Re: Avalon pics, and a large (but wus) PIG

["Gomez ADDams" <gomez-at-netherworld-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

on that fateful day 8/12/00 10:56 AM, Tesla list uttered:

> Original poster: "Christopher Boden" <chrisboden-at-hotmail-dot-com>
[snip]
> One of the interesting things we stumbled upon out there was a large
> pad-mount transformer sitting in a 4"high concrete PIG-sty ;) (like they put
> around oil tanks etc.)
> The transformer is toast and the oil has leaked out, there is a pool of
> 2"deep oil.
> 
> This bothers me.

Good.
> It's not hooked up, but the oil is most likely PCB, I'm contacting my friend
> at the DEQ on Mon. Thoughts?

My first thought is that unless someone other than you is going to remain
the owner, and will simply be playing landlord to your lessor (in writing),
then you do not want to take occupancy or ownership unless and until you've
investigated the whole site for possible environmental clean-up messes like
that one.  Preferably get someone knowledgeable to help inspect.

See if you can get whoever is giving you the site (or giving you access to
the site) to sign off on a document that the site is either free of such
stuff, or that you as occupant will not be held responsible for existing
polution.  I can just see the EPA getting wind of this place, coming in and
declaring the whole place a Superfund site.  ;)

 But seriously, you don't want to run the risk of any liability for
clean-up, which can cost enough to bankrupt your whole dream.
 
> We have an inverter in Geek-3, 350cont, 600surge watts. What would happen if
> we were to fire up the PIG at 110VAC?

First of all, I'm going to guess that that's not a pure-sine-wave inverter.
Mr. Pole Pig will not like square waves.

> I'm assuming if I wired it correctly
> we could get 2400VAC out the HV side. At that low of a amerage we couldn't
> do squat with it, but would it be enough to draw an arc from each HV lead to
> ground (case) to test the PIG to see if it's alright?

Nope.  An arc on the HV side of a pig pretty much looks like short to the
primary side.  It will either blow your inverter, blow the fuse in the load
side of your invertor, or blow a fuse in Geek-3's fuse block.  Maybe all of
the above.  ;)
 
> The little (apprk 10kVA) PIG on the side of Mill-E (one of the buildings in
> the Avalon complex) has long since been painted yellow. There is no way to
> locate, much less read the plate.

The plate is usually riveted on, and ought to be obvious even through many
layers of paint. If the plate can be found, the information is almost
certainly stamped, not inked, onto it.  Therefore, some judicious wire
brushing with the finest, softest wire brush (think brass) wheel you can
find, ought to remove the paint while leaving the embossed letters.

> It's still wired to the building, and may
> be (but most likely isn't) hot.

Find out.  :)
 
> The building has long since been abandoned, and there is only power on for
> lighting. I have no idea what's on the other side of that wall.

Yeah, but power for the lighting might be coming through that pig!

> How do we get the PIG? It's only 8' off the ground, and small enough for a
> large man to lift, but I need to kill the HV from outside.

I think you need an electrician or a utility lineman to do this for you.
This is one of those cases where, if you have to ask, you probably ought not
to be trying it.
 
pssst: the HV line is opened by pulling the HV disconnect, which also often
contains a HV fuse, at the top of the power pole where the HV wires drop to
the transformer.  But you didn't hear it from me.  You could probably get
killed trying to open that switch if you don't have the right equipment
intended for it, or don't know _exactly_ what you are doing.  IF there's no
switch there, it may be at a substation elsewhere.

Please err on the side of caution.  It would be a real drag if emails from
you were to suddenly cease...

- Gomez

.........................................................................
"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our
fellow men; and along these fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions
run as causes, and they come back to us as effects." -Herman Melville