We’re talking with Chad Braun, Equipment Manager at Town and Country Club in Saint Paul, MN. This Twitter-famous EM started at a young age, inspired by his mechanic dad to land a job at a municipality. Turf came calling instead. We discuss the importance of customizing your preventative maintenance routine for common issues, operator training, and a detailed walk-through of Chad’s cleaning procedure. You’ll be happy to find out Chad is every bit as good a guy as he seems on Twitter. This proud dad of two gives back to the industry with all the knowledge he shares, and inspires others to do the same.
Transcript
Trent Manning:
welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we’ll learn tips and tricks. I’m your host, Trent. Manning let’s have some Welcome to the real turf text podcast, episode 57. Today, we’re talking to Chad Braun equipment manager at town and country club. And St. Paul, Minnesota. Town and country is a private 18 hole course established in 1818. Town and country is Minnesota’s oldest golf course. And one of the oldest in the United States. Chad has one part-time assistant helping him in the shop. And he’s primarily Toro equipment. Let’s talk to Chad. Welcome Chad, to the real turf text podcast. How you doing today, Chad?
Chad Braun:
I’m doing great, sir. Thanks for letting me be here.
Trent Manning:
Latney it is an honor that I have you on the podcast. I’ve been more than to have you on. So that’s pretty much day one and a little backstory. Uh, sent out a survey before I’ve ever recorded the first episode to see who others were interested in having on the podcast. And I sent it out to, I think, 75 equipment managers, and I got whatever, maybe 25 responses and out of those 25 responses, three of them said they wanted to hear from Chad. So that’s pretty impressive and speaks volumes for what.
Chad Braun:
That’s very humbling.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. First year. So how did you get into the turf industry?
Chad Braun:
Yeah. It’s kind of a long story, but kind of like a lot of, a lot of our peers, I kinda happened to cross it on accident. I was kinda, I was always an equipment nerd as I was growing up. I had a, my own little lawn service and snow removal. You know, I started that when I was 12 and 16, I took a job at the local Amoco station and I was pumping gas and helping the mechanics actually by age 17, I was towing cars. I know. If I had a 17 year old pull up to tow my car today, I’d probably say, I don’t think so, but, but, Um, my dad was a mechanic and I ended up having dreams of working for a public works garage for a municipality or county. So I went to school for diesel mechanics. I had a two year diploma for diesel mechanics. And ended up working in a heavy truck shop for a year for my apprenticeship. And then I found a job at a, commercial townhome maintenance and landscape contractor here in the cities. They were actually the biggest at the time we had, 40 pickup trucks and seven mowing crews, sweeper crews, pruning crews, landscape, the whole nine yards. And I did that for seven years. to get some experience on, you know, the light duty pickup trucks and the, and the commercial mowers. And then, the snow removal end of it was, was pretty taxing. Uh, two inch snowfall was typically a 20 hour stint. You know, all the trucks were out for 20 hours and I actually had a calculation for every two inches of snow and we pretty much would lose one transmission. So a six inch snowfall that’d be three transmission jobs. And it was just a lot of the winter time. I’m a snowmobiler. And I just felt like I had a noose around my neck. My kids were. You know, just growing up. And so our assistant operations manager at the time, he had a golf industry background. He was a superintendent down in Florida for many years and he was in the Marine Corps. And when he got out of the Marine Corps, he came to work for us. And then he had. leaving back in 96 and went over to a Prestwick golf club, which is real close to my house. Six, seven miles right up the county road. And a year later he knew I was. Getting frustrated. And we said, you know, why don’t you come talk to the superintendent? And he’s, he’s really interested in talking to you. I think it’d be a good opportunity for you. And I figured, you know what? I can, I can learn that utility vehicles, you know, I’m like quest to be, to work for a public works department. I’ve learned the utility vehicles and get some more experience on commercial lowers. So I went on and talked to the soup. And he said that it was a 10 month, he was looking for somebody for a 10 month position and it was less money than I was making. And I just, it was a, a big property, 220 some acres. They had a huge fleet of equipment, everything, you know, up to a 16 foot, five ATD. And I just, I kind of told them, I said, you know, I see a lot more than 10 months position here. Like there’s so much that could be done with this. And so I ended up, Went back. And he called me three weeks later and he said, you know, and he said, I talked to the owner and let’s talk again. And so I ended up taking the job and probably four years later, I ended up applying for a public works job at a local city here. And I ended up getting an offer for the job and I turned it. I kinda enjoyed what I was doing. And I said, you know what? I liked this, and I’m going to do this for a while. And I ended up, after about 10 years or sole, we had, a major clubhouse renovation and. Six or seven years had gone by, after that resin, that renovation and nobody was taken care of the, the clubhouse as far as maintenance and stuff like that though. So I kinda stepped into that role as well and ended up becoming the Coban facilities manager and stayed there for 23 years.
Trent Manning:
that’s pretty impressive. Yeah. So something must have clicked.
