Ice Fishing for a Good Cause
Last weekend we attended Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza. This is an ice fishing tournament held in Brainerd, Minnesota that provides over $150,000 in donations to local charities. As a company, we wanted to support our community and make a contribution to this meaningful event. Our Brainerd office decided to donate material and time by providing electrical contractor services for the event.
A Challenging, Yet Rewarding Experience
Preparation for the event involved setting up and grounding generators, and feeding sub panels for all required electrical. The most challenging part of the electrical process was installation because we needed to install ground rods through the ice and make contact with the water below. With 24 inches of ice, there was no way we could hammer-drill all the way through. Instead, we
had to use a 2 inch auger to get 20 inches deep. Next, we used a hammer drill to go the remaining 4 inches. This was challenging as it took two people to put enough pressure on the hammer-drill to get it down 4 inches! Another obstacle we encountered was protecting the cable. In past years, cable was protected by digging out 6 inches of snow, but this year there was no snow on the lake. Ultimately, we ended up placing pieces of carpet over the cable and anchoring them to the ice with tap cons. This helped protect the cable from all of the ice cleats.
Throughout the weekend we met many of the incredible people who make this event possible. Our team enjoyed the experience and we are glad we could utilize our electrical expertise to give back to our community.
Click here to learn more about Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza.
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This blog post was written by Jesse Bates.