[BC] Power distribution

[Gary Glaenzer]

I recall reading in an old Navy Electrician's Mate manual about the use of
light bulbs for sync-ing, they were wired so that one was between like
phases, and the other two were between differeing phases.

A > A
B > C
C > B


The op watched the bulbs for 'two bright-one dark' and then put it on-line


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Peterson" <kzerocx at rapidcity.net>
To: <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 9:42 AM
Subject: [BC] Power distribution


> " My ex-father-in-law worked for a time in a Munipal Power Plant in
Central
> Ohio. I watched he many times add one of the gen plants to the line in the
> early evening when the demand went up. All those TV's you know. It was
very
> primitive ... watch the light bulbs with the soon to be added gen set
> running off line. When the lights went up and down together, he'd push in
a
> great big manual switch to add the gen plant. He said if you pushed it
when
> the bulbs were bright, the gen set would be damaged (and he'd loose his
job)
> WOW
> Bob Groome "
>
> An old-timer that worked for a power company in the 40s & 50s told me
about
> some hapless individual he knew that worked at a power plant.  Apparently,
> this fellow had very poor timing and/or slow reflexes.  He was watching a
> synchroscope (looks like a clock with one hand) while altering the speed
of
> a generator he was to bring on line.  If there was a difference between
the
> generator and the grid, the hand on the synchroscope would go round and
> round (speed and direction of the hand depending on whether the generator
> was too fast or slow and how much.  There were two marks either side of
the
> 12 o'clock position where things were close enough to safely close the
> circuit.  Each time the hand passed 12 o'clock, this fellow would stamp
his
> foot to establish some sort of timing.  Finally, he slammed the switch
home.
> His timing was far enough off that he bent the shaft on the generator.
They
> found him a desk job until retirement.
>
> When the Homestake gold mine was still in operation, in the Lead/Deadwood
> area of SD, they operated two hydroelectric plants to generate part of the
> power the mine used.  An 8000 ft. deep mine uses a lot of juice for air
> conditioning, lighting, lifts and pumping.  I happened by the hydro plant
in
> Spearfish one day and got a tour.  It was like going back into the 20s.
> Most of the machinery and electrical equipment was manufactured/installed
> back then.  I got to see the plant operator adjust a floodgate while
> watching an ancient synchroscope to bring a generator on line that had
been
> down for maintenance.  I wish I had taken some photos.  In the early
1900s,
> the Homestake also had spark-gap transmitters at each hydro plant, used to
> communicate with the electrical office at the mine.  They had a big
auction
> when the mine closed and that's probably where some of that stuff went.
> Now, the abandoned mine may become an underground neutrino lab.  There's
> been a neutrino detector (tank filled with trichloroethlyene) down there
for
> decades.
>
> Gary, K?CX
>
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