I'm not sure how long to make my posts, but since it's been a whole week, I figured it could be a little long.
Getting Ready to Leave
I always leave things to the last minute, so I had a lot of stuff to do Friday night. With the help of my family, though, I don’t think I forgot anything.
Before I left on my trip, I got a GPS. Although you wouldn't need it much for normal, everyday driving, I'm so happy I got it. Driving around Henderson and Las Vegas isn't always that straightforward. California? Again, I'm glad I have it. It's so nice to say, "I want to go buy a present for Steve's birthday tomorrow," (*hint, hint* for those of you who may have forgotten) and to ask the GPS where the nearest stores are in a specific category. You need gas? The GPS knows where to go. You want food? Good luck. Ok, ok... so the 2009 map update will be nice for the city of Henderson since it seems to have changed so much in the last few months.
Saturday
I left home... And drove... and drove... and drove. I figured driving 8 hours would be torture, but when you know it's going to be a really long time, it's not bad at all. I am really happy with my new 4runner and would highly recommend one at this point in my rank as car-owner, a privileged position where one can spend lots of money. On Saturday, I drove to Beaver, Utah, a little cow-town at about the 2/3 mark. It turned out to be a really nice hotel. The rooms were huge with a king-sized bed, full bathroom, 3-person couch, and Jacuzzi. The neighboring Burger King/Shell gas station/Peerless Tire turned out to be really nice, too. The beef was obviously fresh as the beautiful aroma of cattle filled the town.
Sunday
I got up, ate some of the hotel's "free," deluxe continental breakfast and continued on my way. The scenery got progressively dryer and dryer. Death Valley was really weird looking. In ugly areas of Colorado, we have acres of sage brush. In Death Valley, they have these weird cactus-bush-tree thingies. (Joshua Trees, I think.)
Driving into Nevada was a strange experience. I stopped at a gas station-combination-Arbys right over the border of Nevada and was surprised by the fact that there were slot machines in the gas station.
Las Vegas surprised me. I had always pictured a small town out in the middle of a flat desert with some big casinos and enough houses to house the employees. Well... It feels almost as big as Denver, and it's just an ordinary city. Aside from the fact that every grocery store and gas station has slot machines, you wouldn't know it was Vegas. (Unless you’re on "the strip," of course)
I arrived at my hotel in Henderson, a "city" that's grown into Vegas. My hotel is pretty much on the edge of the city, so it's kind of a nice location. The hotel room is fairly large and contains a bathroom (Well, I’d hope so!), king bed, large, flat-screen TV with a VGA input, desk for my computer, a small table I use for holding soon-to-be-consumed food, a 2-person couch (love seat?), a table in front of the 2-person couch, and a mini-kitchen. Not bad considering the government is only paying $40/night for it :-)
Once I unpacked, the truth started settling in. I had been excited up to that point, but the fact that I'd be sitting in this hotel room for three months started to sink in. I quickly started feeling like I was in prison, so I headed out to get some groceries. I bought enough food for dinner and that week’s lunches. $41. Beef out here is $4.12-$5.00/lb, and everything else seems to be proportionally higher, too.
I decided to eat hamburgers (I know, I know) that night, so I made them... with minimal kitchen utensils. Since then, I've bought a knife, a turner, soap, dish cloths, etc.
Monday
My co-worker and I drove out to Hoover Dam and got our badges. Nothing too exciting. If you want to see it, they filmed part of "Transformers" out there. The only unique thing I noticed about this dam right away is the fact that Hoover is somewhat decorated... A lot of the tunnels have inlays in the floor, a lot of doors are brass-plated, and there are some statues, monuments, etc. sitting around for the tourists. Basically, we spent our first day meeting people and touring.
Tuesday
More of the same. I started to find out why we were there and what we would be doing.
The goal of our trip is to teach Matt (the co-worker I'm here with) and me as much about Hoover Dam as the employees know.
Somewhere in the week, we got our schedule:
First 2.5 weeks -- Learn AutoCAD. Update wiring diagrams as there's a big control-modernization project going on.
Second 2.5 weeks -- Be an electrician apprentice and work on the control-modernization.
Third 2.5 weeks -- Work with the test team and test the new installations.
After those 7.5 weeks, I have no clue what we'll do.
