A little humor .... - 08/04/09 09:01 PM
I was called to work on some sewage pumps; the plumber told me that the customer was insisting on "an electrician who was familiar with and an expert on such systems" Ohhh Kayyy....
Being Nevada, this entailed a trip halfway across the state, into what we call the 'cattle counties.' Well, it was a perfect day for a drive in the countryside. The directions were simple: keep going untill you gas gauge drops below view, then turn left
I arrive, and within seconds I am able to identify (from the panel) one bad float and a bad pump. Replacements were procured, and the installation repaired.
Only then did I learn that the 'customer' in this case had an engineer for a husband, some technical training herself, and that both their fathers were on site. One had retired from NASA as a pump and control engineer.
The extreme rust on the old piping was a shock to the engineers; they had never realised sewage was so nasty. Expressing surprise that the Myers pumps did NOT have a fifteen year warranty - I'm not aware of any sewage pumps with more than a three year warranty - they paid for new pumps.
I went on to explain how the floats operated the pumps; this was a mystery to them. the wiring diagram - conveniently intact in the panel after 15 years - made as much sense to our engineers as a Chinese phone book, so I explained the symbols to them.
It seems that they had all tried to 'figure out' what the problem was, and had been baffled. The visible sparks within the 'ice cube' relays as they operated worried the customer. They were worried that they might need to replace a $1000 panel (they didn't).
Well, it's nice to be appreciated. I was also amused when the NASA guy explained to his daughter that I was not 'hindered by an engineering education."
BTW: I'd be very disappointed in any journeyman who would not have been able to identify the problems.
Being Nevada, this entailed a trip halfway across the state, into what we call the 'cattle counties.' Well, it was a perfect day for a drive in the countryside. The directions were simple: keep going untill you gas gauge drops below view, then turn left
I arrive, and within seconds I am able to identify (from the panel) one bad float and a bad pump. Replacements were procured, and the installation repaired.
Only then did I learn that the 'customer' in this case had an engineer for a husband, some technical training herself, and that both their fathers were on site. One had retired from NASA as a pump and control engineer.
The extreme rust on the old piping was a shock to the engineers; they had never realised sewage was so nasty. Expressing surprise that the Myers pumps did NOT have a fifteen year warranty - I'm not aware of any sewage pumps with more than a three year warranty - they paid for new pumps.
I went on to explain how the floats operated the pumps; this was a mystery to them. the wiring diagram - conveniently intact in the panel after 15 years - made as much sense to our engineers as a Chinese phone book, so I explained the symbols to them.
It seems that they had all tried to 'figure out' what the problem was, and had been baffled. The visible sparks within the 'ice cube' relays as they operated worried the customer. They were worried that they might need to replace a $1000 panel (they didn't).
Well, it's nice to be appreciated. I was also amused when the NASA guy explained to his daughter that I was not 'hindered by an engineering education."
BTW: I'd be very disappointed in any journeyman who would not have been able to identify the problems.