Chad Braun:
Exactly. I really liked the fact that I could have control over my equipment. I could, keep it nice. You know, up here we have a, a six, seven month season. So we have downtime in the winter. There’s time to go through everything and make it right again. And it’s totally possible to keep everything nice. And, we can train our crew to operate the machinery the way we want or. I guess the rest is all history.
Trent Manning:
No. That’s
Chad Braun:
not going anywhere. So
Trent Manning:
Yeah, Yeah. I don’t know at this stage in my life, I don’t know what else I would do because I really, really enjoy it. I like being in the shop on the golf course. And if you’re having a bad day, you just go out and ride around.
Chad Braun:
exactly. And you know, there’s something to be said about the variety. There’s something different to do every day. Just a really enjoyable, and this, this industry, as you know, is just absolutely phenomenal. I mean, the, the current, the camaraderie and the willingness to help each other, and it just, it’s such a tight knit group. It’s just great.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it is. It’s, it’s, it’s amazing. And I don’t, I’m really proud of the WhatsApp group and all the people in there and the way everybody communicates and talks and everybody’s positive and just want to help each other out as much as we can. And that’s been a breath of fresh air, I think for a lot of.
Chad Braun:
Most definitely. It’s just a total group of professionals.
Trent Manning:
yes, very professional. And then the same thing with Twitter. Twitter is another great platform with a lot of professional people in there, and this is, you know, I get on Facebook sometimes and I get a little depressed.
Chad Braun:
Most definitely. I remember a friend of mine and peer of ours, Sam hall. lost him, unfortunately, he told me Facebook, he referred to that as the wild wild west.
Trent Manning:
That’s good. That’s good. I don’t want merit his name come up again the other day. And I was like an Asher, Ms. Lamb.
Chad Braun:
That’s for sure. That’s for sure. We certainly enjoyed some good times at the last GIS down in San Antonio. Great time.
Trent Manning:
I mean, it’s as a shame, anyway, you look at it. But from the industry side, he was kind of coming out of his shell and getting ready to start teaching and mentoring and doing some more of those things. So definitely a great guy.
Chad Braun:
That’s for sure.
Trent Manning:
Well, let’s talk about relief, grounding you relief grind.
Chad Braun:
Absolutely. various strong believer in relief grinding. when I first started at Prestwick back in 97, we had, I don’t even remember the number of the fully grinder. Then it goes to 600, but it’s the ones that had the cast iron Vblocks with the aluminum rods that held the front roller and not very conducive to relief branding still possible. So I, I would relief, grind. all my fairway mowers and I really couldn’t relief Brian in 11, Wade greens, more, it just was too much work and end up, running into problems, grinding and cutting edges off this and that. And, and then then 2000, we got a new six 30 Foley and a six 70 bed knife grinder. And I started relief grinding. Green’s rails and T reels. And I followed that the edge retention would last almost twice as long and ever since then, uh, I will not, I maintain the relief on every single cutting minute factory specs and.
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome. on a Green’s rail or you, you run a 14 blade
Chad Braun:
Eleven’s and fourteens. We have a little bit of both. We have an extra fleet of,
Trent Manning:
what’s the minimum real diameter to still be able to put a relief on a 14 bladed rail.
Chad Braun:
I don’t have any below about 4.8.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Chad Braun:
So, and with a 14 blade, typically you’re going to get a, probably 25 to 30 degree relief angle versus, you know, the 35 to 45
Trent Manning:
Um,
Chad Braun:
to see, but it’s, it’s certainly possible. It’s just, we gotta be careful. Otherwise it can make for a bad day.
Trent Manning:
Right, right, right, right, right. actually, because you encouraged it this winter, So I, I got 10 walking greens, mowers, and I replaced the reels and one set. So five of them and the other five, they’re not very old and they’re all probably in the 4.9 range. And I was able to release all those with out any issue. So I’m going to try it this year and see how it holds up.
Chad Braun:
I’m really, really anxious to hear your results are as longevity of keeping an ad, John. Um, and I think that’s, that’s the biggest, you know, and with a 14 blade, I think it’s even more important because you have three extra blades of steel running around there.
Trent Manning:
Yep. Exactly.
Chad Braun:
Plus it makes spin, grinding and go that much quicker. And actually the last few years I’ve been starting to take my, land width down to 25, 30,000, get them down nice and skinny. And a lot of times I can sneak a spin grind in and still be within spec, you know, still be in that 40 thousands range of laid land
Trent Manning:
Okay. I gotcha. How much, material do you think you remove on a normal touch-up grind.
Chad Braun:
Typically about 4,000,
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Chad Braun:
actually, we got our new fully grinders last year. I think 8,000 was a minimum. I had to put a four thousands preset in there cause that’s typically female I go to is typically four to 6,000. So I don’t typically let the cutting its get that dull or things around it, off that badly. And.
