My first stop in electrical construction: Edmonton Station
Our mission: Upgrade the battery system

What do we need batteries for?

Every station in Manitoba Hydro is equipped with a DC backup. In the event of an AC system failure, the battery bank will automatically switch into place. DC is tied into various relays, lights, alarms and equipment throughout the station.

Why are the batteries being upgraded?

The batteries that are currently being used are nearing the end of their life span. Although maintenance includes regular testing of the battery voltages, they eventually need to be removed (recycled) and replaced.

Over the years, battery room standards have changed. A few of the new requirements include:

• The construction of the battery room itself.  It must be built to contain a possible acid spill.
• The room must have explosion-proof fluorescent lights.
• Eyewash stations - the one-time use saline cartridge type stations are now used, rather than the traditional plumbed stations.

Some of the older stations have batteries kept in the same room as equipment, with only have a small wall as a barrier. Present day battery rooms are built with thick, fireproof drywall and are separated from other equipment.

To install a new battery bank, new panels must be put in place. These new panels need to be integrated with the existing station system panels.  We need to run many, many feet of a rather large diameter pipe in order to accomplish this.  We also need to establish a charger panel.

How many batteries are installed?

Hydro is all about redundant systems, so we will be installing two banks: Bank A and B. Each bank has 60 cells, equaling approximately 129VDC per bank.  Each cell is approximately 2.29V.

My original plan for the next six months was to work in Apparatus Maintenance out of St. Boniface. However, I’ve accepted an offer to take a different training rotation through Electrical Construction.

The most common question I get is, “So now what do you do at Hydro?”

Electrical construction is very similar to the Red Seal electrical trade. The majority of “Elcon” employees are ticket-holding journeypersons. As the name “maintenance” would suggest maintaining equipment, “construction” implies building. That is exactly what this rotation is all about.  Our job includes:

• Reading blueprints
• Building equipment & associated panels
• Running pipe (PVC, EMT, etc)
• Upgrading existing equipment
• Equipment commissioning
• Wiring

To accomplish these tasks, Elcon employees use a variety of tools. I personally have never had experience using a lot of these, and I am still working up the courage to do so. Some of these tools include:

• Portable band saw
• Hydraulic pipe bender
• Core driller
• Hammer drill

During this rotation, I will get a lot of valuable hands on experience.  If this is the type of work that interests you, Hydro does hire specifically for this position. However, this is the one part of the company where you are guaranteed to travel at any point in time.

Hi there,

Does anyone even remember me? I apologize for my lack of blogging, but I have had a run of unfortunate circumstances lately.

This past November, I stepped on a small light bulb while I was changing into my coveralls at work. I got a small cut on the ball of my foot, and it could not heal because I was still walking around on it. The problem is that I am a diabetic and getting an ulcer on my foot can be a dangerous thing. The wound kept getting worse, and after seeing three different doctors, I went to an emergency room where an infectious diseases specialist took a look at my foot. He confirmed the infection hadn’t spread down to the bone, and he put my foot in a cast up to the knee. I was told that had the infection spread any further, my foot would have had to be partially amputated.

So here I am, finally back at work two months later with my foot intact, thank goodness. And I promise I’ll try not to grind my foot into any more glass… and maybe write a few more blogs for all of you faithful readers. (Okay mom?)

Tracy

Today, vehicles are becoming more and more advanced in their electronics. As technology constantly improves and changes, vehicles become more loaded with different options and functions. One example is touchless wipers. Instead of manually turning on the wipers when you need them, the vehicle can automatically sense rain on the window and turns wipers on, adjusting their speed by how heavy it’s raining.

There are a lot more functions found on cars today, all of this possible by networking computers together throughout your car. You may never know it or see them, but computers are controlling everything on your vehicle. What carries the low voltage signals to different areas of your car are small wires. Wires can be found in a harness with other wires, or just in single strands.

Wiring is well protected and insulated from heat, mechanical components and all the harsh elements. But over time wiring does break down, causing lots of problems like shorts, open circuits or components not working correctly. Electrical problems can be tricky to diagnose, but when you consider all the principles of electricity, and take each problem one step at a time, you will find them.

For example, the other day I was working on a trailer plug on a Chevy truck. Simple problem: lights were not working. After a quick test, I unwrapped the wiring to find the red 12v power wire was corroded. This is a common problem found in wiring.

This is a project that I recently completed. These parts are made from plastic. They measure aprox ½” thick x 2 ½” x 3”. We love working with plastic. It’s easy on machines and the tooling lasts a long time. We had a basic sketch from our customer and they gave us a sample piece of extruded framing that the part had to “snap” into. We made several prototype parts before the actual run. We also had to get final approval of the last prototype from the customer before going ahead. This was a run of 100 parts, and each one had to be exactly the same. Plus, all the edges had to be clean and free of burrs or excess material.

The material came in as a sheet of plastic that we cut strips from. Then we cut them into individual pieces. All edges had to be squared up (meaning each edge had to be 90 degrees to each other) and machined to size before we could start detailing. Each part had to be flipped at least five times. It is amazing how time consuming some parts can be even though they may look so simple. These parts were made on the CNC Mill. I had to draw the part on the computer then program it for the machine. The good thing is, when a repeat order comes in, we’ve already figured out the job and we can save time. We will not need to get customer approval in the future, so long as we keep the dimensions the same.

This is a lock out flag for anyone who works on rail tracks. They are used to indicate to trains or vehicles traveling on the track that part of it is locked out, and no one is to use it. We make blue ones and red ones, they each mean something different in safety standards. We probably make around 15 of these a year.

On this batch, we installed a clip where they will hang a lantern so it is visible at night. The customer also places reflective tape on the surface. From the picture you can also see that the bottom is clamped around a piece of rail.

