One for the fridgies

**Old Farang** · 22nd September 2020, 06:36 PM

Originally Posted by scarry

Exactly, I rest my case.
Over 90% are done like that here,with that blue cable,they look at us like a fool once it’s explained to them

And not only are these guys fully qualified “electricians”,they can’t understand WTF we are talking about.

And as I said,the incoming wires on many go into the same terminals as two of the interconnecting cables.

The other real dumb thing is,when we replace a small split,we always replace the interconnects,but legally,we are not allowed to.We do it properly and are fixing up some other clowns mistake at the same time.

I often wonder how these guys go working out cable sizes for mains?
Surely they must be capable of doing some things properly,as many of them are self employed.

Surely the training system is at fault? Either that, or there is so much stuff online now that I guess they just need an iPad or such like.
I guess it is also that some of us "older gentlemen" have gone through a much different system where the "Boss" was not going to find himself on an assault charge if he either used his boot or, threatened similar.

When I started there was not even a Technical School where I lived. Up until about the end of my 3rd year all theory was done by correspondence. Once a year we were sent to the big smoke for a week or so at a Tech School in the city. After final exams and before a licence was issued, two local electrical contractors appointed by the licensing board, came around to the workshop and spent some time questioning us about all sorts of stuff. They would pick up a job that was in the shop and we had to explain how it worked and any safety issues with its use.

I have posted on another thread that I consider myself very fortunate to have served my time in a place that worked on such a diverse range of equipment. I was indentured as an electrical fitter, and after I finished there was by then a Tech School in town, so I attended night classes for a year or so, and then another test for an "installers" licence. I hold a WA "A Grade" licence endorsed: Electrical Fitter and Electrical Mechanic. Originally there was also "and armature winder" endorsement, but that changed at some stage to just the above.

I have no formal training on refrigeration and air conditioning, apart from that studied while working towards marine engineers tickets. In later years when I worked on American oil rigs as electrician, the refrigeration and air conditioning was also part of the job, except on drillships, where it was a combined effort with the ships engineers. Self study and practice had to suffice! At around age 60 years of age just before I retired, the American company had a list of course's that we had to attend. They were most put out when I refused to go to the USA to attend a one week HVAC course, which according to their training manager, would make me "fully qualified"!

**scarry** · 22nd September 2020, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

Were those the GM EMD plant in the AMP building?

No,Central Plaza Tower,Brisbane City.Cant remember brand of gensets
,although they were yellow.
The building was around 30 floors from memory,chillers in rooftop plant room as well,York open drive centrifs.

The company i worked for did the full installation,and all the mechanical services.

The water pressure of the chilled water system in the middle floor plant rooms was huge.In those days we were using glass manometers,for water balancing,the coils were huge as well,around 3m by 4M wide high.

Water balance was easy,three plant rooms for the building,four chillers,air balancing took months.
The first Honeywell Exell BMS system for the state.

**rick130** · 22nd September 2020, 07:35 PM

You'd love the modern BMS's Paul, really pretty graphics!

**rick130** · 22nd September 2020, 07:36 PM

And user friendly.
But the graphics are great!

**4bee** · 22nd September 2020, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by rick130

You'd love the modern BMS's Paul, really pretty graphics!

Kid's two wheelers have Graphics?

**scarry** · 22nd September 2020, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by rick130

You'd love the modern BMS's Paul, really pretty graphics!

Yes i have seen them,much better than the old school,thats when they are working

We also did the first and second stage of Jupiters Casino.Honeywell BMS again,and every CWV actuater failed

.They were garbage.
The old ones we had to stroke,the new ones we put on these days,all self stroke.

Three York R11 open drive centrif's,the largest model they had at the time,motors water cooled,using the cooling tower water.
S&S liquid starters.FLA over 1000 A/phase.

I bet they have ben replaced with screws.

**rick130** · 22nd September 2020, 08:08 PM

Wow, that's huge!

The only time I've seen liquid resistance start was when I was a kid.
Dear old dad used it on a large W12 Daikin comp at an OTC site.

Re water, we had to replace all the hot water Stad valves on one govt building in Canberra, they'd blow the stem clean out/off and flood the floors!

**rick130** · 22nd September 2020, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by 4bee

Kid's two wheelers have Graphics?

They're BMX's Des

**V8Ian** · 22nd September 2020, 10:09 PM

Originally Posted by scarry

And they are bloody noisey,real noisey,so thats me done.Although with better design,attenuates,etc,the packaged ones are quiet thesis days.

Electrics probably wouldn't be too bad,as the saying goes,a good Fridgie can sort anything

Many years ago,we had four V16 Diesel,quad turbo gensets in a high rise in the city which had to do a 24 hour test,before hand over.

The turbos glowed in the dark.

The noise was unbelievable.As was the amount of fuel they used for the test.

I knew a fellow who worked in a NT (? Don't recall which) town generation plant. It was a cruisey gig, mostly monitoring. The motors were Cummins KT, 19 litre lumps. During normal load engine/gen #1 would be working, with #2 kicking in to assist as demand ramped up. As load fell off #1 would shut down, rinse and repeat. One shift he had a slack attack and failed to do a walk around until three parts of the way through the peak demand period. He found that the second system had failes to kick in and the turbo on the working unit was glowing cherry red. He manually started the second unit and allowed the first to run untill the temp stabilised. The trusty Cummins suffered no ill effects.

**V8Ian** · 22nd September 2020, 10:15 PM

A keen, young, switched on fridgie I know (no, not Rick, another one) who employs a tradie and apprentice, working for, mainly, a nursing home chain from Gatton to the North and South Coasts, has just started a qualified sparkie. They are apprenticed to each other.

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