Trent Manning:
so since I got you, I’m picking your brain, when you adjust the stone up to the real, where where’s your starting. You know, once you get the real set in and it’s ready to grind.
Chad Braun:
I’ll typically when I set it up, I’ll typically just set it up. So it’s just barely touching it. And then I’ll go ahead and start the program of four thousands. And typically that’ll be, that’ll be all we need.
Trent Manning:
Gotcha. Okay. That’s, that’s something, you know, I’ve just thought about over, over time and I’ve seen different people do it different ways and not that there’s necessarily a right or wrong or. Whatever works for you.
Chad Braun:
Exactly and coming from a six 30, you know, with manual in feed, I never really saw. The benefit of the automatic and feed on the real grinders or the, even the bed knife grinder. And I’ll tell you. what, it’s absolutely amazing how I can set up a reel and go do something else. And even the bed knife grinder, I didn’t think I’d use an automatic in-feed on that. I find myself using it all the time. So
Trent Manning:
Yeah. And I’m the same way I got the six 70 threes, uh, two different shops and I called you if you remember,
Chad Braun:
I certainly do remember.
Trent Manning:
yeah, is this really worth it? Cause I don’t remember what the money was, but I was thinking, is it really worth it? You know, it’s not that big deal to the end feed by hand, but I agree a hundred percent with you as well.
Chad Braun:
Definitely. And I think when, when we, me and you had talked, I had my grinders for about two months. I was kind of green on them, but now that I’m like you’re a year and a half into having them with just a awesome tools. I love those.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yeah. No, they’re, they’re great. And what I love about it is before I would get a bed knife ground. And I, my assembly table is rather an X to the grinder. So I’m either taking apart a cut and you, and, or put one together and I’ve just turned, you know, Rob behind me and give it a little in-feed. But then you get a distraction. Somebody comes in the shop and they exist or needs that. And then 30 minutes later, it’s still over there running. And hadn’t been in fed where now it’s done
Chad Braun:
Exactly.
Trent Manning:
and you know, it’s done because it turns out. And you’re like, all right, my bad, night’s done. Let’s go get it out. You know, it’s kinda like putting some in the oven and the timer goes off like, all right, let’s go get this thing.
Chad Braun:
Definitely.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. I love it. Tell us something you fabricated lately.
Chad Braun:
so I’ve been at a tonic country club for two years now. Just. 1st was my first, uh, it was my second anniversary, but I haven’t had a whole lot of opportunities to do much for fabricating. Uh, we did build a new rod iron sliding gate for our first tee, which is pretty cool. And then I’ve done some repair fabrication, right? Few months back. One of the guys had slid on the ice. We have a Toolcat with a rotary brush on the front, clean, quite a few city sidewalks. And one of the guys had slid on the ice and, and pushed in the drama on that. And we ended up torching that all apart and rebuilding it.
Trent Manning:
Hmm, it’s fun project.
Chad Braun:
For sure. Hi, I love doing fabrication though. Typically I’ll do that in the fall. Um, in the past I’ve built a steel dumped box fronts for our work to prevent material from spilling into the radiator on the old style ones or into the cab area on the newer ones, nonetheless, but, and. Built a couple of trailers that we use for maintenance. And then the club. I also do use them for pollen tables and chairs out to the core set for outside events and a lot of fun building stuff.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, fabrication. I think a lot of us really get into the fabrication and that’s one of the joys of the job. And like you were saying, you never know what you’re going to be working on
Chad Braun:
Exactly.
Trent Manning:
changes all the time. What’s your favorite tool?
Chad Braun:
I had to put a little bit of thought into this. Cause I have a lot of favorite tools. I’m a firm believer that to do the job, right. You got to have to do the, do the job right. And efficiently, you gotta have the right tools at your disposal. but I think my favorite tool is probably my hot water pressure washer. I absolutely love them. I just. When you steam clean a piece of equipment and it’s so quick and easy, low pressure, you don’t need to go in there and contaminate seals and we’ll blow crap back at ya. And you can find so many issues with your equipment, getting in there and cleaning them. And in practice hoses, cracked welds just makes the job So much.
Trent Manning:
So at your current club, did you have one of those when you got there?
Chad Braun:
We did not. And That’s kind of why I came up with the hot water pressure washer. Cause I was talking to the guys and they said, well, the first thing you said before you even got here was a hot water pressure washer would be good. That was the first thing that we ended up purchasing before I got there. So.
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome. What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Chad Braun:
Um, I have a lake cabin up in Northern Minnesota and I try to spend as much time up there as I can typically we’re up there on the weekends. And that’s, that’s kinda my happy place up there. It’s been a, it’s a lot of work. We just got a new place here a year ago and it’s been a lot of work, but that’s, that’s fun work for me.
Trent Manning:
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. If you’re really having fun, is it really.
Chad Braun:
Exactly. And you get to see the benefits of your labor too. So
Trent Manning:
True. How far away from your home?
