Trends and News on Sports Field Maintenance Operations and the Community. Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker
provides tips and notes on field marking equipment and operations, trends in the sports turf industry and
future trends impacting the local community.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Trouble Shooting Sports Field Marker Operations--Testimonial
The simplicity of the 12-volt diaphragm pump technology (Shurflo) and the Tru Mark athletic field marker design leads customers through ample opportunities to to diagnose a problem through a process of elimination.
"Finally solved our problem with the new spray tips. I am sure the other new parts and the thorough cleaning helped, but the improvement in the width of the spray was amazing with the new spray tips. We haven't seen that kind of spray performance in years. Many thanks for all your timely advice and support. I particularly appreciated the promptness of your replies. When we are in the market for a new field liner, we will return to TruMark."
Field Marker Testimonial--Model E-100 Line Striper
A customer for 5 years remarks about his Model E-100 walk-behind 12-volt diaphragm pump field marker. Rob, from Sisters, Oregon recently stated, "We continue to make good use of the striping machine we have, and know the school district still has theirs as well."
As a supplier, manufacturer and distributor, of field marking equipment we continue to request feedback on our equipment and service to improve the customer's field marking operations. Many times we have recognized the need to upgrade our product line through upgrade kits and time saving redesigns of our equipment. Also this customer interaction has helped us increase the number of products we've development as well as the number of turf related products that others manufacture and we resell.
With more and more emphasis and future trends placed on green energy technology we believe the 12-volt diaphragm pump technology (battery recharging operations) in conjunction with our ergonomic design and durable manufacturing parts and processes will thrive in the marketplace for the foreseeable future. This will become even more important as we believe legislative pressure will be applied to reducing the use of aerosol paint can methods in the future, e.g., the German manufacturing industries having to replace the use of aerosol paint applicators for adding safety strips on their floors and equipment (unconfirmed but stated by industry representative).
Dr Andrew McNitt discussed the fundamentals of turf grass management for athletic fields as part of the STMA Midwest Regional Conference in Ames, IA, June 24-25, 2009. He related many of his tips to several of the field plots that Dr Dave Minner was conducting at the ISU turf plot area as part of the trade show the previous day.
Here are the ideas that were shared with the conference attendees:
Keep the mower height constant and mow often. Stress in August (less water and a lower height with sports field use) is the worst time to change the mower height.
When removing grass clippings you are removing one third (1/3) of your fertilizer. This is another reason for mowing more often to minimize the thatch.
Fast release fertilizer (urea) is the most effective for healthy turf grass. Light frequent applications that must be calibrated is perferred. Phosphorous is held by the soil so if there is mature grass there should be very little danger of having a phoshorous run-off in to surface water drainage. Dr. Minner's turf plots reflected this recommendation based on the fertilization amounts and the rates of application.
Penn State (Beaver Stadium) turf grass specialist implements a "lean & mean" practice in September by cutting back water and fertilizer. You don't want the grass to lush otherwise you'll increase the damage due to divots from traffic.
Don't skip on the quality of seed. The critical note is to buy the grass seed by weight not by seed count! For example a seed mixture that is 80 percent Kentucky Blue Grass and 20 percent perennial rye grass by seed count will actually be 50/50 by weight. Since Kentucky Blue Grass takes so long to establish the Perennial Rye Grass will just out compete it given this percentage by weight results. Dr McNitt stated for high use areas to seed with perennial rye grass because it quickly establishes itself. He supported Dr Minner's research results in that it far better to reseed at a much higher rate one time then to make repetitive seeding with smaller amounts. Dr Minner's turf plots posted in photo album format reflected these recommendations.
Tall Fesc)ue needs to go through 2 cool seasons (e.g., spring and fall, or fall and spring) to provide a wear resistant capacity.
Consider using good quality compost in your fertilization and seeding process.
