Shipping Grab Bags

Joined
Oct 18, 2001
Messages
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These PVC containers remind me of something that happened years ago when I worked in the Substation Section at Alabama Power Company. We had a program to do gas chromatograph testing on power transformer oil to detect dissolved combustible gas levels in the oil. The presence of such gases could indicate incipient transformer failure.

The divison crews would take the oil sample into a sealed glass container, then pad it and mail it to us in a shipping container made of PVC pipe with end caps, almost identical to Jerry's burial capsules. They would just slap a shipping label on it and put it in the mail. One day we were contacted by the FBI. An oil container had sprung a leak and a postal worker raised the alarm. The FBI had inspected the container, X-rayed it, and then came to visit us to ask if we knew what someone was shipping to us and whether it was an explosive or otherwise hazardous substance leaking out.

Jerry, you might want to avoid using the PCV as the sole shipping container. In these days of heightened security, that could greatly delay delivery and get someone an FBI visit.
 
Please don't send the Feds after me, please!!! LOL!!!!




No, really, don't send the Feds....


:D
 
Hmmmmmmmmm....... Yup.... better send those wrapped in a box or sumthin.....

A visit from Santa ?..... :) yes..... ;)

A visit from the Feds ?..... :eek: Nope!!!!!!! :rolleyes:
 
Send it to me and I will wrap it in a certain way that certifies to the USPS employees that the container is safe and in no way, to be failed delivery wise. :D

But, It may be confinscated by the local Safe Feds. ;)
 
MikeH said:
These PVC containers remind me of something that happened years ago when I worked in the Substation Section at Alabama Power Company. We had a program to do gas chromatograph testing on power transformer oil to detect dissolved combustible gas levels in the oil. The presence of such gases could indicate incipient transformer failure.

QUOTE]

Hmmm - been down that road personally with a couple 600 MVA 345-138kv Auto Transformers on a project in Texas - improper insulation installation by a major manufacturer caused a partial discharge (corona) condition that increased the levels of hydrogen to dangerous levels (present in both units). In laymen's terms, it had a "cancer" of sorts where it was having miniature-arc-ing inside the transformer, eating away the paper insulation and creating gasing at the same time. Each time it would spark/arc, it ate more of the insulation away getting exponetially worse. Get over 500 ppm H2 and you are in the failure range. Seen videos of large tranformers on fire and it is ugly to say the least. It was a soap opera that lasted for over a year with weekly testing of the oil showing steady increases in disolved gases. Normally testing is done bi-anually or monthly on a conservative basis. (edited to add - we were in and out of these transformers multiple times trying to fix the gassing problem - not exactly an easy chore when you have to bring in 5-tanker trucks to drain the oil down each time and reprocess it :rolleyes: )

Prior to this we had one fail from a short (345kv-13.8 tertiary) (they had repeat failures in the factory before they shipped :rolleyes: ). We repaired it but could never get rid of the acetylene levels - finally worked a deal to get two new transformers from that manufacturer that someone just happened to be purchasing as spares (lucky for us). These aren't exactly stock items (about $3 mil each).

OK - enough nerd talk.

Does anyone know what's in the grab bags yet, or will that only be known when those lucky bastids get theirs? I'm anxious to see what everyone got even though I didn't put in for one. :D
 
I thought that there was only one grab bag, but then I and at least one other person got positive notifications on them.

Deciduous, those are some big boys you're talking about there. I would try to guess the manufacturer but I wouldn't want to cast any aspersions on
any Great big Electrical transformer company.
 
Hey Jerry, you didn't sell a bucket of infi dust... You can send me one and I can make myself one of them peaceful rock/infi thingies. that would rock :D
 
MikeH said:
I thought that there was only one grab bag, but then I and at least one other person got positive notifications on them.

Deciduous, those are some big boys you're talking about there. I would try to guess the manufacturer but I wouldn't want to cast any aspersions on
any Great big Electrical transformer company.

No, it was more like "I see a brown bavarian" :rolleyes:

Muy Grandes from Canada.....
 
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