Even though we're electrical engineers, they're teaching us as much as possible about the mechanical side of the generators so we can understand the big picture. I, personally, really enjoy this aspect. It's cool to see how they re-build a generator, how the thrust bearing is assembled, how the generator breaks work, how they cool things, how the valves work, etc.
Well… That’s enough for now. I’m tired of writing and want to go eat dinner. Stay tuned for more details and my trip out to California where I visited the NAAM convention (enormous music convention) and Knott's Berry Farm (COOL roller coasters)
"XCELERATOR hydraulically launches you off the line at an electrifying top speed of 82 mph in 2.3 seconds through an exhilarating 205-foot ascent and immediate descent at a 90-degree angle..."
Um... It's... really.... reaaaallllllyyyyy intense, but EXTREMELY fun. There's no anticipation, so it's way more fun than the "Tower of Doom" equivalent.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mr. Langemann
Being in a small home church, a visitor was big news. We didn't get visitors often, so when Mr. and Mrs. Langemann came to visit, we were all excited. As we found out, Mr. Langemann was assigned by his company to come to Colorado and start a U.S. division of Computronix. Mr. Langemann had come to scope things out, and one of his priorities while in the states was to find a suitable church for his family. During church, Mr. Langemann seemed so calm and reserved -- so much so that I started to wonder if he really had nine kids like he claimed or if I had misunderstood him.
The truth was soon unveiled when all eleven of them moved down from Canada. It was quite exciting to have so many people join the church from somewhere as far away as Canada. All the Langemanns were quite fascinating. It was fun learning their culture and becoming familiar with their interesting terminology, or Lange-a-lingo as I called it. All the Langemanns had their own personality, and Mr. Langemann, to me, always seemed so quiet and reserved... well, until the Johnsons invited the church down to Trinidad for a weekend.
Around the campfire, Mr. Langemann changed into quite another character. Unexpectedly, and very much to the surprise of us all, his jolly attitude displayed itself with great acuity while he introduced us all for the first time to "Dum Dum Dada," a song I find myself whistling quite frequently. After that, I started to get to know him better and found that, although he can be a good-natured gentleman, his cheerful, good-natured attitude can be quite humorous at times.
Back in the business side of things, I found Mr. Langemann to be a very patient employer. Although I mainly worked with his son, Josh, I was one of the first employed by Computronix and therefore had an opportunity to discover just what kind of an employer Mr. L. was. Instead of trying to get everyone to fit into one mold, he seemed to have a knack for discovering people's strengths and was good at putting people into positions they could perform well in. He was very patient and would give people a chance to become a valuable employee.
Throughout the years, we all got to know Mr. Langemann better and I consider it a privilege to have known him. I shall always remember him as one who was jolly in social situations but could still be serious and command respect. Whether it was a sunrise Easter service, a dramatic quoting of Scripture, or an admonition, his memory will live on. He was a dear brother and one who will be greatly missed by us all.
The truth was soon unveiled when all eleven of them moved down from Canada. It was quite exciting to have so many people join the church from somewhere as far away as Canada. All the Langemanns were quite fascinating. It was fun learning their culture and becoming familiar with their interesting terminology, or Lange-a-lingo as I called it. All the Langemanns had their own personality, and Mr. Langemann, to me, always seemed so quiet and reserved... well, until the Johnsons invited the church down to Trinidad for a weekend.
Around the campfire, Mr. Langemann changed into quite another character. Unexpectedly, and very much to the surprise of us all, his jolly attitude displayed itself with great acuity while he introduced us all for the first time to "Dum Dum Dada," a song I find myself whistling quite frequently. After that, I started to get to know him better and found that, although he can be a good-natured gentleman, his cheerful, good-natured attitude can be quite humorous at times.
Back in the business side of things, I found Mr. Langemann to be a very patient employer. Although I mainly worked with his son, Josh, I was one of the first employed by Computronix and therefore had an opportunity to discover just what kind of an employer Mr. L. was. Instead of trying to get everyone to fit into one mold, he seemed to have a knack for discovering people's strengths and was good at putting people into positions they could perform well in. He was very patient and would give people a chance to become a valuable employee.
Throughout the years, we all got to know Mr. Langemann better and I consider it a privilege to have known him. I shall always remember him as one who was jolly in social situations but could still be serious and command respect. Whether it was a sunrise Easter service, a dramatic quoting of Scripture, or an admonition, his memory will live on. He was a dear brother and one who will be greatly missed by us all.
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Adventure Begins!