Chad Braun:
200 miles on the nose from my doorstep, we actually, the new cabin is right across the bay. From our old cabin. We were kind of attached to the area and couldn’t leave, but that’s about a three and a half hour drive, but you get used to
Trent Manning:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s time to listen to podcast.
Chad Braun:
exactly. A hundred
Trent Manning:
you go. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen.
Chad Braun:
I had to think a little bit about this. And I think what I came up with was, um, a tractor back hole. Um, there was a leak coming from the orbital steering valve and I went and pulled the steering valve out and it was leaking from the section O-rings between the sections and somebody had a. Cut a pop bottle and silicone that over the body as a horrible motor to fix the leak.
Trent Manning:
That’s a good
Chad Braun:
was probably the strangest thing I’ve seen.
Trent Manning:
Yup. I want, how long do you think it lasted?
Chad Braun:
I don’t think very long before it started leaking again. I think, I think once That pop bottle filled up and the pressure overcame the silicone, it kind of started leaking again. So.
Trent Manning:
That was pretty good. What’s one of your pet peeves around the.
Chad Braun:
Um, without fail it’s when somebody doesn’t clean up after themselves or put things away when they’re done with a project it’s just a, a waste of everybody’s time. You know, we’re trying to find something and here it’s not where it belongs. And
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Chad Braun:
it’s kinda like, like things to be neat and orderly. Helps things run that more efficiently.
Trent Manning:
When I think not just that it makes it run more efficiently. I don’t, it’s more enjoyable working in an environment like that where you know where stuff is and you’re not hunting for a tool that’s supposed to be here and you spend 30 minutes hunting it down. You know, it becomes stressful. I think at
Chad Braun:
Most definitely.
Trent Manning:
So I definitely think less stress. Do you have a mentor in the industry?
Chad Braun:
gentlemen named Carlos her house, the, uh, he works for the Toro company. And those of us who’ve been in this industry for a while, know Carl quite well. I’m sure. Um, Carla used to be the technical training manager for the Toro company. And when I got into the golf industry, I was pretty up on. The engines and drive trains, but hydraulic systems, Carl taught me just a ton, as far as reading schematics, diagnosing, um, electrical systems and cutting units. Basically the golf equipment in general, the differences, you know, he had an ag background with farm tractors and he kind of came into the golf industry as well. And I learned just a ton from Carl. I went to every class that he taught when I could, and he taught a lot of seminars local since we’re local tutorial and just a super good resource of knowledge. And then, uh, Jim Ned, and he’s a close second. I’ve learned just a ton of, of cutting unit three from Mr. Nelson. And just a couple of great guys that have really had a big impact on my career.
Trent Manning:
Uh, yeah, hands down and I don’t know, Carl too much when I worked for the Toro distributor, definitely saw his name a lot, and a lot of the education stuff that they were sending out, had his name on it. And Jim, hadn’t just he’s next.
Chad Braun:
That’s for sure. Yeah. Carl had a big impact, a big input in the original IGC FEMA certification program that was put in place back then. And he’s still with the Toro company. Unfortunately, the, uh, the underground guys get to benefit from his expertise now, uh, when, when Toro had purchased the, uh, trenchers and.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Chad Braun:
Directional boring machines. He ended up going into Aztec that’s the company and he ended up going into that division. So he’s, uh,
Trent Manning:
Gotcha.
Chad Braun:
that’s what he’s doing today.
Trent Manning:
Alright, awesome. What would be your dream job or opportunity?
Chad Braun:
I would say now that I’m two years in, at the town and country club, I think I’ve landed my dream job. I honestly do it. I just absolutely enjoy it. It’s been a. Breath of fresh air after 23 years at Prestwick awesome facility superintendents, phenomenal, just a great group of guys. Beautiful property, really enjoying it.
Trent Manning:
Is it still pretty close to home.
Chad Braun:
It’s a 21 miles. So I went from six miles up in county road to 21 miles in. Hardest St. Paul and the twin cities. So it’s been a little eyeopening with traffic and so on and so forth, but it’s still not bad. It’s about a half hour drive to work and it kind of gives you a chance to unwind a little bit on the way home and
Trent Manning:
Yeah, true. Yeah. That’s my commute. It’s about a half hour and I’ve kind of enjoyed it.
Chad Braun:
definitely.
Trent Manning:
And even in the mornings, it gives me, you know, I’m just thinking about, okay, I want to try to get this done, try to get this done. And. Just start thinking about work on my way to work. Why
Chad Braun:
Exactly.
Trent Manning:
And like you said, on the way home, you know, process, some of the things that happened or think about what I’m going to do tonight or whatever. And I think we all need time to, to think or to meditate or something like that.
Chad Braun:
Definitely.
