Tips For Performing Maintenance On Your Golf Course Irrigation System

By Janet Wallace


Golf courses have to be watered regularly during the dry season, and this means that each management team has to check on its irrigation system before releasing water for the first time after the rains. Various problems in the system are bound to be discovered when the pumps are opened to start releasing water. To avoid such problems, you have to be armed with techniques and best practices that can keep your golf course irrigation system running smoothly in all seasons of the year.

Just like other equipment found on the turf the irrigation systems must be maintained now and then. The same maintenance done to sprayers and mowing devices should be administered to the system. As such, you will save costs that arise when experts are brought to repair simple things that could have been done by anyone who came to the problematic point.

The check for the current problem should begin from the obvious parts of the system. Valves play a significant role in controlling water flow, and when one of them is interfered with, water cannot flow as required. Ensure that each pipe or valve is on for the water to flow smoothly. If water does not move after such details have been attended to, you can proceed into bringing in experienced experts.

Most irrigation systems are programmed to work in a certain way, and this could fail without the knowledge of the supervisors. The most affected systems are those that manually because the automatic ones can display such errors through their monitors. If resetting the system is difficult, consider going through the programming manual and repeat the exercise. As such, you shall save hundreds of dollars that could be paid to a technician to come and fix it.

You can smoothly monitor how the pumps and other parts of the system from the controller. This is a part of the device that has been fitted with an LCD monitor where an attendant can watch all actions. However, electrical failure or blockage can cause them to stop functioning. To bring back the devices into working conditions, put them off for about fifteen minutes and switch them on again. They shall automatically start functioning.

When the system is overloaded, the fuses get blown. This makes it difficult for the electrical systems to function as it should. Replace the fuse, and if it does not respond, you can find a wiring expert that will check on the system from other avenues.

Spare parts should be kept at your facility at all times if you want the system to operate without delays. However, the spares must be identical to those elements that are already installed to avoid stocking the wrong devices. When you have such tools around the course, repairing any of the broken pieces can be easy.

You do not have to wait until your system breaks down to start inspecting it. Make it your duty to conduct such checks once or twice a month. As such, you will notice possible damages or replacements that will be required before they blow up.




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