Geo Farm Gains Momentum

contracting
Geo Farm Gains Momentum
here’s no place like Geo Farm for
all things geothermal. The event,
a hands-on field day hosted by
distributor Corken Steel, is being
hosted for the third year in rural Indiana
Aug. 30 – Sept 1.
For 2011, the drilling, trenching, geo
technology, and heat exchanger workshop
has been expanded to two days. The new
ClimateMaster-sponsored day (Tues., Aug.
30) is open to geothermal professionals
from across the nation.
“We saw quickly that Corken Steel developed a winning recipe,” said John Bailey,
ClimateMaster’s vice president of sales and
marketing. “We wanted to offer the experience to a broader group of geothermal professionals, making the training available to
anyone from any part of the country.”
The second day (Thurs., Sept. 1), is
reserved for Corken Steel dealers. All
attendees may log continuing education
hours required for master and journeyman programs.
T
EVENT LOCATION
The event will be held at Dwight Bucher’s farm in southern Indiana, a recognized historical site. Bucher is the owner of
Bucher Trucking and Excavation (Aurora,
Ind.), and his company focuses on geothermal well drilling. To organize and host
the event, Bucher teamed up with Corken
Steel, a large distributor of ClimateMaster
geothermal equipment.
Geo Farm offers six hands-on stations
that rotating groups visit for one-hour intervals. Tractor-drawn hay-rides are the main
form of transportation around the 300-acre
farm. Great home-cooked breakfast, lunch,
and dinner are served by the Bucher family,
with happy hour beginning at 5 p.m.
An instructor explains the advantage of preassembled lake loops, just before the group participates in submerging the geo-exchange system.
FIRSTHAND DEMO
To kick off the Geo Farm training, attendees are divided into six groups and directed
to classroom settings in various buildings on
the farm, or to outdoor demonstrations.
“One of the great things about Geo Farm
is that nearly every possible means of geothermal exchange is demonstrated here,”
said Jay Kaiser, vice president of sales and
marketing at Corken Steel Products Co.
The outdoor stations include pond loop
installation, horizontal boring, and drilling.
At the indoor sessions, attendees participate in training on system performance,
routine maintenance, loop temperature,
and pressure. One notable session will be
held in the property’s 150-year-old brick
carriage house, where participants learn
about GeoDesigner software while a stabled pair of Bucher’s giant Percheron draft
horses listen in.
“By now, the horses have attended the
system design workshop a dozen times,”
quipped Joe Fish, residential district manager for ClimateMaster. “My guess is that,
by now, they could teach the entire course,
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Vertical drilling slurry is captured before an audience of trade professionals at Geo Farm.
but I’ll be there to help, just in case.”
According to Fish, attendees learn all
about ClimateMaster’s loop design software, GeoDesigner. The program is a
sophisticated, yet intuitive, tool for sizing
units and exchange fields. The software
also helps to demonstrate operating cost
scenarios for potential customers.
THIRD ANNUAL
“Judging from the past two Geo Farm
events, and interest this year in expanding it, I’m confident that we’ve found a
recipe that works,” said Kaiser. “This
year, we’ve made it bigger and better in all
respects.”
“Making it available to contractors
nationwide is another indication of how
upbeat we are about Geo Farm and all that
it offers,” added Fish. For the ClimateMaster-sponsored event, packages including
hotel rooms will be available. ■
FOR MORE INFORMATION…
Contact Joe Fish at [email protected].
AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING & REFRIGERATION NEWS
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July 18, 2011