Trent Manning:
I see it. My son, my dad he’s been retired for quite some time and he hates the cold. And obviously I’m in Georgia, so we don’t have cold weather compared to y’all. But, uh, when the weather gets nice, he will set on his car porch, just in a plastic chair, you know, and just sat there. And I got to thinking about it the other day. He’s really meditating, you know, I didn’t, you know, and he wouldn’t say that he’s meditating, but that’s what he’s doing. He’s just sitting there taking it in enjoying nature and he lives in the country. So anyway,
Chad Braun:
That’s one of the reasons why I go up to the cabin too. I’ll do the same thing. Just pull up a chair and just sit there.
Trent Manning:
Nothing wrong with that at
Chad Braun:
Nope.
Trent Manning:
What technician would you like to work with for a day?
Chad Braun:
I think John Patterson would be that guy. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for JP. And if there’s something more I want to learn is. Grinding angles that knife grind angles, you know, get more into that cutting unit theory. And, and John is definitely that guy. He likes to take things to the next level and that’s exactly how I roll. And like I say, I’m, I’m ready to take my cutting units to the next level. And I would really like, that’s a topic that I think would be really good at, at, uh, at the conference. You know, we’ve been chatting about it on the real turf decks chat. Just intriguing the effects that your grind angles have on different conditions. And.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, for sure. And so John, we were lucky enough, um, since he’s here in Georgia, he spoke at our, uh, we have an annual equipment manager seminar, the Georgia chapter of GCSA does, and he spoke and he talked about cutting units and it was really great and eye opening. And obviously I’ve been doing this for a long time, but you forget. That you’ve learned at one point and you’ve stopped doing it or, you know, whatever the case is. So I thought it was super good to get that information again and not all of it was, you know, old information that we needed reminders of. But one thing he was talking about that, I guess I knew, but I wasn’t really thinking about it. This one. Is every time we ground the front face of a bed knife, we’re increasing the attitude because we’re changing the behind center distance. So anyway, that just gets my wheels turning. And so I’m going back. Imagine her bed knives and, you know, I don’t know, it was, uh, definitely inspiring to say the least.
Chad Braun:
That’s for sure. You know, like you said, there was some. When you’ve been in the industry, as long as you and I have you go to seminars and a lot of it’s repeat, but that it’s a refresher and nine times out of 10, you’re going to pick up something new and it makes it all that, that much more worthwhile.
Trent Manning:
Yep. A hundred percent. And I know John Patterson well enough to know if you wanted to come spend a day with him, you’re being more than welcome at any time. And.
Chad Braun:
No.
Trent Manning:
Since I’m only about 30 minutes down the road. I would love for you to come by my place too. And you can teach me some stuff.
Chad Braun:
Nice.
Trent Manning:
that’d be
Chad Braun:
That sounds like a great time.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah, no, it’d be fun. Be fun. Um, if you’re coming to the show in Orlando, you could just fly into Atlanta and then we’ll drive down together. So
Chad Braun:
No, that is a thought.
Trent Manning:
just something to think about.
Chad Braun:
That is definitely something to think about.
Trent Manning:
So what kind of. Tips and tricks. You got to share with us.
Chad Braun:
Um, I think I’m gonna go with salt. When I was in school for heavy truck, we learned that when you grease kingpins, we want to Jack up the front axle. Um, kingpins are just like a rear axle bushing on our turf equipment or lift arm bushings, lift arm cylinders on real or rotary mower. If you’re not unloading that, that pivot, you’re not getting grease to the thrust surfaces. So like when we’re greasing a rear axle pivot, you know, all the weight of that traction unit is on the upper part of that pin. And when you’re greasing it, the grease is going to go everywhere. But there, so if we. Unload the rear axle by jacking up the chassis, we’re going to allow grease to get all the way around that pin and the same holds true with our lift cylinder pins, uh, lift arm pivot pins. So when it’s off.
Trent Manning:
So on the lift arm pans, you let the cotton units down on the
Chad Braun:
I do. Yep. So what I’ll do like when I’m greasing a fairway mower, I’ll grease it up on the lift, but I won’t crease the lift arms, the lift arm pivots, or the lift cylinders. I’ll lower. Once I get it down to the ground. I’ll, I’ll take the cutting and it’s down to the ground. Make sure there’s slack in the cylinders. And that’s when I’ll grease, grease, all those pivots.
Trent Manning:
I love it was awesome. Great. Tip anything else on tips and tricks?
Chad Braun:
Um, I don’t think so.
Trent Manning:
Okay. Well, what do you want to talk about next?
Chad Braun:
I think we’ll talk about preventive maintenance. I am a big guy when I’m a big believer in prevention. I don’t like surprises more than anybody else. Breakdowns take away from our daily routine. they interfere with being able to perform preventive maintenance and keeping our cutting unit sharp. And many unscheduled breakdowns can be completely avoided with a solid preventative maintenance program. When we have our machines in the shop for 50 hour greasing. It’s perfect opportunity to go over that machine. Look at hoses, just give the machine and a really good once-over. If we see a belt that’s cracked a quarter of the way through the belt, that belt is going to break at some point. And a lot of times when that belt breaks, it’s going to take out something else. I’ve seen. Plastic fans get broke and. If you’re putting off the inevitable, why not just spend that $15 and put a new belt on it and not have to worry about it in the future.