So sad. I have to leave... for another 3 months... Maybe someday I can eat artichokes in peace...
Yup, tomorrow's the big day. I have a very unique opportunity to work at Hoover Dam for 3 months. My boss is hoping this will be a very beneficial experience in which I can learn all sorts of things about how hydroelectric power plants work. I'm staying in Henderson, Nevada which is about 15-20 mi mutes from Las Vegas.
I'm driving to Beaver, Utah tomorrow and arriving at Henderson on Sunday afternoon. I'll probably be really bored, so there may be a lot of blog posts coming :-)
On a positive note, some of the top-rated roller-coasters in the world are within driving distance of Henderson. :-)
I'm also really excited for my first weekend in Vegas... well... Ok, so I'll be in Anaheim, California. The Downs, some really nice people from our church, are presenting Yamaha's new Disklavier at a huge music trades show in California. (NAMM) When they heard I'd be in the area, they got me an unlimited pass to the convention, so I'll hopefully get to see all sorts of things. Sounds pretty fun, in my opinion. Plus, I'll be staying right next to Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park with some great roller-coasters :-) I'm also planning to scope out Anaheim for a future visit to Disneyland. (I'm going through amusement-park-withdrawal right now since Elitches is closed, so this ought to be a good experience. :-) (yeah, it's rough... No side-winder, no Ship-wreck Falls. No standing in lines...)
Yup, tomorrow's the big day. I have a very unique opportunity to work at Hoover Dam for 3 months. My boss is hoping this will be a very beneficial experience in which I can learn all sorts of things about how hydroelectric power plants work. I'm staying in Henderson, Nevada which is about 15-20 mi mutes from Las Vegas.
I'm driving to Beaver, Utah tomorrow and arriving at Henderson on Sunday afternoon. I'll probably be really bored, so there may be a lot of blog posts coming :-)
On a positive note, some of the top-rated roller-coasters in the world are within driving distance of Henderson. :-)
I'm also really excited for my first weekend in Vegas... well... Ok, so I'll be in Anaheim, California. The Downs, some really nice people from our church, are presenting Yamaha's new Disklavier at a huge music trades show in California. (NAMM) When they heard I'd be in the area, they got me an unlimited pass to the convention, so I'll hopefully get to see all sorts of things. Sounds pretty fun, in my opinion. Plus, I'll be staying right next to Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park with some great roller-coasters :-) I'm also planning to scope out Anaheim for a future visit to Disneyland. (I'm going through amusement-park-withdrawal right now since Elitches is closed, so this ought to be a good experience. :-) (yeah, it's rough... No side-winder, no Ship-wreck Falls. No standing in lines...)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Dreadful Mistake
I'm starting to make the disastrous mistake of writing posts that are too long. Blog readers seem to have an attention span of one paragraph per multimedia item. :-)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
New Car
As most of you know, I have to go to Hoover Dam for three months starting sometime in January. My group at work sends new employees out to a power plant for an extended period of time as a learning experience. I'm glad I get to go to Hoover. It's actually close to somewhere unlike most of the dams that are in the middle of nowhere :-) Just think! I'll be within driving distance of Death Valley!
Since I'll be gone so long, I needed to finally buy a car. I've been putting it off as long as possible since I knew it would just be an endless money pit. First, you have to pay for the car. That's only the beginning. That initial purchase just gives you the privilege of paying for insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. (I now feel so privileged. :-)
I've only gotten to drive it three different days so far, and already, I'm beginning to think it's pretty cool and not all that bad. It must be some chemical manufacturers use in cars. Makes you forget how much it cost and how much you don't want to pay for it.
I had a rather limited time to shop, so Dad and I looked at tons of cars every weekend for the past few months while people like Steve have had to answer tons of dumb questions. We finally found something that looked good from Carflex, a little one-man outfit near DIA. I ended up with a 2002 Toyota 4runner, 78,600 miles, for $11,600. It seemed like most the other ones we saw had at least 100k miles (many had 200k+ miles) and were priced way above the KBB value.
It's in really good condition, has brand new tires, etc. When Dad went to pick it up, the guy knocked another $100 off the price because there was a dent in the passenger interior door panel (which he pretty much fixed). (I don't know why. The guy would only drop the price $200 even with a "walk-out.") The next day, the dealer called Dad again and said he'd decided to buy us new mats for it since the old ones were dirty. Yahoo! Rubber dealer mats! They fit and they're easy to clean!
