Sooooo close but yet sooo close....

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, every week has meant serious progress on the great water project of 2013-14.  Last Thursday and Friday, we took another big step - installation of the actual pumps.  

There has been some confusion about the pumps which is probably my fault.  My mistake was calling the new building on the range a "pump house" when in actuality there will not be a single pump in there.  The wells we dug over the past two seasons are just larger versions of a well you might use to get water to your house or garden.  The pumps are "submersible" meaning they sit at the bottom of the well and pump water upwards.  My little corner of the "pump house" actually is used to house our new electronic pump control system.  A large electrical panel, sensors, wires, flow meters, and a state-of-the-art acid/fertilizer/wetting agent injection system will be inside to control all of our irrigation operation.  This panel will communicate wirelessly with our irrigation computer back at my shop and allow us to run our system efficiently and accurately.  The panel was set this week, but nothing is hooked up yet.  This will be the final step, along with getting all the electrical work completed to give it juice.

So let's all agree to call it a "range house" from now on.  Most of the building is for much needed range storage and two indoor hitting bays anyhow and I just have more of a large "closet" anyhow.  

More pics coming as installation proceeds.  We should get most of the equipment in place in the next week or so, some finishing touches on the building, and then after Xmas start looking for the final electrical work. 

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

THIS is what a 100-horsepower submersible pump looks like.  More like a long range missile but will move around 700 gallons per minute for us.  This will be the workhorse for the system.

Here is the smaller, 60-horsepower rig waiting to be put down the hole.  All of the pipe stacked underneath will be attached to bring water to the surface into the manifold.

Here's the "brains" behind the whole operation.  A new Flowtronex control panel.  If you remember, the fact we needed to replace our current one of these is what got this whole thing started. 

Back from Margaritaville

First of all I must apologize for such a gap between posts.  With winter weather looming, my family and I took a much needed break and headed to south Florida for a week during Thanksgiving.  After a few days of sun, sand and a couple of (small) fish, I am back in full swing with late fall work.

It sure seems like winter snuck up and smacked us all in the mouth!  With so many projects happening at once, the unseasonably cool and snowy weather still has us scrambling.  This week, we will be applying our last blast of chemicals for snow mold protection, dormant feeding our greens, and trying to pick up the mess from the high winds of last week.  All this while trying to start our winter preventative equipment maintenance regimen and moving further forward on the water project.

The water project passed a major hurdle last week - the last of the new main lines were installed.  There was quite a bit of worry regarding the potential for hard bedrock which we would be digging through to install our lines.  While the digging wasn't easy, the contractors managed (with only a day or two of jack-hammer use) to get through it all.  Basically, the biggest source of anxiety I had leading into this project is done and over.  Now that the lines are in and through the building, we are awaiting the installation of doors, drywall, and electrical to complete the interior work.  Afterwards, the "brains" of the new irrigation supply will be installed along with the pumps and we will be 90% of the way home.  Look for cranes and pumps on the golf course next week along with the finish work on our range house.  Feel free to contact me any time if you want a tour or would like more information.

The main line trench filled in from behind the range house down to the existing main line.  This line takes all the water passing through the system to the entire golf course.

The main line passes through the pump station area.  Here there will be sensors, injection ports, and all sorts of gadgets that will help manage and monitor our irrigation activities.

Hopefully the holes in the range house make sense now with the new main line manifold passing through.

This portion of the main line is stainless steel.  This is done in order to prevent corrosion from the acid injection system.

While originally I was hoping to have this project buttoned up by November, I am not displeased with the progress.  Managing so many different contractors and inspections and permits in so many specialized areas offers a lot of potential changes and obstacles which seems to stretch things out.  There are some definite advantages to completing work in December however.  First of all, we haven't really disrupted play or range use with the bulk of the hard construction happening in November-December.  Also, with the final few bills coming in late this year/early next year, we are going to pay for this project without touching the club's line of credit.  This is possible because of all the prepaid dues payments member's make in January to fill up the cash coffers at the club.  In essence, we will fund a $400,000 project with only a minimal $500 assessment to golf members and no interest payments.   That's pretty good if you ask me.  It is exciting to think what we can accomplish on the golf course with that kind of creative financial management.

As of today, the greens are frozen and technically closed for at least the next few days.  I am missing Florida already!

 We had a great time in Florida.  My daughter got to dip her toes in the ocean for the first time!