What do you do during the winter,drink coffee and play cards? Boy if I had a dollar for every time I answered that question untold times over the course of my career I would have at the very least a pocket full of cash.
This is what we do for you and your golf course each and every winter during our "off season" when there is snow on the ground keeping us from tree maintenance. By the numbers, we inspect and repair over 135 pieces of turf maintenance equipment when added to that of the golf cart fleet which we also service.
Do the math. If there are five months of winter down time approximately 100 days and 135 pieces of equipment to go through, means we have to average better than one unit per day to reach our objective. We are now forced by layoff to complete this work in thirty fewer days!
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| Reels lined up for disassembly and grinding. |
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| Bedknives sharpened awaiting reassembly. Sharp knives are necessary for healthy turf. |
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| The fairway unit has problems climbing hills and the problem needs to be rectified. Engine? Fuel Injectors? Turbo charger? Hydrostat? |
By count, we sharpen and grind 65 cutting heads. Look closely and you can see the reflection of the blades spinning. The second picture show this better.
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| Look closely you can see the reflection of the reel spinning in the grinder. The reel will go through a second sharpening to add a relief grind. Once sharpened the reel will be reassembled, backlapped and rehung on the mower. |
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| This photo show how fast the reel spins as it sharpens. |
All units are disassembled for inspection. Here you can see a bearing that is pitted. This bearing will run "hot" and fail before the summers is through. Down time in season repair is costly and leads to complaints.
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| Rust and imperfections in the surface will cause this bearing to run hot. |
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| Even though these bearings are grease frequently, reels and rollers run through dew covered turf. Moisture is the culprit. |
Equipment wears out over our time and a lot of our equipment is being used past its replacement life.
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| A new wheel on the left, old on the right. Has the axle shaft expanded the hole that much? |
Traction units are placed on the hoist for inspection, lubrication, and servicing. Hydraulic hoses are inspected for wear and replaced before they fail. Loose fittings are tightened. Hydraulic hoses become brittle over time and are replaced over time on a yearly schedule more so than hours of service.
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| Cutting deck blades are removed and sharpened. |
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| A new filter on the top vs. one that was new before leaf removal. |
Forty two ball washers are bead blasted awaiting a fresh coat of paint. We used to do more off season painting of equipment in years past when our staff size was larger and time permitted greater detail in our work.
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| 42 ballwashers waiting for a nice warm February afternoon for a fresh coat of paint. |
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| 42 ballwashers means 42 covers. |
Then of course I get to "blog" about it. _Mk
