Closet Extremist

Disaster!

This week... I've been working on completing a job that's roughly 90% "Did", and it's about 5 minutes away from my crib (depending on the traffic lights.), which is really sweet. There is/was quite a few things that needed to get completed on this job, and I was completely ready to sink my teeth into them... however...

When I left Memphis the last time, I was under the impression that I'd be returning in a couple of day's, so I left my construction "pendant" aka: "Run-Button" on the job out there. If the previous installer had pushed the "Travelling Cable" up through the platform into the 'COP" (Car Operating Panel) then I'd have been able to To wire up and get the car running from the cartop... It Wasn't. The cab was resting on the Buffer's, at about 8 inches below the lower floor level. Let's see... There's the "toe guard", there's the lower "fascia", not to mention that I've got to get the traveller up into the cab. Needless to say, I need a run button in the worst way. The nearest one is an hour and a half drive away.

The electrician's showed up to get me power for my controller and my car lights. We chased some wires down for a minute, and finally got power on the disconnects. Since I couldn't move the car, I went on with completing the things that I could do with it on the buffers. Wired up the cartop, got the selector wires down into the COP, and so forth.

The next day, I stopped by the shop and picked up my run button, and headed over to finally get something rolling on this elevator. I get my pendant wired up, and everything else ready to run... flip on the power, and Nothing. Shit! We took care of this yesterday. I get looking around, and I discover that the electricians hadn't put any fuses in the disconnects. Talk to the contractor and get "Sparky" back out there to finish his job. Meanwhile, I've still got to get the Door Operator up onto the cartop, and the only way to get it there is carry it up the steps... all seventy-five pounds of it. I forgot to mention that since there is a distinct lack of manpower in town right now, I've been doing all of this work with no helper. Yup. I hauled that thing up there by myself. After lunch, I returned to find that I had some juice for my pump, so I fired her up and ran the car up. I went ahead and got the Door Operator installed on the cartop and ran its wires down into the COP, and then went down and took a look in the Pit.

Looks like there's a little water leak. Not a bad one, just enough to fill up the Sump Hole and put a skim over the pit floor. I go ahead and mount up the lower Fascia and the Toe Guard. The ladder was a little slick from getting water on my boots, so I had to really be careful. I guessed that there was a little oil in it, but didn't get too concerned as we usually get some oil on the pit when we bleed the air out of the jacks. I get all my parts together to assemble the fascia between the floors, and get it all onto the cartop. As I ran the car up to get this stuff in place, I noticed a small problem. My pump is sucking air instead of hydraulic fluid. Ah Fuck. that ain't water down there, it's hydro. I jump down in the pit, and discover that one of the pipe fittings is leaking.

(Insert a day here for me to get all the supplies I'll need, get the fitting replaced, and clean up the fucking mess.)

Thursday, Kev came out to help me for the day. It was kinda nice to have someone to talk to while I was working, not to mention someone that I like. We were able to successfully land up the travelling cable on both ends, and get the car running off the Inspection Station. We even got a chance to do some adjusting on some things that weren't quite right. A good day.

Friday came and I stopped over there to clean up a little, and to collect the parts that we won't be using and get them back to the shop. I drop them off and get sent up to Pigeon Forge to help out our Residential Installer on one in a rental cabin that's being built. I'd been there just long enough to get one door lock installed before a call came in that we were to drop our tools and get our behinds back to the shop ASAFP. We get back in, only to discover that there is a major problem with a four stop residential elevator in another rental cabin in Pigeon Forge. The problem? It's Not Been Installed Yet, and the place is rented to a group of Thirty souls that are to arrive on Thursday.

I deliverred that elevator on Friday afternoon, and have been installing it since then. With the Holiday Weekend, we were scraping the bottom of the barrel for some help. There's myself, one of the Service guy's, a helper from Johnson City (three hours East of Knoxville), and the Owner of the Company. Over the past 2 1/2 days we've gotten this elevator to the point of: sticking the magnets to the selector tape, mount the cartop box, install the car gate, install the top and bottom limit switches, hang the traveller, put the lights in, install the telephone jack, land everything up, and scan the hoistway. If things go well, we can finish that in a half a day tomorrow.

Three to Three and a half Day's to install a four-stop elevator. Not bad. Especially once you consider the fact that None of Us have ever even seen this particular elevator before. (Our company has only installed two of these, and none of the people who installed those is on this job.)

I started writing this post on the 23rd of this month, and am finally finishing it now. I hope that gets everyone up to speed. I'm gonna go to bed. Up at Five AM, to be on the job by seven. I'll be remembering our Veterans, by building a conveyance that I hope that one will use. Hope your weekend went as well... Mine's been a Disaster.

Posted by Johnny - Oh at May 28, 2006 09:05 PM | TrackBack