Re: Avalon, and Lockout for Safety

["Christopher Boden" <chrisboden-at-hotmail-dot-com> (by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-uswest-dot-net>)]

>Original poster: "Mark Broker" <broker-at-uwplatt.edu>
>
>I went out for the Lightning Demo (it was MY coil being demoed, but I don't
>want to talk about that night for a while....) and also got a nickle tour
>of the place.

he he he....FTR, it was our SINGLE WORST DEMO EVER....lol Mark's coil is 
Cursed. It has yet (out of 3) to survive an entir demo unscathed. We ran 
GREAT for a total of 30 seconds (after a beautifull test run at Austin St) 
and then let the magic smoke out of his NST filter.

The Good side is it's a beautiful coil. Mark is very good at craftsmanship 
and takes great pride in his work. The crowd was impressed by the 60" arcs 
we made, and THEY don't know what it looks like if you screw up so it's 
nice. Still, 8 hours of driving for a total of maybe 5 minutes of 
sparks.....ouch.


Boden's Law 2017:
The coil will perform flawlessly when you're alone. The performance of the 
coil and speed of performance degredation vary porportional to the number of 
spectators presant. With 60 people presant it may burst into flames at any 
moment, even if not assembled or plugged in.


>
>This place has MANY problems which haven't been mentioned.

This place has MANY problems I havn't even seen yet.

I've tried to keep it as Electrically related as possible. Our moderator has 
been more than gracious to let a lot of this pass. But on the other hand, 
Avalon is going to be a great Coiling resource, and we should have the WHOLE 
story in the archives, not just the ending.


Much of the
>wood substructures in two (or was it one?) of the buildings was rotting
>(and therefore still settling) and in very poor condition.

Mill C (the offices, Mark) has rotting wooden floors. These make up about 
2500SqFt of wood floor that has to be rebuilt. New supports and 
superstructure for the floor will have to be done as well. Lynn and I are 
thinking concrete. ANYWHERE it's practical we will b rebuilding the 
structure out of concrete. I want to eliminate most of th wood.

Mill-D (the dorms, back by the stream Mark) the second floor is wooden, and 
discusting. Not only is it rotting, ever seen a 10,000sqft shag carpet of 
green moss? I got to get a pic of this and post it. The roof has leaked for 
15 years and the old timbers have soaked it right up.

The good side is MOST of the buildings are made of concrete and brick. What 
wood there is will most likely be replaced with concrete. But that is up to 
the Architects.

The entire property is a renicanse (yeah, you spell it) zone. That means I 
have no property taxes for 15 years. After the salvadge, we repair ALL the 
buildings roofs enough to stop leaking. And seal them tight, all doors, 
windows, etc.. Enough to get in and out for security or work, but keep kids 
out. With 24hour security this is not too hard.
We concentrate on only 2 buildings at first, the Powerplant and Mill-C. And 
that's it. When they are done (even if it takes 10 years) THEN we move on to 
the other buildings as we have time and funding, and the need for the space. 
They can sit there for a decade, they're not costing me anything, and they 
pose no threat.



Many of the
>wooden roofs will need replacing, too. Plus, there are VERY few working
>lights in the places it's needed most (the basements, where, IMO, the most
>work needs to be done).

Actually, as far as cleanout, yes. But ALL the basements are of REALLY 
MAMMOTH concrete construction. With the exception of the crawlspace under 
the offices (it's wooden and toast) they are in incredible shape. It's gonna 
be a LOT of bull work to clean them, and a long time with a power washer, 
but they are going to be some of the bst spaces when we're done. And they 
will happen VERY fast since thy require no structureal work.

Oh and Mark, good news. Someone (whom I owe a sincere thanks to) though to 
drain the entire standpipe system before they left!
The fire system is in PERFECT shape. HAd they NOT drained them, we would 
have 15 years of crap and corruption sitting in those pipes and the entire 
system would have to be replaced. That alone saves us WELL over $200,000. 
Wow. Just by turning some valves.....



