We tested batteries in seven sections of Grand Coulee Dam: the Third Powerhouse, the Right Powerhouse, the Left Powerhouse, the Pump/Generator Powerhouse, the 115KV (15,000KV) Switchyard, the 220KV Switchyard, and the 500KV Switchyard. Finally... All those batteries... DONE! It felt so good to bring our 13 shipping cases to the warehouse to be shipped back to Denver. The cases averaged somewhere around 70lbs, and frankly, I was getting tired of hauling heavy equipment everywhere, setting up, cleaning up, filling out reports, standing, sitting, talking, wishing I could leave, etc. :-)
Here are some of the tasks we performed for each battery test:
1) Visually inspect the batteries. These batteries have clear containers so you can see inside to check for cracked plates, sulfur buildup, deposits, etc.
2) Take the specific gravity of each cell. This task seems to take forever. First, you have to put on PPE to protect against the horribly dangerous battery acid that doesn't hurt for a while if you get it on yourself. Then, you have to go to each cell, remove the flame-arrestor, stick the digital hydrometer tube in the cell, take a reading, yell it to the guy across the noisy room who's recording the values, and then put the flame-arrestor back on. It gets long... especially since you have to lean over the bank in an awkward position for an extended period of time.
3) Using a micro-ohm meter, measure the resistance of the connection between each cell.
4) Hook a computer up to each cell. We have a bunch of little spring clamps one must use to connect each cell to the computer. 58 cells is typical for a bank, and it takes around half an hour to connect all the cells if you're doing it by yourself.
5) Connect the battery bank to the load units. Basically, use 2/0 wire to connect the battery bank to some big heaters. These heaters put out a ton of heat and can make the work miserable.
6) Connect all the backup batteries in series. If you're lucky, a plant electrician will do this for you.
7) Wait for the electrician to hook the backup battery into the main battery panel.
8) Call an operator to come flip the main battery breaker to bring the main battery bank offline.
9) Start the test.
10) Wait
11) Wait..
12) Wait... Our tests ranged from three to twelve hours in length. (OK, ok... One test was fifteen minutes long because the bank failed almost immediately. :-)
13) Clean it all up, take the backup battery off the DC panel, etc.
Saturday and Sunday, we tested the batteries in the Pump/Generator plant:
Each pump can pump up to 500 bathtubs of water per second. They're used to bring water over to a canal for some irrigation projects.Yesterday and today, we tested batteries in the switchyards. Here's the control room from the 500KV switchyard:
It's kind of impressive... this is JUST a switchyard with disconnects and breakers and it has that big of a control room :-) Oh, they get rattle snakes under the removable floor in the summer :-)
Here's some things I've learned:
1) I don't like restaurant food for very much anymore.
2) I don't like living in a hotel very much.
3) The casino on the nearby Indian reservation is the only place with food after 8pm.
4) The one radio station in this area is annoying... My coworkers listen to it in the car. When you get out of the car and go into a store/restaurant/some parts of the plant/etc., you'll hear the same station right where it left off.
5) I hate Lead Zeppelin. Simply put, it's thin, ugly, cheesy, and old. (They had a Lead Zeppelin Marathon for several days here.)
6) It's hard to concentrate after a while with continual radio in the background.
7) There's about 4 restaurants in the nearby 3 cities
8) I don't care for Safeway's deli sandwiches. They're kind of weird.
9) Engineers drink a lot of water during the day.
10) People in the trades make a lot with their double-pay overtime.
11) I dreamt I couldn't graduate from college because I reached the end of the last semester and realized I'd forgotten to go to one of my class all semester long.
12) I'm tired of being gone and am not looking forward to going to Hoover for three months.
I'm excited to go home, though!
7 comments:
" I hate Lead Zeppelin. Simply put, it's thin, ugly, cheesy, and old. (They had a Lead Zeppelin Marathon for several days here.)"
I prefer Led Zeppelin, myself. Plus, Jimmy Page plays his guitar with a bow sometimes. It really doesn't sound very good, of course, but hey...it's "Rock-n-Roll". :-)
Whatever you think about Led Zeppelin, don't knock the bass man! John Paul Jones is a monster--and he was classically trained...so there! :-)
Welcome home!
GGM
I bet you would have been happier if you had bungee jumped off of the dam.
"it's thin, ugly, cheesy, and old"
I disagree, but the members certainly are...
Bwa ha ha.
"not looking forward to going to Hoover for three months."
But we're all looking forward to "Hoover -- Day 76", etc.
I didn't know music could be thin, and if it Was cheesy, I would have used a lot more of it during dinner time. However, if it's old.... well, maybe not.
"I don't like living in a hotel very much."
WHAT!? ARE YOU NUTS?!
Just think, you NEVER have to make your bed. EVER, and don't forget about the little bath soap and little bottles of shampoo!
I don't know about a lead zeppelin, but a lead balloon doesn't seem too far fetched.
I know, I know... I'm crazy.
Day 76? *wahhh* You're mean. That's a long time. :-)
Cheesy, whatever.
Oh, and GMM, thanks! Sorry to make fun of your favorite music, but... well... I wasn't thinking :'( :-)
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