Coloring/Painting Lawn Grass and Fairway Turf--What is Needed and the Costs
Over the past several months we have received numerous calls from individuals trying to improve their property's landscape appeal. This may be a real estate agent trying to improve the eye appeal of a property on sale or golf course superintendent improving the tee box, fairway, or the greens on a golf course. In most cases the contact is trying to turn lawns greener due to poor grass quality or the grass is in a dormant state (brown).
Given this assumption Tru Mark's best application product is going to be a turf colorant versus a traditional bulk latex paint product.
We have recently introduced a turf colorant for both Bermuda and Blue Grass/Fescue turf grass varieties. This product is formulated so you can achieve a dilution ration of 9 gallons of water to 1 gallon of colorant, in other words for every gallon of colorant you’ll generate 10 gallons of diluted liquid. A recent test my a customer reflected that they achieved good results with a dilution ratio of 15 gallons to 1 gallon of colorant.
These turf colorants are an excellent solution for making turf grass divot mix for golf course tee boxes another high use areas. These colorants make the divot mix look similar to the surrounding turf grass versus a brown spot for several weeks prior to the grass maturing.
Each diluted gallon of colorant will cover approximately 100 square feet (Normal house paint is marketed to cover approximately 300 square feet). We are being more conservative due to the turf depth (up to 3" in length). Therefore one gallon of colorant will cover 1,000 square feet.
These colorants are not inexpensive, one gallon will cost in the neighborhood of $85.00 to $100.00 per gallon and a 5-gallon pail will cost $399.00 to $500.00 plus shipping and handling ($40 per 5-gallon pail). This colorant is very “strong” when it comes to a staining so you have be very careful about porous surfaces like concrete.
Here's is a rough price comparison on 100 square feet application without shipping and handling costs included. Turf Colorant, $85/gal covers 1000 square ft (10 gallons diluted) (9:1 ratio) or $0.085 per square/ft Latex Paint $20/gal covers 200 square ft (2 gallons diluted) or $0.100 per square/ft
For applying this colorant or bulk latex paint you have several options. For the least expensive equipment option we would recommend the Shurflo battery operated backpack sprayer.
For a three wheel battery operated walk-behind unit we would suggest the Model E-100 with the Paint Boom Accessory (or just use the spray wand accessory that come standard).
Bulk latex green paint can be purchased for around $100.00 per 5-gallon pail. You will probably have a challenge getting the “right” color green. This type of product is diluted at 1 gallon of water to one gallon of paint. Ground Boss Green Sweep turf paint is our particular product.
For golf fairways a traditional spray boom applicator can be used.
Some of the Tru Mark products we offer are used for a variety of purposes that we didn't originally foresee.
Here's an example from a customer that is responsible for marking a cricket pitch in the United Kingdom. Here's his story on how these sports field marking whiskers are being used to help save time setting up their cricket pitch.
"I help with the ground on a cricket pitch.
The "square" has 20 wickets side by side like a bowling alley surrounded by the oval outfield. Each wicket will have a set of stumps (three bits of wood sticking up) that need to be centered. When we start the new season we have to painstakingly remap these and ensure that they are all square again etc. This can take us 2-3 days, and we will also need to do it several time during the season as the paint fades etc.
We thought it would be a great idea to use the whiskers to mark the square out at the ends so that we can just find the tufts and go from there.
Each "wicket" is 66 feet long and 10 feet wide and must be lined up correctly (otherwise it looks a mess!) and as there are only two of us volunteers, anything we can find to reduce time is welcome."
A Blackberry Curve smartphone was used to capture about 15 seconds of video coverage. A desktop tool, Free Studio Manager, was used to convert the 3GP file format and to crop the video stream.
The equipment used included a Graco FieldLazer (3 years old) without the paint shields installed, Tru Mark SwitchBack CheapSeats field marking paint diluted 1 gallon of paint to 1 gallon of water, Tru Mark Heavy Duty String Winder with 1500' of braided twine, a 300' nylon tape measure to help mark the arcs in the pits, and several stakes.
A total of 7 gallons of diluted paint was used. There were 8 arcs striped on each of the 5 pits. The boundary lines were double striped.
