Quote:
Originally Posted by Makko
Fantastic, thanks for the link!
During the event in San Jose, Costa Rica, four plants were affected, a couple having the machinery hall filled to the roof with rocks and sediment.
Some of the smaller plants with 0.5 to 1.5 MW generators were written off as uneconomic to repair.
One of them was, in my opinion, a great shame that it would be scrapped. The plant was built at the turn of the 20th. century, one hundred years in continual operation. The plant had very quaint wooden buildings, almost like large doll houses, which had been imported (as was all the plant) from the USA. Originally, shift workers would have to ride in to the plant on horseback. The personnel being relieved, would then return on the horse
The switch and control gear was all original Westinghouse and the name plates were thick brass, things of beauty, as were the switch mechanisms, beautifully made, industrial art, almost!
Best Regards,
Dave
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The turbines at Wadhams still had Lignum Vitae bearings when I was there.
Everything not watered had drip oilers, (governors and such) as long as you paid attention everything ran beautifully. It was fun to shut the wicket gates in the big machine, the standpipe would erupt. Good photo op. During one winter I popped a huge ice cake out and dented the penstock.
All sorts of biological material went through the turbines and the tailrace was very good fishing. Big trout, and some landlocked salmon. I preferred the trout.