11-7-19

Good Morning,

There are more irrigation issues as golf course staff is trying to winterize the system.

I started the irrigation winterization process early in the week.  We brought in an air compressor from the Street Division to blow out the irrigation lines.  The first step to the blowout process is clearing the main lines around the golf course.  The second step is opening each individual station and removing the water from the lateral lines.

I was having a difficult time keeping the psi (pressure) high enough in the lines to open valves.  The main lines were finished by the end of the day on Tuesday with quite a bit of difficulty.  The Street Division prepared another air compressor for us to pick up on Wednesday morning.

The process resumed around 4:30 AM Wednesday morning trying to get a head start prior to the second compressor arrival at 8:30 AM.  I soon noticed there was no power to any of the stations around the golf course.  I checked the amp draw going out into the field and discovered it was at 18 and it should be functioning at 170.  The low amp reading shows a problem either in the field with a grounded wire or with the irrigation controls from the computer room.

Approximately five hours was spent checking wire splices around the golf course separating the field into three sections.  This would determine where the issue is on the course.  Eventually I called Rainbird tech support, which is an insurance system paid for annually.  We went through volt testing and many other tests in the field.  After a couple hours they finally agreed the issue is with the MDI (this is the main power source to all the field decoders which control the irrigation).

A new MDI, separate circuit board, and surge protector will be arriving today around noon.  I will assemble all of these components this afternoon and check the electrical wire path.  We plan to continue the irrigation blowout starting Friday and I will continue through the weekend until it is complete.