It is always great to get a parts order from an existing customer. It is even greater when they add a short testimonial about your product.
Recently a customer made a replacement parts order and added in the comments section of the on-line order the following statement.
"We have had our E-100 [athletic field marker] for about 14 years and it continues to work well. Thanks!" Phil, QMFA Field Manager
As part of our customer follow-up activities we try and give the customer an opportunity to make a short response to how their equipment is performing and asking for feedback on how we can make the product perform better and increase the ease of maintenance and operations.
In many cases we'll try and post these testimonials, nothing is better than word of mouth advertising and we feel this is the next best thing to a face to face or phone call endorsement.
The Model E-100 athletic field marker was the industries first 12-volt diaphragm pump technology back in 1995. The steel construction with powder coated and zinc plated finish has made this a long duration field marking equipment item. Even after the luster has worn off customers continue to use this versatile, easy to maintain, and ergonomic designed unit through many changes in volunteers and field operation managers.
Tru Mark Athletic Field Marker was selected on short notice to provide a riding self-propelled field marker and technical support. Mark Hall, General Manger for Tru Mark supported the Image Associates L.L.C, Charleston, WV, filming project in production of a 30 second TV commercial for the West Virginia Lottery.
Bill Hogan, President, Image Associates L.L.C. had two weeks to get setup and execute the filming for six 30 second commercials. Tru Mark responded in a timely fashion with appropriate technical and pricing options for this unique commercial that was filmed on location at West Virginia State University football stadium.
Tru Mark delivered the model RS-500M Self-propelled Rider field marking unit on October 7th with a 2 day official notice for a commitment to perform. In additional the existing WVSU Division II Yellow Jackets football field was striped in preparation for the filming sequences. Bob Hogan was very appreciative for Tru Mark extending their stay for the filming operations due to wet weather conditions earlier in the week delaying filming operations.
What is one of best turf shoes on the market? My vote is for the LawnGrips product line introduced over 2 years ago.
I was able to see the product for the first time at the annual 2006 STMA conference trade show. Representatives had several shoe models on hand for show visitors to try on. Although they didn't have the model on hand I was able to verify my shoe size at the show. I ordered a pair of 2001 Pros size 9 and have used them almost non-stop for two years.
This model appears to have been replaced by the ProLite 6" model.
In our business I have the opportunity to demonstrate our field marking equipment to prospective customers. The LawnGrips are part of my tool kit when out on the turf. They are used all day whether on the grass and skinned areas of ballfields or at our warehouse and office operations.
I really appreciate the higher ankle protection, both in the turf environment as well as in the warehouse operations. There has been very little noticeable wear on the sole. The padded soles are the most comfortable shoe that I've every worn, and I really like my Saucony Shadow 6000 that I've been buying for over 20 years. The LawnGrips kept my feet dry and allowed my feet to breath sufficiently to avoid wet socks. They have suffered several coats of paint over the course of a field striping season, yet were easy to clean up with soap and water (warm) and a strong bristle brush. They basically looked new again after the cleanup process.
Since I've overused/abused these LawnGrips, see Tru Mark photo album, they have shown some breakdowns, namely the uppers started separating from the soles and the internal padding especially around the heal starting breaking down. When the uppers separated I received my first cold bath since purchasing them when going through a shallow drainage ditch. The heal area although worn has not cause any blisters.
This is the best investment I've every made on a pair of shoes, even beating out my Lucchese Ropers hand made cowboy boots that I've owned for over 20 years.
Although our web site has testimonials posted we are now allowing customers to add their personal comments directly to this web site.
Please keep comments respectful toward our products as well as competitors. Tru Mark is always open to constructive comments to improve our product line and your field marking operations.
We will keep this section of the blog close to the top of the posting so it can be easily located.
Tru Mark has partnered with inventors to see their creative talents generate innovative products and a revenue stream. With a very diverse group of industries in the Norfolk, NE area we have many different fabrication options.