I'm really starting to like the thing. It has some toys (like sunroof, rear air, etc.), but is still a "heftier" vehicle. 2002 was the last year before Toyota turned the 4runner into an ordinary car. Sure, it only has a V6 3.4L, but it's not horrible.
Here's a picture Mom took when they picked it up: (I was at Grand Coulee)
Since I'll be gone so long, I needed to finally buy a car. I've been putting it off as long as possible since I knew it would just be an endless money pit. First, you have to pay for the car. That's only the beginning. That initial purchase just gives you the privilege of paying for insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. (I now feel so privileged. :-)
I've only gotten to drive it three different days so far, and already, I'm beginning to think it's pretty cool and not all that bad. It must be some chemical manufacturers use in cars. Makes you forget how much it cost and how much you don't want to pay for it.
I had a rather limited time to shop, so Dad and I looked at tons of cars every weekend for the past few months while people like Steve have had to answer tons of dumb questions. We finally found something that looked good from Carflex, a little one-man outfit near DIA. I ended up with a 2002 Toyota 4runner, 78,600 miles, for $11,600. It seemed like most the other ones we saw had at least 100k miles (many had 200k+ miles) and were priced way above the KBB value.
It's in really good condition, has brand new tires, etc. When Dad went to pick it up, the guy knocked another $100 off the price because there was a dent in the passenger interior door panel (which he pretty much fixed). (I don't know why. The guy would only drop the price $200 even with a "walk-out.") The next day, the dealer called Dad again and said he'd decided to buy us new mats for it since the old ones were dirty. Yahoo! Rubber dealer mats! They fit and they're easy to clean!
I'm really starting to like the thing. It has some toys (like sunroof, rear air, etc.), but is still a "heftier" vehicle. 2002 was the last year before Toyota turned the 4runner into an ordinary car. Sure, it only has a V6 3.4L, but it's not horrible.
Here's a picture Mom took when they picked it up: (I was at Grand Coulee)
(Yeah, boring silver. I know, I know... if only it were lime green with hot pink and bright yellow accents like Lisa Frank : ) I'll have to fix that...
I took it out on the icy streets today to see how it handled and was thoroughly impressed.
First, I punched the gas on an icy stretch and started turning to try to get it to fish-tail. The traction-control kicked in and started beeping at me, telling me that I was out of control. I started to fish tale and eased up on the gas and was going straight again before I knew it. Pretty sweet.
Next, I had to do it again after shifting into 4-wheel. That was cool. I made it to 30mph up an icy hill in about 250ft. Sure beats the old '72 Chevy pickup with bald tires and "Denver Broncos" mudflaps. (Yeah, I miss it, too :'( I don't know how many times I had to find alternate routes to avoid hills with that thing. I don't miss feeling like an idiot for flooding the engine all the time, but I enjoyed it.
Now for the anti-lock breaks. I've never been all that impressed with anti-lock breaks, but I was really surprised with these. They work -- Really well. Sure, I have some good, brand new tires, but it was still pretty impressive. Hopefully this means no more sliding through the stop sign at the bottom of Quail on snowy days :-)
(LOL -- And, no, I don't normally drive like that :-)
Anyway, I'm really pleased with the thing. Yeah, it was about 30% more than I was originally going to spend, but I think I'll be happy with it for quite a while. Plus, 4-runners seem to hold their value pretty well right now. Craig's list is full of old 4runners with 120-200k miles for $8k-$10k, all in bad condition.
With the recent snow, I needed an ice scraper. A normal, every-day ice scraper wasn't good enough for me, so I opted for the telescoping scraper/snow broom, complete with a shock-absorber to make it easier on your wrist. (I.E. A Sam's Club special! YAHOO! :-P)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Back Home
Turns out our 7hr day of travel took 10.5hrs. We drove from Grand Coulee to Spokane in our lovely Dodge minivan. Things went fairly smoothly. The rental car company didn't charge us for the dents I put in the floor of the van with my knees while moving heavy boxes. They didn't even charge for the scrapes our pelican cases left on the interior. It was rather nice of them.
We went through security and sat down to wait for our flight. Well... The plane needed a new tire and that took a while... a long while. After an hour, people with connecting flights started getting re-booked. It made 10 people from American Idol late for something, so heads were rolling. There was a guy being a complete moron while shouting all kinds of names at the ticket agents. There were a lot of angry people. Then there was the rest of us... All sitting, looking at each other, and laughing at the angry people. It was great fun.
