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Fan Debate

8 posts
  1. Hamilton Griffith
    Hamilton Griffith avatar
    0 posts
    8/6/2012 8:08 AM
    Would like to start a debate about fans. Turfbreeze/Precision vs. Cool-Air. Oscillating vs. Constant air flow. Cool-air is 1/4 the price. Which would you rather have and why?

    http://www.precisionusa.com/storefrontB ... erFans.pdf

    http://www.subairsystems.com/The%20TurfBreeze%2050.pdf



  2. Michael Posey
    Michael Posey avatar
    0 posts
    8/6/2012 9:08 PM
    This is the first time I have seen the coolair, but at 2HP max I will automatically disqualify it for anything more than keeping my mechanic cool in the shop. I guess it would still be better than nothing. Their 2HP is as loud as a 50" 7.5HP precision (or turfbreeze) that will throw 3MPH at over 200ft and louder than the 50" 5HP. So, now I am down to turfbreeze vs precision. I have been at courses with both and Tom Michaels that invented the turfbreeze is here in Birmingham. It was good when he owned it and we basically had local support here in Birmingham. He sold to Sub Air, so that advantage is gone. In my opinion, you want the largest fan with the largest motor and the highest voltage (to draw less amps) that you can afford. I would rather have one oscillating. I have seen greens where, at the end of the summer, you could paint a line where the fan hit and where it didn't. I currently have 18 precision fans that are 50" 460v with a mix of 5HP and 7.5HP. They are older, so they don't have a lot of the bells and whistles the new ones have. (to be fair, all the turfbreeze that I worked with were not the newest model either) I can tell you that I can pick up the phone, call Andy at Precision and he will bend over backwards to get a part to me the next day to get a fan back up. He has called other courses that he knew had parts I needed, sent a call tag to them to send the part to me, and then replace theirs. I have in turn done the same thing for others if asked. He does a great job of keeping the most common parts in stock. To me, that kind of customer service will push a product over the edge even if all other things are equal. Now, what I feel like the advantages are of the precision fan: Lightweight aluminum, a big deal if you take them down in the winter. The automatic belt tensioner, cuts out the guess work and maintenance of belts. Turfbreeze has gone to a motorcycle style belt which is ok until someone jams a flag stick through the fan, which happened to me last summer. When something enters the fan it is in the fans best interest to have some slippage in the belt. Oscillating motor, Precision matches the phase and voltage to the main motor, but the turfbreeze adds a transformer to drop the voltage to the oscillator motor (just one more thing that can malfunction). So, for what it's worth(IMHO) in summary: Precision>Turfbreeze>anything else you can afford>nothing.



  3. Hamilton Griffith
    Hamilton Griffith avatar
    0 posts
    8/7/2012 2:08 PM
    Mike,

    I guess i should have started off by stating that I have 22 fans with a mixture of precision and turfbreeze. I'm just looking to add some support to my large undulating greens. I have however noticed that some courses with the cool-air fans have fared very well. The cfm's are very similar but the velocity is about half with the cool-air. I'm sure most of us have noticed that surface temps fall as the fan is blowing air across it but then rises back up once it oscillates past. This is why I believe the constant air flow would be better to keep those temperatures depressed. Also it is a lot easier to push air that is already in motion which would help maintain air movement momentum. Agree or disagree Mike or anyone else. Where ya at Sam and Patrick?



  4. Michael Posey
    Michael Posey avatar
    0 posts
    8/7/2012 6:08 PM
    I agree that the oscillation angle needs to be kept as narrow as possible. Tom Michaels actually recommended some better positions for me when he played one day. I have been at a course with two Turfbreeze on one green because it wasn't possible to throw the length of the green. There are positives and negatives from every angle. I don't like for them to be stationary just because it drys the green out in the area near the fan. As golfers have become more accustomed to the fans I have moved them closer to the green. I also cut the poles off so the bottom of the fan is only about 36" off the ground and the wind moves across the green instead of down on it. I think that helped with the undulations. If I could I would have about 4 on every green, but I just tweak the positions every year and try to make the best of it. I have moved them as little as ten feet and it made a big difference.



  5. Patrick Reinhardt
    Patrick Reinhardt avatar
    0 posts
    8/7/2012 7:08 PM
    Since you asked... ;)

    I prefer the oscillating fans, but if you were using them to supplement then the stationary would probably be fine. I know that Esoda has used stationary fans for several years with success. Like Mike said, it seems like you can always go out and paint a line right where the fan hits, and where it doesn't. Also, it seems like you really have to watch the areas in front of stationary fans for wilt, as they can dry out really quickly. I don't believe that the air really goes stationary, even using the oscillating fan. I feel like the air remains swirling, even though the temperature does come up some. Remember though, the temperature is only one part of the equation, and I think the reduction in humidity at the plant level is even more important. I do prefer keeping the fan in a position that doesn't require it moving in a almost 180 degree fashion just to cover the entire green, and I really think that fan position is really key to them being effective.

    We had the TurfBreeze fans at TSC, mostly because when we started getting the fans Tom Michaels still had the company and brought several fans to us to look at, and helped us get everything placed on the golf course for maximum efficiency. Even after they were sold to SubAir though, we did get good service any time that we needed something. I wasn't a big fan of the osciallating motor set-up on the TurfBreeze, and felt that it was too susceptible to moisture infiltration, and ultimately failure. Have you priced the 36" TurfBreeze fan? On #14 at TSC, we had both a 52" at the back left, and a 36" on the front right. The 36" mainly just covered the walk-up. You might even be able to get ahold of a couple of the courses that are converting to bermuda and buy their old fans from them (heard a rumor that Courtney was converting). We bought a couple from Lochinvar in Houston a couple of years ago, and even with shipping, and buying the in-ground base from Sub-Air, it was probably 1/2 the price of buying them new.



  6. Hamilton Griffith
    Hamilton Griffith avatar
    0 posts
    8/8/2012 5:08 AM
    I think I might buy a meter that will test wind speed and humidity levels to put some true numbers behind all of this. I'll post my findings later then go from there.



  7. Hamilton Griffith
    Hamilton Griffith avatar
    0 posts
    8/19/2012 9:08 AM
    Update,

    Lets just say my findings were shocking. Call or e-mail me if you would like to know what I discovered.


    Scott Griffith
    UGA Golf Course



  8. Wildt Douglas M
    Wildt Douglas M avatar
    8/22/2012 10:08 AM
    Precision We got three this year.
    Here are photos of the same green from 2010 and 2011 when we had a 24" .5hp fan on it. And in 2012 when we put on a 50" 5hp fan.



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