Trent Manning:
Yup.
Chad Braun:
And when we’re doing our preventative maintenance inspection, if we see an issue, take care of it because the next time it’s in for a PM, you might find another issue. And then you have two problems to contend with. So.
Trent Manning:
right. So on the viewer referring to a 50 hour service, could you kind of walk us. You what? Chad bronze 50 hours services.
Chad Braun:
So typically all pull a machine. Out of the garage and I’ll give it a good air below from top to bottom. You know, that’s one of the law at the radiator and the coolers under carriage. If that machine needs to be cleaned, I’ll pull it back to the wash bay, give it a quick steam clean before I pull it in the shop. But most of the time for the 50 hour, it’s just air holes. Pull it into the shop and we’ll grease it. Uh, rotary mowers typically get a blade sharpening at 50 hours. We can usually get away with 50 hours unless we’re getting a bunch of rocks. But if we’re doing that, we try to solve the problem so we can keep our blades running for 50 hours. But, um, like I say, full grease job, sharpen the blades, check all of our fluid levels and a full PM inspection. good once over the machine. And a lot of the maintenance schedules that are prescribed by the manufacturer, like on my turf, um, all the Turo maintenance schedules are, are preset in there. I usually go on there and pretty much change it up. Cause I there’s there’s issues with individual machines that are common and those are things we want to be looking at. You know, when we have it in the shop. Like I say, I’m just a big, big fan of preventive maintenance and we shouldn’t have breakdowns continuously. You know, there’s things that happen. We hit rocks, operators have incidents out there, but if we’re having fan belts break and radiator hoses blow that are mushy and all that stuff, we should be able to catch in the shop and be proactive. One of my favorite sayings it’s much easier to maintain than it is to restore. So,
Trent Manning:
Yeah, true.
Chad Braun:
A lot of people know that I’m pretty fussy about how our equipment looks, preventive maintenance goes beyond mechanical. It’s cosmetic, there are so many benefits to keeping your equipment nice. Operators take a lot more pride in the equipment. The machine might be two years old and if it looks like it’s 10 years old, it’s probably going to be treated like that. And if I care about how it looks, I’ve just found that Pride’s contagious know I take pride in our fleet and that usually trickles down to our crew.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, for sure. So when you first got to town and country, was the equipment up to your standards
Chad Braun:
it was. Definitely above average, but I I’ve kind of taken things to the next level. I brought in some, uh, some procedures that I’ve learned over the years for efficiency and, methods to be effective and yet efficient on cleaning the equipment. And it just, if you can, again, maintain versus restore it, it takes so much less effort to, to just maintain on a regular basis.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, for sure. That’s awesome. What about operators?
Chad Braun:
Operator training. That’s also something I consider preventative maintenance without a doubt. It takes time to train your operators, but I look at it as an investment in time. If I like to, to be a part of the, the operator training, I’m pretty much the expert of, of the machine, you know, as an equipment manager, we know, we know probably more about that equipment than anybody else, so we should have a big part in training and that training can prevent so many issues. Like I say, it’s, it’s just, uh, it’s a well-spent investment.
Trent Manning:
Do you have any documents to help guide you through the training?
Chad Braun:
Well, at Prestwick. I had a pretty involved training program with our equipment. I don’t know if you remember, but Toro used to have operator training videos, and they actually had a quiz that went around with it, went along with that video. And I absolutely loved those things. I had a photocopy Toro had quit doing that probably six, eight years ago. As far as the quizzes and the operator training goals, but I ended up photocopying them and added some questions on them and it was just such a great training tool. They would, they would just help everybody get it that much easier.
Trent Manning:
Well, that’s, I’m currently working on that now for my facility and I’ve been doing a lot of the training, but the things I’ve found is I’m getting old and forgetful. And I forget to say, you know, this or that. So I really need a guide to go by just so I don’t miss anything.
Chad Braun:
Definitely. I’m glad I’m not the only one. Cause I’m the same way I have to have that guide. And I would use that quiz as that guide, you know, it kind of just went along with the video and there was a lot of good information in there. And like I said, I ended up adding about 10 more questions on it. And like I told the guys, when, when they’re watching the video, it’s not a test. It’s a tool. So if you get it wrong, we’re going to explain why it was wrong and it just increases the understanding that much better,
Trent Manning:
Yep. A hundred percent. Can you walk us through your, your cleaning procedure?