There was a 7-month old baby, too. That was cool because it's been like forever since I've seen little kids.
Eventually, us mere mortals without connecting flights got re-booked for a United flight. With 45 minutes to make the transfer, Jill (my coworker) and I ran to get our baggage, checked it in at United, ran to the security line, were opted for the special screening, waited forever even though there was practically no line, and ran to the terminal a couple minutes before they started boarding. Somehow, Jill got a random carry-on bag check at the gate and got searched again.
I boarded the plane and sat and stared for a long time.
When I woke up, I got out of the plane, got my bag, and headed out for the bus. The government will pay for a taxi, but after taking one out there and watching the fair go up $0.25 every four seconds on I-70, I decided the bus was a better option. Plus, I was sick of calculating tips, so I was glad to get a reprieve. After sitting a while, I got on the bus and sat and stared until I got to Cold Springs. My dad picked me up there and it was all good.
I miss Elitches. Sure, the people and noise are rather annoying, but it's so relaxing to sit and watch fairly advanced electrical/mechanical machines operate. (NERD ALERT!)
Why am I posting?
OH, YEAH!
That and this:
http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx
This and that:
I decided to take at least a week off around Christmas.
We went through security and sat down to wait for our flight. Well... The plane needed a new tire and that took a while... a long while. After an hour, people with connecting flights started getting re-booked. It made 10 people from American Idol late for something, so heads were rolling. There was a guy being a complete moron while shouting all kinds of names at the ticket agents. There were a lot of angry people. Then there was the rest of us... All sitting, looking at each other, and laughing at the angry people. It was great fun.
There was a 7-month old baby, too. That was cool because it's been like forever since I've seen little kids.
Eventually, us mere mortals without connecting flights got re-booked for a United flight. With 45 minutes to make the transfer, Jill (my coworker) and I ran to get our baggage, checked it in at United, ran to the security line, were opted for the special screening, waited forever even though there was practically no line, and ran to the terminal a couple minutes before they started boarding. Somehow, Jill got a random carry-on bag check at the gate and got searched again.
I boarded the plane and sat and stared for a long time.
When I woke up, I got out of the plane, got my bag, and headed out for the bus. The government will pay for a taxi, but after taking one out there and watching the fair go up $0.25 every four seconds on I-70, I decided the bus was a better option. Plus, I was sick of calculating tips, so I was glad to get a reprieve. After sitting a while, I got on the bus and sat and stared until I got to Cold Springs. My dad picked me up there and it was all good.
I miss Elitches. Sure, the people and noise are rather annoying, but it's so relaxing to sit and watch fairly advanced electrical/mechanical machines operate. (NERD ALERT!)
Why am I posting?
OH, YEAH!
That and this:
http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx
This and that:
I decided to take at least a week off around Christmas.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Coulee -- Days 7, 8, 9, and 10
IT'S FINALLY OVER! YAHOO!
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!
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!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Coulee -- Days 5 & 6
Hello, all! Today was really cool because we got off at 4:30!
*edit from today since the laptop battery died yesterday*
Today was even cooler because got off at 3! Short 8hr days are fun!
I came out here to Grand Coulee with Nate and Jim. (Supervisor and coworker.) They left to go home today (Friday) and Jill (another coworker) came to take their place. What's cool is she's planning on working shorter days, so I won't be as tired. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the laptop charger from the dam, so it will be a shorter post. (Oh... Wait... That's not such a bad thing :-)
See that big, round thing? That's the core out of one of the smaller generators. They have the entire thing taken apart right now. I also borrowed a nicer camera to take a few pictures, so maybe someday I'll actually get them up :-)
Here's some pictures for you all: (Click on the picture)
*edit from today since the laptop battery died yesterday*
Today was even cooler because got off at 3! Short 8hr days are fun!
I came out here to Grand Coulee with Nate and Jim. (Supervisor and coworker.) They left to go home today (Friday) and Jill (another coworker) came to take their place. What's cool is she's planning on working shorter days, so I won't be as tired. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the laptop charger from the dam, so it will be a shorter post. (Oh... Wait... That's not such a bad thing :-)
See that big, round thing? That's the core out of one of the smaller generators. They have the entire thing taken apart right now. I also borrowed a nicer camera to take a few pictures, so maybe someday I'll actually get them up :-)Here's some pictures for you all: (Click on the picture)
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| Grand Coulee |
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Coulee -- Day 4
MEH! That's all I have to say.
