre, near Invercargill.