Work Progress - Day 11

Friday has arrived, and once again, we came in at 7:00 AM as requested, only to have to wait until 8:00 AM for the electrical crew to show up from a meeting. While we were waiting, Tom and I reassembled the exciter panel we had used for parts to repair the one that popped. Next, we cut the holes in the starter control panel door using the 2 and 3/4 inch hole-saw we had bought last night. After that, Tom worked on the medium voltage cables that needed to be connected to the back-bus while I worked on loading the control panel door with the electronic equipment. After that was done, I hung the door into place then the bus connections were taped and Tom made up a barrier to place between the connectors that were taped off and the side plate. That done, he removed the base plates from the floor while I taped off the bypass contactor. When we finished this, the starter and the exciter unit were transported via forklift to the MCC room.

Here is the soft starter standing proudly in the middle of the MCC room floor. You can see the results of the work we did yesterday and this morning to build the control panel door.

This is the remains of the original 'hard' starter that was in the MCC room for #2 Finish Mill.

This is Jesus and the back of a guy we only know as "Butter-Bean", looking at the opening created for the replacement starter.

This shot shows Perry (facing us) describing the details to Steve as to how they are going to get the new soft starter in place. Steve looks just as excited about it as Perry is. Well, maybe...

This is Joe, Tom's new Harley-shirt trading buddy. He is telling us how tough (and heavy) our starters are. I thought he was going to punch the cabinet.

Minutes after moving the softstarter and our tools over to the MCC room, we were hit with some serious rain. That's our rental car over there, getting a much deserved wash-down.

Here is a shot of the carcass of the old starter, sitting out there in the downpour. This hard-working machine had been starting a 1250 Horsepower motor since 1978, and now, this is its fate... Kinda sad, huh?

Since the rain had stopped progress in the MCC room and we would only be in the way, Tom and I decided to explore the Kiln/Blast Furnace area again. This picture shows the length of one of the kilns.

We were impressed by this glowing red spot which is actually a 1/4 inch thick steel plate covering the blast furnace. The heat from the kiln is so intense that the metal plate is glowing, but only in the shape of the round opening behind it.

Well, the time has come for Tom to return back to Tampa, his portion of the work here is done. Everything is packed into the crate, soon to be shipped back home. I'll be staying on for another week though, sorting out the wiring and getting the motor started.

Ladies and gentlemen, Tom Hackney has left the building...