Drive is broke...

[cpickett]

maybe put a "no tool storage" sticker on the door when you're done!

 

[ActionDave]

This is a late April fools joke......right?

I thought the same thing.

They can’t wait for a new one, my team is going to rebuild it in the field by replacing just the inverter portion with a new one. We will not reinstall the ladder though.

I can't believe this is really real. I'm shaking my head right now.

 

[Jraef]

I thought the same thing.

I can't believe this is really real. I'm shaking my head right now.

I had the same reaction, and I was there! It boggles the mind to think that someone would have assumed this was an OK thing to do...

Part two was that someone called us to come and check out the drive and didn't even bother to open the door to see this and remove it to avoid embarrassment. But then again, maybe it was a Covid 19 short staffing issue. They only allow 1/2 of their maintenance crew to work at a time and never cross paths by restricting people to specific areas. So if something goes down in an area where that crew is off duty, it usually has to wait, or like in this case, call in someone from outside.

 

[ptonsparky]

This is one of those projects that should not get a “large project“ discount and maybe have a DAA surcharge.
I’ll bet their safety training didn’t cover this, so it must be allowed.

 

[ptonsparky]

Any idea how long it had been there?
One of those..It was working fine yesterday.

 

[synchro]

This is one of those projects that should not get a “large project“ discount and maybe have a DAA surcharge.
I’ll bet their safety training didn’t cover this, so it must be allowed.

And obviously the ladder manufacturer was negligent because the attached warning label had no restriction about placing or storing the ladder inside an electrical enclosure.

 

[rambojoe]

Any tell tale trade signs on the ladder? (paint, ect)
I must say my construction CSI skills are compromised on this one, mostly from my elevated blood pressure...but i'd almost say a facility guy or the dude who can somehow clock a 40hr week walking around with a small can of paint touching up the same 4 rooms over and over again, but the fact that the gear had to be shut down (i hope?!) in the first place points again to a wireman...or a "start-up"guy depending on what its controlling...i guess ive been guilty of stashing certain things on some high rise downtown gigs but never something like that...verdict= lamo.

 

[Jraef]

Any idea how long it had been there?
One of those..It was working fine yesterday.

Funny you should ask. I found out today that this project had been installed 8 years ago and was never turned on; the entire facility had been mothballed. So in the ensuing years, janitors had used the VFD cabinets to store tools, ladders etc. to hide them from tweakers that would break in looking for stuff to steal, probably because these doors were interlocked with each other and if you didn't know the proper sequence to opening them, they would be relatively secure. Apparently the janitors were let go about a year ago and nobody knew they had done this. My crew on site found a tool box, a box of gloves and a complete set of overalls in other drives as they went around yesterday.

It bugs me though that they decided to energize the drives without having anyone come out and check them first, in which case we would have recommended a capacitor reforming procedure. The DC bus capacitors have blown on almost all of the drives now. Oh well, more work for us...

 

[zbang]

It bugs me though that they decided to energize the drives without having anyone come out and check them first, in which case we would have recommended a capacitor reforming procedure. The DC bus capacitors have blown on almost all of the drives now. Oh well, more work for us...

8 years and they didn't think to check????? Heck, not even check to see if the innards are still there? That itself almost merits the fix-up cost.

(I hope it's not a toilet paper factory .)

 

[ptonsparky]

8 years and they didn't think to check????? Heck, not even check to see if the innards are still there? That itself almost merits the fix-up cost.

(I hope it's not a toilet paper factory .)

Merits the cost plus DAA Surcharge just went up again.

 

[Jraef]

DAA surcharge? Dumb Ass A___?

 

[gadfly56]

DAA surcharge? Dumb Ass A___?

Thanks for keeping me from being the first to ask!

 

[ptonsparky]

Attack

 

[PaulMmn]

How long had the ladder been installed before it let the Magic Smoke out??

Never mind---

up to 8 years, huh??

 

[ATSman]

Wow, interesting.
This reminds me of a story that occurred back in the late 60’s, early 70’s when I was a field service engineer for Westinghouse in the SF Bay Area. Jraef may remember this one since he’s in the BA. This occurred at the NASA Ames facility in Sunnyvale, CA when the construction of the world’s largest test wind tunnel (google it) was being constructed. The power transformers (I forget the MVA rating) that fed the motors (50,000HP or 75,000HP ?) were oil filled and made by Westinghouse. During startup the temp gauge on one of the transformers showed overheating. The typical field tests (megger, TTR, Ductor) were performed but could not find anything. It wasn’t till they brought out a guy from the W factory in Pittsburgh, PA did they discover the problem. When he climbed up on top of the transformer and opened the inspection plate, guess what he found? There was a 12 ft wooden step ladder extended on the bottom, sitting in the oil! A BIG Oops!!! Quite an embarrassment for start-up team in charge of the transformer testing! And no, I wasn’t part of that team!!

 

[Another C10]

my team is going to rebuild it in the field by replacing just the inverter portion with a new one

It truly is amazing on the fact they're are so many ways to make money in this industry. My Instructor from 30 some odd years ago told our class of young know it alls, "no one will ever know all there is to know about the electrical industry", something I've acknowledged and understood ever since.

Sounds like a great service call. Stay safe.

 

[gadfly56]

Wow, interesting.
This reminds me of a story that occurred back in the late 60’s, early 70’s when I was a field service engineer for Westinghouse in the SF Bay Area. Jraef may remember this one since he’s in the BA. This occurred at the NASA Ames facility in Sunnyvale, CA when the construction of the world’s largest test wind tunnel (google it) was being constructed. The power transformers (I forget the MVA rating) that fed the motors (50,000HP or 75,000HP ?) were oil filled and made by Westinghouse. During startup the temp gauge on one of the transformers showed overheating. The typical field tests (megger, TTR, Ductor) were performed but could not find anything. It wasn’t till they brought out a guy from the W factory in Pittsburgh, PA did they discover the problem. When he climbed up on top of the transformer and opened the inspection plate, guess what he found? There was a 12 ft wooden step ladder extended on the bottom, sitting in the oil! A BIG Oops!!! Quite an embarrassment for start-up team in charge of the transformer testing! And no, I wasn’t part of that team!!

OK, displaying my ignorance, how would the presence of a wooden step ladder lead to an overheat condition?

 

[zbang]

OK, displaying my ignorance, how would the presence of a wooden step ladder lead to an overheat condition?

I assume by disrupting the proper oil flow.

 

[ATSman]

Thanks for asking.
Excessive internal circulating currents between windings. The ladder would produce the same effect as insulating oil contaminated with dirt, minerals, water, etc or any other foreign object. Hence the oil looses its insulating properties causing the excessive currents and overheating.

Excessive internal circulating currents between windings contaminated oil - Google Search

 

[Little Bill]

They can’t wait for a new one, my team is going to rebuild it in the field by replacing just the inverter portion with a new one. We will not reinstall the ladder though.

Now that's using "ladder logic"!