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Snow Making- In Pennsyvania.
Hoffer Flow Controls has recently supplied two flowmeters
for use in the snowmaking
process at Whitetail Ski Resort located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
One of the flowmeters is
a 2" gas turbine meter that will be used to monitor
air during the snowmaking process. The other meter is
a 1½" *STAR* flowmeter that will be used
on water flows.
Whitetail Ski Resort is located in southern Pennsylvania
almost in the center of the state. Mike Collins, along
with Brian Alex, are "Snow Technicians" responsible
for managing the snowmaking process at Whitetail. Mike
advises that the "window of weather opportunity"
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during which they can make snow is often very short
due to their location. Therefore, when the temperature
drops below freezing, they must move quickly and efficiently
to make as much snow as possible.
They have 280 snow guns that may be moved around the
17 ski trails. They draw from a 100,000,000 gallon water
reservoir to make the snow. When the conditions are
right for snowmaking, Mike reports they are drawing
approximately 5400 gallons per minute. The Hoffer 1½"
*STAR* flowmeter along with a Model 46 totalizer/rate
indicator is used to monitor the water from the impoundment
to the various individual snow guns. The Hoffer 2"
gas flow- meter is used to monitor and control the air
to the snowguns.
The water to air ratio is critical to make "good"
snow. If this ratio is off, the snow can be too heavy
or wet. With the information obtained from the Hoffer
meters, Brian and Mike can be sure that the snow guns
are operating at peak efficiency and in the proper ratios.
The Model 46 units
are battery powered by an internal lithium battery
to provide approximately 3
to 5 years of field life. Power, therefore, is
not required by the Hoffer Flow systems which
makes installation easier and more cost effective.
The Model 46 units are directly mounted to the
flowmeters and located outdoors,therefore, a wide
operating temperature range for both the electronics
and the flowmeters was a must. The operating temperature
range of the Hoffer flowmeters and Model 46 totalizer
easily met this challenge. |
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Hoffer is pleased to provide accurate flow measurement
systems to help meet the criteria of another challenging
application. If your winter recreation plans include
a little snow skiing in central Pennsylvania,
you may want to try White Tail. If the weather
is right for snowmaking, you can be assured that
the snowmaking capabilities of Mike and Brian,
along with accurate flow measurement provided
by the Hoffer systems will provide you with some
of the finest man made ski conditions along the
East Coast. For all you ski buffs, Happy Skiing!
For those of you with challenging flow applications,
call us and let us help.
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