Today I finished installing the new vermiculite insulation material in the third and last of the contactor boxes on the 36. 
Here are some in-progress shots.I also did some more electrical testing, and started drawing up plans for a device for installing the contactors. With the right sort of frame, and a small jack, I should be able to do it myself. We replaced a contactor once before on the 309, many years ago, and it was a real pain. And I'm not getting any younger. And besides, I enjoy inventing new special-purpose devices like this, as you might have noticed.
Then there was more paint removal. This task is definitely lacking in novelty, but every little bit helps. And it's good exercise.
Have fun at the soirée, and send me some pictures!
Have fun at the soirée, and send me some pictures!
4 comments:
Hi Randall
It looks like the box is designed for DB-15 contactors which look heavy. It sounds like an akward job to put them back with the restricted working space. You sound like a resourceful sort of guy and I am keen to see how you tackle it. Perhaps it's a two man lift in a one man space. Like you say, some ingenuity is called for. It reminds me of a job on a traction motor nose suspension I did, or tried. I always marvelled at the strength of some blokes. To see them lifting stuff and wobbling it about to get the bolt holes to line up was truly awesome and quite humbling. I always tried to use my brain if my muscles wern't up to it. Sometimes my brain gave up too.
Good luck with it Randall.
Colin Beckwith
I wonder how the CA&E shop forces accomplished the task originally?
The old fashioned way...machinery was expensive, muscle was cheap.
Of course, this was GE type M equipment...not a lot to go wrong, nothing to take down and wash out (unlike WH Unit Switch), so they probably didn't have to change them out that often.
It can be done by hand if you're strong enough, that's what we did the one time I changed out a contactor about 15 years ago. But it's very difficult, and we have 13 to do. One problem is that the metal covers doesn't fold down far enough, so they're directly under the weight. But I should be able to work around that with a wooden frame. It's possible that in the old days they would just remove the cover, but I don't want to do that -- the bolts are rusty, I might damage the wooden box in the process. And I should be able to use the tire jack from my car to carefully raise the contactor into position.
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