Bright, sunny skies and cooler-than-normal temperatures have made for a very enjoyable week at Glen Eagle! The cooler overnight temperatures have slowed turf growth just enough to help our maintenance team keep up with mowing, while the warmer afternoons continue to provide the conditions needed to keep the grass green and healthy. It’s a welcome balance as we move further into the fall season.
Behind the Scenes: A Major Irrigation System Repair
While the golf course has been enjoying some beautiful weather, we also completed an unexpected repair behind the scenes this week.
Check out this video to see the repair process.
The project involved replacing a large, 16-inch pipe tee immediately downstream of our pump station. This fitting plays a critical role in our irrigation system, splitting the water supply between the front nine and the back nine. A small leak developed at the tee, making replacement necessary to maintain the reliability of our water distribution system.
The pipe is made from a material called HDPE, or High-Density Polyethylene. HDPE is widely used in water distribution and irrigation systems because of its strength, durability, and flexibility. It is resistant to corrosion, many chemicals, and the deterioration that can affect some traditional piping materials. Its flexibility also allows it to accommodate some ground movement without becoming brittle or easily damaged.
One of the biggest advantages of HDPE is the way it can be joined together. Rather than relying on mechanical connections such as bolts, clamps, or conventional couplings, HDPE pipe can be joined using specialized heat-fusion techniques.
During the fusion process, the ends of the pipe and fitting are prepared, heated to the appropriate temperature, and pressed together under controlled pressure. As the material cools, the two pieces become a continuous joint. When performed correctly, the fused connection is designed to be as strong as the pipe itself and provides a reliable, leak-resistant connection.
Depending on the application, this can be accomplished through butt fusion, which joins two prepared ends, or electrofusion, which uses a specially designed fitting with an embedded heating element to fuse the adjoining surfaces. For a repair involving a large pipe tee, the appropriate fusion method depends on the pipe configuration, fitting design, and contractor’s repair plan. In our case, electrofusion was determined to be the correct choice.
While a repair with HDPE repair takes specialized equipment and expertise, it provides a durable solution for an important part of our irrigation infrastructure. Considering this is only the second repair we have had made in 10+ years it proves that HDPE pipe has been a great investment for the club over the life of the product.
If you watch the video you will see a picture of bags of bread in a pile. Inside baseball but the pipes have to be perfectly dry for the electrofusion process to work properly. That bread is packed into the pipe to keep any residual water from contaminating the welds. Once water is turned on, the bread disenagrates and is flushed thru the irrigation heads without causing any clogging.
Also in the video, you can see a red machine sitting on the sidewall of the hole. Then another picture with two probes in the side of the coupler. That machine provides the current to heat up the copper wire in the coupling that welds together with the pipe. It also reads resistance and tells the crew how long the pipe needs to “cook” and cool in order to provide the correct weld. In the case of that coupling it “cooked” for 15 minutes and cooled for 30. Then the rule of thumb is 3X the cooling time before water can be applied to the joint. So total time for that one joint to cure 2:15 minutes.
Just a few interesting facts about the process of keeping green grass on the property 😂.
I look forward to seeing everyone on the course, and as always, if you have any questions, flag me down or shoot me an email. I always enjoy talking turf!
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