LeCroy Factory Tour & Interviews

[dr.diesel]

lol, I wish I could give each viewer here a tour though the power plant, built in the late 60s.   

[LabSpokane]

You all need to come to 'Merica, where we excel at the absence of safety standards.  There are no shortage of businesses that are so dangerous, that OSHA (our H&S) just doesn't go in.  I've worked at places where normal production processes involved someone shouting "fire in the hole" and you ducked behind the first solid object you found because molten metal was about to go shooting around the plant.  If you got burned, it was your fault because you were slow or stupid. 

[nanofrog]

I've worked at places where normal production processes involved someone shouting "fire in the hole" and you ducked behind the first solid object you found because molten metal was about to go shooting around the plant.  If you got burned, it was your fault because you were slow or stupid.

Sounds like an interesting place/s to work (not bored to tears).   

[dr.diesel]

"fire in the hole"

Exactly!  At the plant, when starting 10,000HP motors, you hide behind a steel beam, cause they have a nasty habit of exploding.  Weekly, either something blows up, catches fire, 1000F steam leak, water/oil/asbestos everywhere.

Minor cuts etc are absolutely unavailable, safety record is quite good.  These places are not staffed by pansy ass city boys that don't know the difference between a Phillips and flat screwdriver (I have actually met people like this), but by farm boy/mechanics, many of which are degreed EEs that know how to burn rod.

A good job and an adventure each and every day.

[LabSpokane]

I've worked at places where normal production processes involved someone shouting "fire in the hole" and you ducked behind the first solid object you found because molten metal was about to go shooting around the plant.  If you got burned, it was your fault because you were slow or stupid.

Sounds like an interesting place/s to work (not bored to tears).   

Oh, they were. Then were the cases of pissed off employees tossing a can of coke into a pot of molten aluminum and blowing up part of the plant.  You didn't want to be anywhere near when that happened.

When I worked in those plants, I couldn't wait to get back in the office.  Now that I'm trapped in and office, I want to go back out the to plants. 

[aroby]

Then were the cases of pissed off employees tossing a can of coke into a pot of molten aluminum and blowing up part of the plant.  You didn't want to be anywhere near when that happened.

How does that work? Wouldn't the coke just vapourize?

[TSL]

How does that work? Wouldn't the coke just vapourize?

Yes violently, as an ex firey well acquainted with  BLEVE !!

Google it

cheers

Tim

[Zero999]

Tossing a can of pop into a fire will have exactly the same effect.


Don't do it.

[SeanB]

Molten aluminium is a quite reasonable catalyst. Add water and it is catalysed immediately to Hydrogen and Oxygen. With the sudden expansion of the water to superheated steam and the blast of a near stoichiometric hydrogen explosion it will probably be best observed from a distance. Also bad as typically the furnace will be enclosed, so the blast will have a very good ability to make some serious pressure inside before the pot disintegrates, shedding red hot lining all over, along with the incidental liberation of a ton or two of molten metal.

[German_EE]

It sounds like you had the same Chemistry teacher as me. Day one, first year Chemistry, he stood there with lots of bubbling bottles in the background and asked 'what is chemistry'? There was then a respectable explosion and a ball of flame that hit the ceiling, we were hooked 

[SeanB]

It sounds like you had the same Chemistry teacher as me. Day one, first year Chemistry, he stood there with lots of bubbling bottles in the background and asked 'what is chemistry'? There was then a respectable explosion and a ball of flame that hit the ceiling, we were hooked 

High school science teacher, who showed us how to make pressure sensitive explosives with NH3 and Iodine. We carpeted a corridor with it.........

Same teacher came around to the pool when we were at PT and tossed 2kg of Na metal into it. Took about 30 seconds for it to explode underwater. Smaller chunks just ran on the surface burning merrily.