What I've Been Up To The Last Few Weeks

[NightTrain]

Sorry for my lack of participation around here, but I've been doing the biggest battery job of my life for an outfit in Anchorage replacing their battery backup for when the power goes out.

Each one of these batteries weighs 330#, and the steel racking that houses them had to be removed & replaced as well - which added many thousands of pounds to the workload.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11332&stc=1

That's an 8' ladder on the left for reference. Behind this new lineup is another string of batteries identical to this one, so 192 batteries total. This pic was taken last week and I've doubled the number of cables on top since then... it's overkill, but overbuilding things is the name of the game in the telecom world, especially when it comes to DC power.

Simply getting the new batteries down to the basement and the old ones back up to ground level was a massive feat of logistics, but we pulled it off ahead of schedule and under budget.

I did the smart thing on this one by bringing on young guys that can do what I could do 20 years ago to save my back. The new portable forklift was a lifesaver, too.

Should be all done this next week and then I can take a well deserved break.

[Elessar]

I do not know much about electrical and power systems, but I am
curious why an emergency back-up generator or two
would have not been considered?

[Gunny]

I do not know much about electrical and power systems, but I am
curious why an emergency back-up generator or two
would have not been considered?Off the top of my head at the contractor end? It's what the plans call for. The reason? I venture a guess as to availability of fuel or maintenance. A battery backup system can recharge itself. THAT could be a logistical problem in Alaska. Transporting fuel in a blizzard, etc.

The fuel generators I've installed in hospitals and clinics had to be refueled every 24 hours. We don't have a lot of blizzards in S Texas though. :)

Rick can come along and tell if I'm right or wrong later. Again, at my end, it's because that's what the plans call for.

[NightTrain]

I do not know much about electrical and power systems, but I am
curious why an emergency back-up generator or two
would have not been considered?


Off the top of my head at the contractor end? It's what the plans call for. The reason? I venture a guess as to availability of fuel or maintenance. A battery backup system can recharge itself. THAT could be a logistical problem in Alaska. Transporting fuel in a blizzard, etc.

The fuel generators I've installed in hospitals and clinics had to be refueled every 24 hours. We don't have a lot of blizzards in S Texas though. :)

Rick can come along and tell if I'm right or wrong later. Again, at my end, it's because that's what the plans call for.


Oh, there's a monstrous generator standing by, but what happens is that when the power goes out, it takes 10 to 15 minutes for that big generator to fire off & warm up before it's ready to take the load.

In the meantime, this particular building is using 2,000 amps continuously. At that rate, this battery system can provide a little over 8 hours of power in case there's a problem with the generator taking over, giving them a few hours to get things remedied or even the commercial power being restored by then.

Because these batteries are tied into the system, there is no service interruption as the electricity instantly flows from the battery backup so all the internet servers & telecom equipment stay happy. For 8 hours, anyway!

[Gunny]

Oh, there's a monstrous generator standing by, but what happens is that when the power goes out, it takes 10 to 15 minutes for that big generator to fire off & warm up before it's ready to take the load.

In the meantime, this particular building is using 2,000 amps continuously. At that rate, this battery system can provide a little over 8 hours of power in case there's a problem with the generator taking over, giving them a few hours to get things remedied or even the commercial power being restored by then.

Because these batteries are tied into the system, there is no service interruption as the electricity instantly flows from the battery backup so all the internet servers & telecom equipment stay happy. For 8 hours, anyway!Kind of the same principle. Our generators are tied into the Life Support and Mandatory panels and they have to kick on 45 seconds or less for a med qual. The battery backups in clinics are installed to the individual units that require them -- like the OR :laugh: So there is no interruption power.

In a clinic/hospital, there is generally 4 panels all doing the same job, with the last tied to the fuel generator.

[Elessar]

Thanks Gunny and NightTrain.

The emergency generator we had at CG Sector Humboldt Bay
usually kicked in within 10 seconds. Each critical computer in the
in the Command Center and the radio's had battery back-ups.

The engineers test-ran the generator monthly for about an hour
as part of a Periodic Maintenance Schedule (PMS for short).

We also had portable generators that would power the Command
Center in case the emergency generator failed.

[darin]

that's incredible. Need you in my camp when the zombies attack.

[NT'sGirl]

Sorry for my lack of participation around here, but I've been doing the biggest battery job of my life for an outfit in Anchorage replacing their battery backup for when the power goes out.




OOOOOH I thought you were just being sick and grumpy:laugh2:


JK Love yah honey good job

[Kathianne]

OOOOOH I thought you were just being sick and grumpy:laugh2:


JK Love yah honey good job

:laugh2: