Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 11/XX/18> No such luck as hoped for…
Last I left you...
Last I left you I had just got done with a hot steamy bath and another edition of the Daily Dose published in which I mentioned the chance that Wednesday would go well and I could be headed home early and make it back by a reasonable hour of the evening.
As you probably...
As you probably could gather from the title of this edition of the Daily Dose that didn’t happen; also those two XX’s in the normal place for the date are there intentionally since I can’t seem to decide which day I want to publish this edition as. I could make it a really, really late edition for the 29th or it could be a very early edition for the 30th. I just returned home from that trip and it is 3:30 PM CST time and it is Thursday.
(Time out)
This computer is about to drive me crazy, I write the Daily Dose as Word Document and then copy and paste it over to steemit. Now Windows Word seems to have decided it needs to “auto-save” this damn thing about every guzbucking two sentences and it is so slow doing it I am getting fed up with this computer. Is there a way to change the settings for the auto save feature on Word ? I have looked but I can seem to find it, or if I can just turn the damn thing off would be fine with me.
(Time In)
If this goes...
If this goes as the Thursday edition I will need to turn right around and write a Friday edition as well. I just don’t know that I have the patience with this computer to do two Daily Doses in one day. I think I will just let it be the XX edition and you folks can decide what day you want it to be.
This week in ...
This week in Dallas didn’t go as well as we had hoped for when it came to putting in that new pump station at the golf course. About the only positive thing I can say about it is that we didn’t get the crane truck stuck and we didn’t rut the fairway up to badly on the course. Other than those two things not much went in our favor on this installation.
Technical issues are...
Technical issues are to be expected whenever you undertake a renovation project but this project had more than what I would consider as normal. We had three pumps, the discharge piping manifold, and the computer controls to install and all three pumps needed to be set at the same level in the water, but somehow the engineer who designed the pump station ended up getting the smallest pump 14 inches deeper than the two larger and pumps and that had it basically setting on the bottom of the wet well. (Wet well is area off from the main lake that uses a pipe to connect it to the main body of water, so the pump station is not directly over the main lake.)
That 14 inches...
That 14 inches caused a problem and we ended up having to pull that entire pump set up and shorten the pipe by 14 inches. Not having a way to cut new threads for that shortened pipe meant having to send a guy off site to get that done on Wednesday.
That whole deal just on that one pump ended up eating up over two hours of time getting it corrected and set back in its place. Had we discovered it on Tuesday when the crane was still onsite it wouldn’t have been such a big deal and would have taken less than half the time to correct.
We did manage...
We did manage to get everything hooked up both piping and the electrical before the end of the day on Wednesday. One thing I learned years ago when I was doing installations is that sometimes you just can’t make everything perfect, especially when you have to connect back up to something already existing. In this case that was an 8 inch pipe that came up from the ground to the bottom of the elevated platform that the pump station was on.
Our main man...
Our main man Bill who was in charge of the installation didn’t like that the 8” pipe was a half of bubble out of plumb when checked with a level and he kept insisting that we shove the pipe to make it straight and bolt up our butterfly valve to it when we got it plumb to the ground.
Jason was the instructed to make that adjustment and I told Jason as he was doing it that this isn’t a good idea and it won’t be pretty at some point in the future, I saw the mechanical joint near the bottom of that 8 inch pipe flexing a little as Jason was pushing on the pipe. I had already expressed to Bill that a half a bubble isn’t worth the risk of screwing up the vertical discharge piping but he thought otherwise.
So this morning...
So this morning when we finally got things in a position to test properly and pressurize up the golf course irrigation system things were going well except for a small leak on one pump collar and it shouldn’t be an issue fixing that, the big chain wrenches should handle that fairly easily.
The icing on the...
The icing on the cake for me was that I knew in my mind that pipe would let go but I didn’t know when and it couldn’t have let go at a better time as far as I was concerned. The other young man working with us on these pump station installs is Andrew and Andrew had already gone up top before the pipe let go to let Bill know we had a leak on the bottom side and Bill told him “no we don’t, that water you are seeing is from the small discharge pipe.”
Andrew has been...
Andrew has been around these type of pumps for 10 years or more and he knows the difference between a leak and a discharge tube and he and I both saw that the leak at the pump head was also increasing, so he went and told Bill a second time and then Andrew came back down and was helping load tools onto the service truck.
We had to unload some stuff to get to the two big chain wrenches and as we got them out Bill had just come down to take a look for himself at the pump leak. Bill ended up getting soaked when that 8 inch pipe let go as he just about two arms lengths from the pipe and plus when it blew; the water that shot up and was reflected back down by the raised floor. So Bill was getting direct spray and reflected spray, he was completely soaked in a matter of seconds. Did I mention the temperature was in the low 50’s ? It was, and it was cold for me and I didn’t even get wet.
Bill ended up...
Bill ended running back up the stairs and shut the pump off and then he came back down. The golf course grounds keeper was there when it happened and he got right on his phone to summon his crew to repair the pipe.
Bill suggested that Andrew and I pack up and head home since this was going to be a timely repair and Andrew comes from San Antonio and with me from the Houston area we both had over 3 to 4 hour drives ahead of us. Bill didn’t have to tell us twice, I put my rubber boots on and went and fetched the two big chain wrenches and we loaded Andrew’s truck and we were out of there in less than ten minutes.
I called Jason...
I called Jason to let him know what had happened and he was laughing so hard on the phone he said he couldn’t catch his breath. He said, “It wasn’t like you didn’t warn Bill about jacking that pipe.”
Jason was right, the problem with some people is that they think they know everything and don’t want to listen to the new guy. Bill will probably never mention to the groundskeeper that we jacked that pipe around making our stuff fit right up on the topside, but I guess some things are best left unsaid when dealing with the customer and they are willing to correct the problem.
Right now I am...
Right now I am two hours into a twenty minute story thanks to that “auto save feature “ on this damn Microshit Word Program. If I were a vlogger I’d have been done an hour and half ago because I damn sure couldn’t do any editing.
If I ever...
If I ever decide to vlog I will have to rename my work to Sultnpapper Raw or something along those lines since it would be raw footage with no edits. For those of wondering; No, I wouldn’t film in the raw, the film would be raw.
I guess this is...
I guess this is going to have to be the 11/30/18 edition of the Daily Dose, I had to take a break to eat and play the nightly poker game. I hadn’t played this week and I needed to win some SBD to keep funding the Saturday SBI giveaway.
It wasn't a ...
It wasn’t a big money tournament but it all adds up and with the win in Thursday night game that is plenty to fund at least another week of SBI. I think I will still leave as the 11/XX/18 edition of the Daily Dose, since I like dos XX’s beer.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
Note: Thanks for reading the Daily Dose.
Bonus Photos:
Photo Credits : All photos are the property of @sultnpapper.
Well, my surprise factor is 0, but at least the right guy took the shower. I think every one I worked on had the outlet set in concrete at some point (an 8" pipe with a corner in it represents a shit pot full of force) so we ALWAYS had a pipe welder on site for the finish. We also painted every discharge in company colors so you could hide a LOT of welder fix spots :)
I've been the guy that could say "I told you so" and hardly ever did. I think in this case I might have reminded Bill since he let two warnings go by before he took his shower. You just don't get that many chances to correct obvious mistakes.
I'm glad you are home, and glad that job is behind you. I've had a couple of installs (water and hydraulic) where I required the customer/representative to sign a release when it was against my better judgement. Just a single sheet in my ever present notebook that explained why I wouldn't do it that way and absolving my company from fault for a specific failure. Same notebook had notes from every phone call I took about damn near anything. When somebody made a claim later I could go back and refresh my memory.... Those phone notes saved my bacon a whole bunch of times.
So. I don't have a microsoft product on this computer. I use Google Drive (and Chrome) to write in. I'm satisfied with it and have been for years. The auto save happens about every 10 seconds and I never even notice unless I am looking at the control bar when it flashes the "All changes saved" message.
Well, whatever day it is, I'm always pleased to get my daily dose. Thank you for it.
I pretty much knew that you wouldn't be surprised because you know how this stuff goes together and how trying to square everything just isn't possible all the time. That MJ coupling had been there for over 15 years without any problem or leaks so when I saw it had no joint restraints I expressed concern that we might screw it up and we did as it proved out upon start up.
I didn't go the "I told you so" route, my tongue does have teeth marks in it though as it was hard not too. I may have to work with guy some more in the future, I'll just let him figure out what I know and don't know as time allows.
I wish I had taken a photo of the station after it was a plumbed in up top to share, but when he suggested leaving, I wasn't going to give him a chance to rethink that idea he had. Going anywhere near him may have prompted a thought and a change of plans.
I do have a safety concern with the design of that pump station and the electrical but I will bring that up with company that designed and built the station. The 5hp submersible pressure maintenance pump electric power wire is not in conduit and exposed from the base of the pump station all the way down the pipe to the pump and someone could easily damage it and end up getting zapped if the pump was running when it happened, not really likely, but surely possible and surely not to code.
We have codes for a reason. I like to see things absolutely correct prior to start up because enough can go wrong when things are right....
I know two farmers that got zipped by a 440v charge in a panel box. Both of them knew better, but opened the box and didn't go in with a Fluke first. Didn't kill either one but did take them out of action for a time.
One of them knew way better. He was an electrical engineer that had never used his degree directly. He's the guy that took me to my first Cougar football game on his 10th year reunion (1958). He just got in a hurry.... And for the record, I still hear from him about this time every year. He was a year older than my Dad and finished his degree right after WWII. That would make him 92 this year.
These people are so used to having these pump stations sitting right on ground level and that wire virtually not accessible unless you are inside the wet well; it probably never even registered with them that better than 20 feet of power wire would be exposed and just tie strapped to the pipe using zip ties.
It will be inside two locked areas but I don't believe that should make any difference when it comes to safety. I also didn't agree with them not installing the safety screens that would keep people out of the area where the motor shafts connect to the pump shafts. "Nobody is going to be in there that doesn't know better" is what I was told.
Well that may be true but if you have them and they are paid for just use them and be done with it. Let somebody get a piece of loose clothing or a hoodie string caught up in the rotating shaft and then tell me it isn't needed, those 75hp motors put out some torque for sure.
Always best to double check power for sure, and being in a hurry can sure hurt a person.
I don't know for a fact but I have been told the 120V is the possibly the most dangerous voltage because it grabs and won't let go. Where the higher voltages will literally knock you on your rear in some cases, you might have some burns or lose a finger or two in the process but you could live to tell about it. That isn't really the case with 120V as it won't let go even after you are dead. More than one person has been electrocuted by trying to help someone who is in contact with the voltage supply by grabbing them.
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue 326 (11/30/18)
Leaving the date with "XX" is fine with me! Or, you could always write an edition for
11/30½/2018
to span more than one day... 😁
Turn turn AutoSave on or off, or change the time-interval between saves (the best option, in my humble opinion), click on FILE, then OPTIONS, then SAVE to see this menu (if you are on the same version of WORD as I'm on):
Now we just need to get you a video camera so you can record Bill's next antics... 😂
Thanks for the tip on Auto Save. With your advice I found it and raised it to 50, it was on 10, but it was taking so long to save it , it became ridiculous.
Ah, welcome to the joys of Mercury Retrograde. The frustrations, confusion, delays and miscommunications / misunderstandings / changes of plans it brings are all over this past. The computer problems, too. I'll be glad when this one is over.
When will it be over?
Just looked it up online. It ends on Dec 6th. Maybe my mild toothache that can't be worked on (yet) will stop then. Maybe the roof leak in the flat I rent out will finally get fixed once and for all (they keep saying it's been fixed and then it starts again). Maybe the central heating in my currently uninhabitable flat will finally get sorted then, AND the major plumbing problem. I've had two people out to look at it so far, but they can't get the right parts. Maybe the lease for the shop I rent out will finally get signed. My whole life seems to be in a hiatus!
Damn, it sure does sound like that.
Ah, Mercury Retrograde. That would explain a lot that's going on (or rather, that has ground to a halt) in my life just now.
When it starts going forward again, will the crypto market pick up?
Sounds like Bill is.... wait for it... all wet.
He sure was, and he wasn't happy about it; but Bill seems like the type of guy who is never happy from what I can tell.
Oops! Poor Bill. He got a taste of what it's like to live in the west of Scotland. I get a full soaking almost every time I leave the house these days!
I never use Word except for special things, like positioning a photo on white background, or sending attachments. It just seems to slow down my computer, and it clashes with whatever internet browser I use. Also, the latest version is only available when you're using an online connection!
You should try vlogging. When I do it, I think about what I want to say, then I try and get it on camera in one take, because the first take is usually the best one - though if I get interrupted I just pause and then take up where I left off. Then I do a transcript by reading it back and recording it via speech-to-text.
Well that is interesting on getting the text portion, for some reason I pictured you writing out what you wanted to say and going that route. i was totally ass backwards with that thinking but I never think of voice to text.
I might start thinking about that just to do my Daily Doses. Thanks for the idea.
Sometimes I do write it out, if I'm doing a video on a complex subject, though even then I only narrate the quotes or important facts, because it's so difficult not to sound stilted. When I started doing YouTubes a few years ago, I experimented with autocues but the results were terrible! Voice to text is amazing. Try it. It might take a short while for the software to get used to your accent, but you'll be amazed at how quickly it gets to know you. When I travelled to Costa Rica a few years ago, I used to scribble in a jotter using a pencil, while swinging in a hammock. Later on, I would dictate it all into "voice to text". You have to make a few corrections, but not many.
Thanks for the tips, I may just look into it.
I am glad you defined RAw as in no editing not shooting in the raw,
Sounds like a hell of a day
It was for sure, everyone is safe though, I won't be vlogging anytime soon.
Everyone being safe is the most important thing
haha! howdy sir sultnpapper! what a great story and it's funny that Bill was the only one who got soaked! You guys just went back the next day and completed it or was your part done?
Bill and another guy from north Texas had to go back, I went back home before he was even thinking about getting dried off.
hahaha! that's funny sir sultnpapper and that was a great story and post!
Glad you liked it, thanks.