Chad Braun:
Cleaning. Like I said, the hot water pressure washer is just such an amazing tool for keeping your equipment clean. You don’t need hardly any detergent. You don’t need high pressure. It just melts the dirt away. towel dry after you wash, after your operators wash down their equipment at the end of the day, you know, I think we’re all. Everybody rinses their equipment down. What we will typically do. We keep our equipment waxed. and I’m a big fan of a cleaner wax, but cleaner wax has a mild abrasive in it. That’s going to remove dirt and it’s also going to take off small layers of paint every time you use it, it’ll turn it. Like if you wax a piece of Toro equipment with cleaner wax, it’s going to turn your towel red. Cause you’re taking a little bit of paint off and. Every time you wax that you’re smoothing out that paint even more to the point where it will not hold dirt in the wax repels dirt. And it just makes everything else kind of fall in place. So we’ll typically a. In the shop we’ll steam clean and give a quick coat of wax every 150 hours. So when we have our fairway Morris, for example, a rough Laura’s in for oil change, 150 hour intervals. That’s when we’ll give it a good steam clean and quick hand wack. Detail. And then on our daily washdown, typically we will just rinse them all down and then we’ll wipe them down with towels. Don’t even need detergent, that towel we’ll fold that towel into fourths and basically use it as a, as a wiper. And that towel is typically green by the time we’re done because we’re taking all that grass residue off. But for an example, a fairway mower. Typically on a normal day, it’ll take 20 minutes to rinse the grass off, rinse the body down, give it a towel dry. And that’s how we keep our stuff clean. It’s that? It’s that easy. It’s that easy?
Trent Manning:
So when your wax on, or you just wax in the painted surfaces,
Chad Braun:
Yep. Typically, you know, the hood, everything that’s painted. Most of our equipment has plastic goods on it now, but we’ll, we’ll use it on plastic hoods on our utility vehicles. We’ll wax the windshields with the cleaner wax, because that’ll actually take off the A’s and
Trent Manning:
okay.
Chad Braun:
I’m sure we’ve all seen driving into the sun with our utility vehicles. It kinda all that hazing and scratches from wiping them down and that all, uh, that, uh, a lot of that stuff can be removed with the cleaner way.
Trent Manning:
Okay. Do you have any certain brand that you prefer on the
Chad Braun:
Yeah, there’s a wireless product. It’s called the quick detailer, which is kind of. Deceiving being called a quick detailer, but it is actually a cleaner lax. It’s only sold in gallon jugs. Uh, it’s M 66 0 1 is the part number for the gallon jug, but that is just such an amazing product. It goes on easy, super effective, and it comes off. It’s not the, you don’t have to scrub the heck out of it to get it off super efficient. So I think that is my number one. Number one tip, as far as cleaning equipment, is, is that cleaner? It’s just such a great product. It’s so easy to do.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. Um, I’m going to check into it for sure. And that’s one thing. So I just went on this road trip and whatnot, all these different shops and places and saw some really, really cool place, some really nice places and all this stuff. And I was actually proud of what. And I thought, you know, going to, especially some of these really high end places that, you know, it’d be showroom floor when I walked in there and that was not the case. So, um, I’m proud. And the standard that we have going is good. It’s not, you know, to where I want it, but we’re doing pretty good.
Chad Braun:
That’s awesome.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it
Chad Braun:
Now that the equipment is so expensive these days, it’s just.
Trent Manning:
Um,
Chad Braun:
If we can keep it looking good. And like I say, it has, it has a trickle down effect in so many other areas. I actually put together a presentation, uh, a 30 minute presentation for our local chapter that I presented this January was kind of my first, uh, public speaking event, but it was very well-received. Um, I kinda highlighted all the benefits. And our processes and the products as well. And I’m actually gonna, I’m gonna submit a proposal to to, uh, to present that at next year to show hopefully so
Trent Manning:
Awesome. That is so great. And I keep talking about it on the podcast. Anyone, if you got ideas, submit a proposal.
Chad Braun:
most definitely that’s, that’s exactly what it’s all about. We can learn so much from each other and there’s just so much. So much of a knowledge base amongst ourselves that we need to tap into those resources. And for the betterment of everybody is just so much that can be learned.
Trent Manning:
Well, no, I think the other great thing about our industry is because most of us just kind of fell into this industry. I don’t really know anyone that said, I want to be a golf course mechanic or I don’t, I’ve never met anybody.
Chad Braun:
I haven’t either.
Trent Manning:
In my career. And so anyway, a lot of us have a lot of different backgrounds. So I think John, uh, Rosa, he’s an automotive guy, was automotive for a long time. And then he’s been buying cars and fixing them up and selling them on the side. He’s working another, the golf course at, but he’s been doing a good bit of pain. So I think he’s going to put together a paint and body class, if you will. And then Brandon ho that just, he won the NVT award in 2021. He’s a well-done fabrication guy. So he’s going to put together a presentation on welding fabrication because a lot of us know how to weld or fabricate, but a lot of us were self-taught too.
Chad Braun:
Exactly.
Trent Manning:
So there’s a ton of knowledge that we could pick up there. So I just think is great.
Chad Braun:
Couldn’t agree more?
