Switch rooms, Sub stations.

[Mr Mike]

Hi all.
I need some advise please.
Where I work the switch rooms are continually being used as storage rooms, materials such as toilet tissue, mops, vacuum cleaners ect.
Even the main sub station has rubbish in it.
To get to DBs I have to clear a path ect.
Is there any legislation covering these rooms, preventing them being used this way.
I need some info so I can do battle with the powers that be.
Any guidance will be much appreciated.
Kind regards
Mike

 

[ian.settle1]

Its always a bit of a gamble with a lot of switcgear isn't it! We have done a shutdown at hospital before, the hospital being about 25 years old, the problem being that none of the ACBs or switches had ever been operated since installation! Needless to say we had a 25% failure rate, ended up cost about £25000 worth of gear!

25% failure rate is not bad considering they had not been touched for 25 years, I was told that the maximum period between operation checks was 2 years due to the grease solidifying thus causing the mechanism not to operate

 

[somersetsparks]

To Be Honest, I imagine most of them had been operated before at some point but no records existed other then for thermal imaging.

 

[Engineer54]

Where these ACBs spring loaded/motorised, or straight lever switched?? Any idea of who's make they were??

 

[somersetsparks]

Hard to remember I keep thinking it was a Bill panel and ACBs but it might of been dorman smith, It wasn't the main switchroom for the hospital but one supplying a few wards and kitchens etc and a lot of admin, it was left with many empty switches ready for future expansion which never happened.

Oh ACB's were spring loaded type.

 

[Knobhead]

25% failure rate is not bad considering they had not been touched for 25 years, I was told that the maximum period between operation checks was 2 years due to the grease solidifying thus causing the mechanism not to operate

Satellite sub boards suffer the worse as far as maintenance is concerned. Tucked away somewhere, totally ignored until they go wrong. Then of course the finger pointing starts.

Where these ACBs spring loaded/motorised, or straight lever switched?? Any idea of who's make they were??

Straight lever switched, I take it you mean DMO (Direct Manual Operation) these should have been removed from service by now. Having said that I installed a panel of them in the 80’s, Crompton Parkingson if I remember right. The ACB’s weren’t to bad, other than being DMO we kept them. The fuse switches were that bad they were chucked out even before being installed. They were replaced with System 4 gear.
Some of our gear dated from 1935. One oil switch used to scare me, as you closed it on load it would fight back.

 

[Engineer54]

Satellite sub boards suffer the worse as far as maintenance is concerned. Tucked away somewhere, totally ignored until they go wrong. Then of course the finger pointing starts.


Straight lever switched, I take it you mean DMO (Direct Manual Operation) these should have been removed from service by now. Having said that I installed a panel of them in the 80’s, Crompton Parkingson if I remember right. The ACB’s weren’t to bad, other than being DMO we kept them. The fuse switches were that bad they were chucked out even before being installed. They were replaced with System 4 gear.
Some of our gear dated from 1935. One oil switch used to scare me, as you closed it on load it would fight back.

To be honest Tony, i haven't had switch ''fuse'' gear specified on any of the projects i've been working on for at least the last 20 odd years. All have been either MCCBs ACBs or GCBs, apart from RMUs that is.

Oil switches, ....now that does take me back, ....all the way back to my training days!! lol!! My old company had it's own power station, generated at 33KV and then distributed around the site at 11KV, (just over a square mile). Which had quite a few factories and plants on it. Most of the original switchgear was oil insulated, before it was replaced with SF6 stuff. As i remember, most of the old 11KV oil gear was ''Lucy'' extensible stuff.

 

[Mr Mike]

Hi guys,
I have sent a note to the boss via e-mail, to highlight my concerns.
I have also used the information you kindly gave to me help raise the importance of my concerns.
My mail went out on 24/03/2011. No reply to date.
I was going to post the e-mail and photos on this site but the content gives too much of a clue as to which company I am at so I have bottled it.
If and when I get a reply I will keep ypu posted.
Thanks for your kind help in this matter.