Now I'll expound:
Every *cough* muscle *cough* in my back is sore.
My feet are tired of being stood on for 11-13hr days.
The two guys with me were excited about tomorrow being the last day of work... I have to stay here for another 6 days.
I honestly couldn't figure out what day of the week it was.
I'm sick and tired of complaining.
Ok, it's not nearly that bad. I would enjoy going to bed right now, though :-)
One picture for you all:
Now I'll expound:
Every *cough* muscle *cough* in my back is sore.
My feet are tired of being stood on for 11-13hr days.
The two guys with me were excited about tomorrow being the last day of work... I have to stay here for another 6 days.
I honestly couldn't figure out what day of the week it was.
I'm sick and tired of complaining.
Ok, it's not nearly that bad. I would enjoy going to bed right now, though :-)
One picture for you all:
You thought your UPS was big? Check it out! The three double-height shelves you see in the picture are the backup battery for a computer system UPS. Each of those containers is a single cell. You know your car battery? It has 6 cells inside of it. These cells aren't all that huge -- probably only 1/2 the size of a forklift battery :-)
So, is it fun? Yeah. I've gotten to see some amazing stuff... Stuff you only see in movies. I found out today that a lot of movies have been filmed in dams. Nate (my coworker) said he was at Hoover Dam and watched a movie on TV when he got back to his hotel. All of a sudden, he though, "HEY! I know this hallway!"
Battery 6 of 14 complete! (We're doing the big ones first, so it's slower right now.)
I don't know why I'm still posting. There's nothing new to say. Hope ya'll are doing ok!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Coulee -- Day 3
I'm back... For some strange reason, I feel like it's been weeks since I got to Grand Coulee. It must have something to do with working long hours in a concrete building from dark sky to dark sky. :-)
Today we finished battery 4 of 14. I think we're on schedule, so that's a plus. So far, every battery we test is getting worse and worse. The first two were easy. Nice, big rooms, plenty of space, etc. The third and fourth batteries felt like they were in an old Sunday school room. The only thing that was missing was an old, clunky piano. The Fifth, sixth, and seventh batteries are all in a somewhat crowded room, one floor above elevator access. Guess what that means? Lots of stuff to carry up stairs. We put 1,000 amp car batteries in service when we take the main battery off-line in case something happens. Guess what that means? 30 heavy car batteries up the stairs. I can't wait until this is all over. I've eaten enormous meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and still get hungry between meals.
Oh, that's a new experience for me -- spending money for breakfast. I guess our Per Diem covers up to $40 in meals per day, but spending $7 for breakfast still seems like a lot. :-)
I can't think of anything too interesting that happened today. We blew up one of our meters... That was fun. I'm just glad it wasn't my fault.
OH! I finally remembered to wash my safety glasses today. We're required to wear safety shoes, FR clothing (Fire Resistant), hard hats, and safety glasses at all times in the plant, so they were getting pretty dirty.
Let's see... What other piece of worthless information can I impart to my bored readers... I washed my clothes tonight. I only have one pair of FR pants and two FR shirts. They were getting kinda dirty, so I washed tonight since we got back earlier.
Man... boring, hu? Ok, bed :-)
Maybe someday I'll get some pictures up :)
Today we finished battery 4 of 14. I think we're on schedule, so that's a plus. So far, every battery we test is getting worse and worse. The first two were easy. Nice, big rooms, plenty of space, etc. The third and fourth batteries felt like they were in an old Sunday school room. The only thing that was missing was an old, clunky piano. The Fifth, sixth, and seventh batteries are all in a somewhat crowded room, one floor above elevator access. Guess what that means? Lots of stuff to carry up stairs. We put 1,000 amp car batteries in service when we take the main battery off-line in case something happens. Guess what that means? 30 heavy car batteries up the stairs. I can't wait until this is all over. I've eaten enormous meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and still get hungry between meals.
Oh, that's a new experience for me -- spending money for breakfast. I guess our Per Diem covers up to $40 in meals per day, but spending $7 for breakfast still seems like a lot. :-)
I can't think of anything too interesting that happened today. We blew up one of our meters... That was fun. I'm just glad it wasn't my fault.
OH! I finally remembered to wash my safety glasses today. We're required to wear safety shoes, FR clothing (Fire Resistant), hard hats, and safety glasses at all times in the plant, so they were getting pretty dirty.