>
>However, I do have confidence that (once Chris gets a little more organized
>after his recent move) this place will eventuallly become, at least
>partially, an excellent site for all sorts of "Scientific and technology
>education and research."  I also think it would help to stop thinking about
>what to place IN the labs, but rather decide which "labs" go in which
>buildings, which buildings are renovated first, how the buildings are going
>to be heated, cooled, insulated.....

We're working on all of those (you have yet to meet Lynn) and we're 
tackleing it in an oderly proficiant manner. I'm playing with too many zeros 
here to be too crazy :) But, in my off hours when I just wander though the 
massive facility, I like to dream. I sat for hours yesterday, up on the 3rd 
floor catwalk looking over the 114'long by 56' wide by 50' high HVL (High 
Voltage Lab) just imagineing what it will be like to have a place with all 
the toys of Wysock, or Dr.Res, where ANYONE can come and play.

Imagine what it would be like to put any 25 members of this list in a room 
like that for a few days :)


>
>
> > That way, when you walk in and find
> > yourself standing in a foot of "odd liquids", you don't have to worry 
>about
> > being electrocuted...
>
>Or when you walk (in near total darkness) into the shoddy, exposed AND
>RUNNING power lines hanging from the ceilings.  *I* almost had a kitten
>when you pointed the flashlight down so I could see the sub-basement
>throught the holes in the floor....

lol, yeah. Picture this. You're standing (kneeling) in a 5'high crawlspace. 
Almost completely dark (small mini-mag), and you look down through the 
cracks in the thin floor...it goes down for ANOTHER whole floor you didn't 
know was there. You look up, and there are a set of about 2AWG wires at 220 
or 400 EXPOSED right over your head. AND the floor supports for th floor 
above you look like a pirecing glance would bring the building down on your 
head...makes ya wonder what the supports for the floor your standing on are 
like. ;)

I love my job.





>Bob almost had kittens?  I wish I'd have stayed the extra day to see
>that.....

He's funny when he gets stressed. You should have seen the lawyer-toadie 
they sent out. He looked like Niles from Frasier...only more tense and 
anal-retentive. I though he was actually going to pass out when I spotted 
the gas leak and the CP guy told him what it could do. The fire Dept has a 
no-entry order on the property. If it catches fire they just sit and watch 
it burn. It's too far from anyother building to damage anything and too 
dangerous to the firemen to go inside.

>Speaking of which, quantifying ANYTHING at this place to within even an
>order of magnitude is at best a guess, to even the VERY experienced
>building inspector.

We have a scap guy going through on Sat with lynn and I


> > >hmmmmm...perhaps I'll start breeding lab rats. Then I'll put them in
> > >rat-wheels, with belts and pullies spinning a long shaft to a
> > >generator....we'll be off the grid :) I wonder how many rats = 1KVA?
>
>Depends.... do you mean produced by them running in wheels, incinerating
>their dead carcasses, or using their matter in a fission or fusion
>reactor.....
>
>If you mean the first, then I'd go for about 200 rats per 1kVA.

First..running

>
> > A big 1MVA generator is a real option here!!
>
>And an expensive one, too.  But, I tend to agree.  Perhaps start with a
>small generator - enough to run a lot of lights, and all sorts of power
>tools for "the big clean."  Then hook back up to the grid when enough safe
>wiring has been installed to run lights and power tools for the
>remodelling.  This will certainly make the entire operation more safe.

Someone get me a pric on a 1MVA generator. I'll bet it's mounted on a semi 
truck.


>
>
> > BTW - Be sure to get a good picture of yourself in front of the Avalon
> > "now".  That way, we will know what you "used" to look like! :-))  Sort 
>of
> > like what president look like before taking office.  Dark hair, no
> > ulcers,... :-)))
>
>We could hike up to the roof of the Power Lab, and I'll snap a picture of
>you overlooking your "dream-to-be."  Then in 10 years (or whatever),
>myself, or some other person, can snap a picture of you in the same
>spot....  "Before and After...." :-)

The ladder to that highest roof is terrifying. and I'm a rock climber!
We'll do it on a lower roof, lol, not so far to fall through.lol




Christopher A. Boden Geek#1
President / Founder
The Geek Group
www.geekgroup-dot-org
Because the Geek shall inherit the Earth!

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