boiler plant rooms

[sparkside1]

Hi all

I have recently started a job in building services maintenance. Coming from a domestic background, this is turning into a steep learning curve as they have thrown me in at the deep end and left to get on with it as an electrician knows everything right!? Anyway, my main concern is boiler houses and the heating controls. Everything seems ancient and built by Satchwell. Is there any info out there or good books explaining about interlocks and control panels etc as it's all a bit daunting and different to the domestic Y plans I have been used to. Most of the guys on this firm are gas/ combustion engineers and they won't touch any of it!

Cheers

 

[Knobhead]

Whilst I broadly agree with most of the 'out of depth' comments, it's worthwhile to remember that there was once a time when ALL OF US knew jack - and we all started somewhere. There are times when you can't learn something by trial and error - it's neither safe nor sensible - but can any of us actually claim to have never had a moment when we've had to stop, scratch our heads and ask ourselves "how the heck is this meant to work? Where's the manual?". It doesn't mean we dived in by stripping it apart and grabbing hold of a live bus bar to see what it did, because we know as an electrician that that's never going to end well, but it does mean that we take a deep breath, stop to ask a question or two and then carry on being sensible. An assembly of parts is an assembly of parts, after all.

How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time.

We don’t know what sort of combustion plant this is.

There is no way on gods earth would I let a domestic electrician near any combustion equipment that could cause damage and injury to others. I’ve seen enough explosions for one lifetime.
If a company employs combustion specialists it isn’t going to be an S plan heating system!

 

[Rockingit]

We don’t know what sort of combustion plant this is.

There is no way on gods earth would I let a domestic electrician near any combustion equipment that could cause damage and injury to others. I’ve seen enough explosions for one lifetime.
If a company employs combustion specialists it isn’t going to be an S plan heating system!

The OP doesn't say it's combustion plant. He says it's old boiler houses and that he has some colleagues who are gas/combustion engineers. I think there's a little bit of 'over-thinking the problem' going on here!

 

[mayfair]

Well said rockingit , it seem as soon as anybody mentions anything industrial it seems to be automatically presumed that its a 5000 acre site providing 1000's of KW to 1000's of machines think some need to remember that not everyone in industry is involved with mega stuff.

 

[Knobhead]

Until the OP comes out of hiding we'll never know will we.

 

[mayfair]

He's too busy putting his name on your drawings to take to work in the morning Tony

 

[Knobhead]

Only if he knows where to find them.

 

[mayfair]

Google is his friend just use keyword Drawings+Grumpy Git :joker:

 

[trev]

There's more than one grumpy git Mayfair. It's just we're not all in Tony's league

 

[Silly Sausage]

Since I got my Stubbs New Electrical Encyclopaedia, I now know where he's getting them from!

 

[Engineer54]

Whilst I broadly agree with most of the 'out of depth' comments, it's worthwhile to remember that there was once a time when ALL OF US knew jack - and we all started somewhere. There are times when you can't learn something by trial and error - it's neither safe nor sensible - but can any of us actually claim to have never had a moment when we've had to stop, scratch our heads and ask ourselves "how the heck is this meant to work? Where's the manual?". It doesn't mean we dived in by stripping it apart and grabbing hold of a live bus bar to see what it did, because we know as an electrician that that's never going to end well, but it does mean that we take a deep breath, stop to ask a question or two and then carry on being sensible. An assembly of parts is an assembly of parts, after all.

How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time.

Once apon a time, basic controls was part of technical collage training.

 

[Knobhead]

Since I got my Stubbs New Electrical Encyclopaedia, I now know where he's getting them from!

You'll note you have likes from the two people that have copies.

 

[Silly Sausage]

You'll note you have likes from the two people that have copies.

I know!

Fantastic books.

 

[Knobhead]

A comical episode was with a question about a voltage optimisation transformer. These could be rated at up to 1600KVA.
Transformers, I’m interested.

So I looked up the company. “This is the latest in cutting edge technology” says the blurb, I’m sure I’ve seen that before thinks I.
I had, it was in Stubbs. They were only 76 years out, I’m tempted to give them a call.

 

[Guest111]

I had a short spell on maintenance in a large hotel near me,they thought everything was fine however I found loads of issues that they were not aware of including some ahu's that had been serviced by an outside contractor a week before I started that had not he ad worn belts replaced. It turned out that the maintenance team consisted of a painter and an ex postman!I left after a few months as they were expecting me to carry out virtually all the work yet only get the same wage as the other 2 lads who clearly hadn't a clue what they were doing.As an example of their ineptitude, they had a leak on a bath that they had been unable to fix for 2 years,it took me 5 minutes.It's not always the fault of the workers,quite often it's the company that employs someone completely unsuitable for the job in hand.

 

[sparkside1]

The reason they took me on is because they lost their qualified supervisor and I was an ECA Qs. Secondly, I worked fir a national heating manufacturer of domestic products such as thermal stores so they saw that I knew a bit more about panels than the average house basher. I have experience of three phase commercial work just not heating plant and chillers. That's why I need some resources to figure out how it works. The photo's posted are spot on to some of the smaller rooms I have been sent to.