Let's see... What other piece of worthless information can I impart to my bored readers... I washed my clothes tonight. I only have one pair of FR pants and two FR shirts. They were getting kinda dirty, so I washed tonight since we got back earlier.
Man... boring, hu? Ok, bed :-)
Maybe someday I'll get some pictures up :)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Coulee -- Day 2
Hi! Bye! I'm going to bed. We worked 13.5hrs today and I'm tired. I know that's nothing for a lot of you out there, but I'm tired.
We tested 3 out or 14 battery banks today, so we're ahead of schedule. One of the three banks was a 125V battery that's well over 1,000 amp-hours. Each cell is almost as big as a forklift battery.
I saw some really impressive sights today. I got a short tour of some of the largest hydro units in the world and was pretty amazed. Just to give you a rough estimate, the shafts that turn these generators are around 12' in diameter. I have a lot of bad cell phone pictures, but those are going to have to wait. If I get a shorter day sometime (Sunday is supposed to be 8hrs), I'll put my bad pictures up :-)
Hope you all are doing ok!
We tested 3 out or 14 battery banks today, so we're ahead of schedule. One of the three banks was a 125V battery that's well over 1,000 amp-hours. Each cell is almost as big as a forklift battery.
I saw some really impressive sights today. I got a short tour of some of the largest hydro units in the world and was pretty amazed. Just to give you a rough estimate, the shafts that turn these generators are around 12' in diameter. I have a lot of bad cell phone pictures, but those are going to have to wait. If I get a shorter day sometime (Sunday is supposed to be 8hrs), I'll put my bad pictures up :-)
Hope you all are doing ok!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Coulee -- Day 1
Man, that was a mistake. Don't ever say "Day 1" because that implies you'll be posting more.
There's not much to say:
1) The Spokane airport is bigger than I expected.
2) I don't like Ford SUVs. (Rental)
3) Grand Coulee Dam is about a mile long.
4) The power plants look pretty small until you go into the buildings. There's 3 power plant buildings and one pump building. We worked in the Left Powerhouse today and I was amazed at the size. I haven't gotten a tour yet, but from what I saw, it's pretty impressive. You know how the florescent lights look in Walmart? If you stand at one end of the store and look down the row, it looks really long? The Left Powerhouse looks longer than Walmart.
5) The security here is really tight. They grumbled about giving us unlimited access, including weekends. I just thought the person was grumpy... well, that's what I thought until I saw a guy patrolling the plant with a bullet-proof vest and assult rifle. Rumor has it they're training all plant personnel to carry heat. (Grand Coulee provides more power than any other plant in the U.S. 7GW), so wiping out Grand Coulee would blackout a good portion of the U.S. power grid.)
6) Although the city of Grand Coulee has around 1,000 residence, there's no cell phone reception to be had.
7) The city of Electric is close to the city of Grand Coulee.
8) There's a nice hotel here, especially for the size of the city.
9) I'm really tired and we're supposedly going to work a minimum of 12hrs tomorrow.
10) I'm going to bed.
There's not much to say:
1) The Spokane airport is bigger than I expected.
2) I don't like Ford SUVs. (Rental)
3) Grand Coulee Dam is about a mile long.
4) The power plants look pretty small until you go into the buildings. There's 3 power plant buildings and one pump building. We worked in the Left Powerhouse today and I was amazed at the size. I haven't gotten a tour yet, but from what I saw, it's pretty impressive. You know how the florescent lights look in Walmart? If you stand at one end of the store and look down the row, it looks really long? The Left Powerhouse looks longer than Walmart.
5) The security here is really tight. They grumbled about giving us unlimited access, including weekends. I just thought the person was grumpy... well, that's what I thought until I saw a guy patrolling the plant with a bullet-proof vest and assult rifle. Rumor has it they're training all plant personnel to carry heat. (Grand Coulee provides more power than any other plant in the U.S. 7GW), so wiping out Grand Coulee would blackout a good portion of the U.S. power grid.)
6) Although the city of Grand Coulee has around 1,000 residence, there's no cell phone reception to be had.
7) The city of Electric is close to the city of Grand Coulee.
8) There's a nice hotel here, especially for the size of the city.
9) I'm really tired and we're supposedly going to work a minimum of 12hrs tomorrow.
10) I'm going to bed.
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