Trent Manning:
Well, do you have anything else you want to talk about?
Chad Braun:
I guess what I would would like to bring up is I think we’re all on the same page. I know. You are with this, with this podcast as well, but I think we’re all just looking to give back to the industry. I truly enjoy sharing knowledge with people, with people that, that do what we do. And I just think it’s a big benefit.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, a hundred
Chad Braun:
We need to be willing to, to share that knowledge and that’s Twitter is like that, you know, and get them get so many ideas off of Twitter and just a great, great, great industry.
Trent Manning:
It is as a wonderful industry and a lot of really good people.
Chad Braun:
That’s for sure.
Trent Manning:
I’ve met so many, just really down to earth. Humble. Just good people. You ready for some rapid fire questions?
Chad Braun:
Let’s go for it.
Trent Manning:
What’s your favorite movie?
Chad Braun:
You know, I don’t know that I have a favorite movie?
Trent Manning:
Okay. That’s okay.
Chad Braun:
I enjoy going to see movies, but I guess I, I really don’t have a favorite. I’m actually, actually, when I watch TV, I’m kind of a reality. I don’t watch a whole lot of TV, but I’m a reality TV guy. I like to see what I like to see what other people do.
Trent Manning:
Okay. I got you. Awesome. What would be your last meal?
Chad Braun:
that would be definitely something from an authentic Mexican restaurant.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Chad Braun:
absolutely love authentic Mexican. That’s what I remember the last time the show was down in San Antonio, we all went out to this Mexican restaurant. It just phenomenal, same thing in San Diego. There’s so many good choices and
Trent Manning:
Hmm.
Chad Braun:
big fan.
Trent Manning:
What are you most proud of?
Chad Braun:
Uh, that’s an easy one. That’s.
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Chad Braun:
So I, my son is 30, my daughter’s 27. I just, couldn’t be more proud of those two. They’re both at the top of their game and take pride in what they do. It’s pretty cool to watch. I’ll tell you.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, I don’t, it’s kind of funny. So we’ve only been doing the rapid fire questions for, I don’t know, the last three or four episodes. And I think everyone has said family or something to do with, you know, their family and that’s awesome. And I think that shows what kind of people.
Chad Braun:
Most definitely.
Trent Manning:
We might love the golf course and love this industry, but we definitely love our families more.
Chad Braun:
Exactly and that’s all. That’s great.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it is. As a wonderful we’ll tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you.
Chad Braun:
On Twitter. My handle is apt C Bron E M. Otherwise my email is Braun chad@hotmail.com
Trent Manning:
All right.
Chad Braun:
always a. Pleasure to have people reach out and ask questions. And, some of the stuff I’ve put on Twitter, and if somebody ever has a question, don’t hesitate to send me a direct message.
Trent Manning:
Alright. I love it. And honestly, I think there’s been a lot of friendships started on Twitter.
Chad Braun:
Most definitely
Trent Manning:
Just like that somebody sees an idea and they send the person a DM. And the next thing you know, they’re chit chatting all the time about whatever.
Chad Braun:
Exactly.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it was awesome. Great community. Thank you so much, Jan, for coming on. this is awesome, man. Incredible. All right. I hope you enjoyed hearing from Chad. That was so much fun. And truly an honor to have him on. He’s been a guest that I’ve been trying to get for quite some time. Not just because all y’all wanted him. I wanted to talk to him too. And. Talking about a humble guy. Just awesome. And can you believe how clean his equipment is? It’s still unbelievable to me. When I see pictures on Twitter. So he’s showing us what is possible. And it’s not like he’s at a place. Where he’s got unlimited budget. And he’s got a person that can clean all the time. You know what I’m saying? I’m in as a system mechanic. That’s doing most of the polishing. And then the crew does their part. So how nice would that be to have that happen? On a daily basis. Another thing he touched on was operator training. And I think this is so important and it’s something I’ve been working on a lot here just recently. I’ve always done operator training. But it hadn’t been formalized, like what I’m trying to do now. Um, putting everything. Together document and it. So basically anybody could go train somebody. On a piece of equipment. To my standards. Because I’m writing all of it. So just something to think about and yeah, that’s more of a wintertime project. And I hope I get it done by wintertime. On another note. It’s so great to see what. This community is doing. For the industry. I know a lot of you are putting proposals to GCSA and I hope they all get accepted. And if you didn’t have time to get a proposal in. Still reach out to your local chapter, reach out to GCs. And tell him ID. You have. It might be good for a webinar at GCSA it might be good for a local event. At a chapter gathering. And y’all’s knowledge is critical to the industry success. I just want y’all to remember that. I was a good one. My producer put in here for me. I love it. Until next time. So you buy. thank you so much for listening to the real turf techs podcast. I hope you learned something today. Don’t forget to subscribe. If you have any topics you’d like to discuss, or you’d like to be a guest, find us on Twitter at real turf techs.