GIS recap

Brian Vinchesi

Over the last decade, irrigation equipment manufacturers with new products to debut wait for the Golf Industry Show (GIS) show to unveil them. This year was no different in Orlando.

Toro had the biggest irrigation product/enhancement announcement with its Infiniti Series of sprinklers. This new series takes the internal parts of the 835S and 855S models and encloses them in a new case that is 100 percent top serviceable – no digging necessary. The cool thing is you can work on almost all of the sprinklers without turning off the water. It’s not the first top-serviceable golf sprinkler – Hunter has had one for several years – but it is the first where the water can stay on.

Viewed from the side, the sprinkler looks big and ugly, but in the ground the case has the exact same surface area as the 850 series. The 835 has a slightly larger surface area than its older sibling. I like that the actuator switch is no longer on the side where it gets clogged with grass clippings and dirt, or has grass growing in the hole and getting in the way. The wire connections are located in the sprinkler case, although they may be smaller than you’re used to, they are easy to get to and not in the soil. The pilot valve is readily accessible from the top of the case. And if you select a decoder control system, there is also room for the decoder… although things get a little tight.

Lastly, the Infiniti Series has a large blank area to engrave yardages, and it has room for your golf course logo. Of course, you pay a premium for these sprinklers compared to Toro’s existing product line, so you need to decide whether you can justify the added expense.

New pump station technologies were on display, as well. Flowtronex unveiled an upgrade to its Oasis control system, which is mostly used for control panel retrofits. The new Oasis EX has additional features, such as remote and web monitoring that are more consistent with the technology you see in Flowtronex’s new pump station control panels.

Watertronics displayed a new larger, touch screen interface that is really a computer on the front of its panel. Watertronic’s Watervision 6 monitoring software, which came out two years ago, is very good graphical monitoring software. On the new panel it is included right on the touch screen with the operator interface. Similar to the monitoring screen on your computer or smart device, when you go down to the pump station you can use the monitoring screen as your user interface or use the standard pump station touch pad/screen that is running at all times.

There was also a new golf course pump station manufacturer unveiled at the golf show. Motor Controls Inc. (MCI) debuted a large, full-blown golf irrigation pump station on the show floor. MCI has been in the control-panel business for a number of years. Staffed with several past pump station manufacturer employees they have jumped heavily into the golf market. Given the experience of their staff, the pump station included all of the necessary features that you want to see on a golf pump station. It will be interesting to see how quickly they make an impact, if at all. Yet to be seen is whether the MCI station will be able to communicate with any irrigation central control system software on the market.

Harco introduced an enhancement to their epoxy-coated, angle globe isolation valves by adding a stainless-steel seat. Regardless of the manufacturer, all of these valve types on the market have a stainless-steel seat.

Lastly, and to no surprise, a number of new or enhanced apps were unveiled, mostly to do with remote control or monitoring of the irrigation system. While some are completely new, others are primarily enhancements to existing apps or software.

Brian Vinchesi, the 2009 EPA WaterSense Irrigation Partner of the Year, is president of Irrigation Consulting Inc., a golf course irrigation design and consulting firm headquartered in Pepperell, Mass., that designs irrigation systems throughout the world. He can be reached at bvinchesi@irrigationconsulting.com or 978/433-8972.