This is a simple fabricating job were we machine very few pieces. A lot of the metal is formed by applying heat with a torch and then bending it to the desired shape. Some pieces we flame cut before making the final modifications. Everything is made from steel, with the exception of the large square, which is made from aluminum (it can’t be too top heavy). Everything is welded together except for the aluminum, which is to be pop riveted on.

Over the last few blog posts, I’ve mentioned that the latest job that I’m running is the new MPI claim centre on Lexington Park. We seem to be making good progress in some areas but are held up in others.

For instance, because the building is so cold, we haven’t been able to install any plastic drainage. In order for our glue to set properly, it needs a working condition of at least -5 degrees Celsius. So our focus for the last little while (before we get temporary heat) has been to install as much of the steel heating mains, run-outs, and tie-ins as possible.

This means roll grooving 4″, 3″, and 2 1/2″ pipe, and threading 2″ - 3/4″ pipe.

Even this can be a bit of a challenge in the cold. Our RIGID roller groover uses hydraulics to squeeze a groove into the end of the pipe. This doesn’t work very well in -25 degree weather. So we have two roller groovers on site: one we keep in our heated job trailer, and the other on the job site.  When one freezes up, we take it into the job trailer and swap it for the warm one. As you can imagine, this slows down production and costs the company money.  But regardless, we’re still plugging along and putting in a quality installation.

For years, the world has been looking for ways to cut down on pollution, waste, and destruction of the environment. Many of their attempts have been to clean up what has already damaged the earth.

With the way the new MPI claim centres are being built, the environment is taken into account from the day we break ground to the day the job is done. And it doesn’t end there. These buildings are made to run as efficiently as possible, maximizing natural resources to use as little energy as possible. This project was set up using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program (LEED).  There are five categories LEED considers to make this building as environmentally friendly as possible: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

As a trade on site, we have to make sure we are using materials and solvents that won’t be detrimental to the environment. We also recycle as many materials as possible and install energy efficient heating and cooling systems. Part of what makes this building energy efficient is that it uses a geothermal field for heating and cooling. Through underground wells, water absorbs the heat from the earth and channels it into the building.  Because the earth is always 10 - 15 degrees Celsius, you need only a little more help from a heat pump and boiler to bring it up to the desired temperature.  In essence, the earth does the majority of heating, saving much natural gas and electricity.

Heat Pump

We are all encouraged to do our part for the environment, but sometimes I wonder if we really can make a difference. But with this new generation of “green buildings,” it’s nice to see that, along with our own personal contribution, others are trying to take care of the environment from the ground up.

The first project I was given upon arriving at Grand Rapids Generating Station was to build a table to hold a lapping plate. A lapping plate is a tool on which a liquid abrasive has been poured. It produces a flat polished surface, or it can carefully reduce the thickness of an object in controlled amounts, like a compressor valve for example.

I was given specific dimensions for the size of the tabletop, the height of the table itself, and how the legs needed to be spaced apart for stability. They wanted it to be similar to an existing table located in the mechanical area of the plant.

After looking at the existing table, I drew a rough sketch of how I was planning to design the new table. I then went through the steel racks and decided which material I thought would work best for the job. I used square tubing for the legs and angle iron as supports for the tabletop and shelf. The lapping plate is quite heavy, so I chose to build the table with heavier walled steel.

For some smaller projects, I find it’s easier to draw out a true-sized drawing on the floor with soapstone. I easily found the angle the legs needed to be cut and arranged to add up to the measurements I was given.

Once I found the unknown angles and measurements, I began to cut the material for the project. I then placed the pieces out, some on the floor and others using measurements, a square, and a level. I tacked all of the pieces of the table together.

I was then able to weld together the frame I had built, taking into consideration where I would put the plate for the shelf. I avoided any welds I couldn’t easily get into with a grinder. After welding up the frame, I ground off the welds that would interfere with the tabletop and shelf.

I used the MIG welding process throughout the entire project.

I cut the shelves out of 1/4” plate. I used a zip cut to avoid heating up the plate so it wouldn’t warp.

I then installed the plates onto the table frame and welded them on.

I cleaned up all welds using a wire wheel on a grinding disk and followed with priming and painting the table.

I’ve mentioned ground chains quite a few times in my posts, and now that I have dissected them entirely, I will share the knowledge with you.

Ground chains, or “Temporary Protective Grounds” as they are referred to in our safety book, are used exactly as the name suggests.  When a piece of equipment (a breaker, an auto circuit recloser, a transformer, etc) is being worked on, ground chains are placed temporarily for protection.  It allows the work crew to perform maintenance safely.

Current always takes the path of least resistance to ground.  The average human (from hand to hand, or foot to foot) measures in at about 1500 ohms. That’s assuming your skin is not wet and that you have no cuts. The safety standard book provides a calculation for the minimum resistance value that each ground chain should be, depending on its thickness, length, and what type of connectors it has on either end.  Our electrical tech vans are equipped with 2 - 20 or 2 - 25 foot chains, and 4 - 10 foot chains, both measuring in at a wire size of 4/0 (4 ought).  Pictured below is a microhmeter, or a Ductor test set.

The ground chains are tested yearly.  Since they are used in the field they tend to get beat up, and pretty dirty.  Most of the chains fail the “as found” tests.  When this happens, we take the heads apart for a detailed cleaning process.  In some cases,  bolts are bent and need to be replaced.  Here is what a dismantled ground chain head looks like:

Once the parts have been cleaned, repaired, or replaced, it is all pieced back together into one unit.  The ground chain is then re-connected to two copper posts, and tested again with the Ductor.  Once all the ground chains have been cleaned and tested, they are returned to service, and into the technician’s van.

Happy New Year fellow bloggers & readers!