Small Scale Hydropower Plant Daily Cleaning and Maintenance

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[@TechAnalys1s]

Omg it’s not a short. Keep up the longer videos. Well done.

[@Thefreakyfreek]

Out of all the shorts on youtube his are the best I know not a verry hich bar but stil

[@TheMW2informer]

@@Thefreakyfreekthe only shorts on KZbin you can learn something from! The rest are almost diseducational.

[@croman191]

And that's pretty cool

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

Wanna see something cool??? A WAY long short! (And thankfully, it's not a short, it's OPEN so the angry pixies aren't dancing!)

[@simonsaysdie3155]

Right ugh it's so long I love it

[@LSD97123]

Electricity that powers your modern appliances comes from ancient machinery. And thats pretty cool

[@theradioweyr]

I see what you did there.

[@christianterrill3503]

Went from used to mill down grains and corn, to using the spinning and gearing up the motion to make it viable for a generator

[@Wardevil80]

I'm an electrician and was also a trout hatchery worker for 4 years. Im starting to think that maybe a power plant job would be right up my alley lol.

[@-r-495]

years ago I used to find the infrastructure aspects of my job to be the most important. Examples: boiler house, central refrigeration, water chiller supply, water sanitation (industrial waste). There was a small facility with one open office/ctrl room and a dozen lockers and a break room. Large aquariums lined one of the walls of it. Outlet water was tested for compliance utilising the fish. Next to the jungle surrounding the chiller heat exchangers up on a roof that was my favourite part of the plant, including the bicycle ride down there..

[@jay78862]

So happy to have another longform video

[@EddieTheH]

You know that weird phenomenon when you can smell a video? This definitely hits that!

[@chazlabreck]

😂 I had that green algi smell on memory

[@godlugner5327]

You know for some reason I thought it would smell like transformer ozone from a giant Lionel set

[@LenKusov]

Fun fact, the guac/avocado thing is genetic, most people have the flavor gene to make guacamole taste good but a fair number don't. It's like cilantro. For most people, avocado tastes buttery and cilantro tastes kinda spicy/black-peppery, but if you lost the genetic lottery avocados taste like lawn clippings and cilantro tastes like dish soap.

[@-r-495]

Those who don’t like cilantro often have a taste for nordic treats I really can’t stand. Salty licorice for instance.

[@randacnam7321]

The fresh cilantro tasting like soap mutation also applies to hops.

[@mxslick50]

People forget how much work it is to maintain a wet beaver. :) Love the new red paint on the panels, thank gods you didn't resort to the boring electrical gray!

[@jfbeam]

Well, a 100+ year old wet beaver. (there have been "self-cleaning" grates for many years now. I've only seen them in waste water plants, 'tho.)

[@m4tik539]

0:31 I love the "reactor SCRAM" light XD

[@Hells_boiler_room]

He should label it az-5 lol

[@hifiandrew]

the one above it.. even better.. radiation in containment level 8... reference from The China Syndrome 🤣🤣 brilliant

[@dragonfireproductions790]

there's an a3-5 check out his short​@@Hells_boiler_room

[@chieffirefigherplays]

@@Hells_boiler_roomthere is one that is labeled like that,

[@AS34N]

That screw mechanism to lift the gate is fascinating to watch lol 😂 could watch this stuff for hours. P.s. I BET that smells AMAZING 😂😂

[@SharpBalisong]

It’s called a worm drive. :)

[@michaelladue5655]

WOW compound double worm gear drive, that is reduction right there.

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

I wonder if the immense reduction is to prevent "water hammering" the river (or whatever the correct term is)

[@-r-495]

It is sensible to keep it going slow at all times. Alloys weren’t what they are today. No CAD & CAM utilising material science for selection. But: Planned obsolescence was in the making.

[@tsm688]

as a hopeless amateur with an interest in sound engineering this place looks like a treasure trove of mineable sounds

[@Thefreakyfreek]

If you want i can send you sone interesting macine shop sounds or something

[@olivermatich2818]

you ain't hopeless, friend!

[@JackSinger]

WOW those control panels look great! The red and yellow color combo is sharp.

[@esven9263]

Up until 2013 the only major purchaser of kale was pizza hut, who used it to decorate the salad bar.

[@cherrypepsi2815]

the whole "superfood" thing was always bullshit, just eat real food and not this weight loss garbage Same thing I always tell people about food: don't overthink it; calories in, calories out, and whatever your doctor tells you to eat. A homemade hamburger with real beef, cheese, and whatever you decide to pile on is ironically better for you than the mega-processed kale chips that people buy in grocery stores. If you really want to be healthy, just stop eating junk. I keep seeing people go on these "weight loss journeys" by eating exclusively garbage like kale and other artisan greens. My god- barely even 400 calories a day! You're not being healthy, you're starving your body! You're only losing fat because your body has to burn it to stay alive. Just do some pushups, run for a while, and replace the fat with muscle. I can't stand this whole culture of "I want to lose weight but I don't want to put in the work!"

[@who_is_joe]

That log strugling to pass through shouldnt be so entertaining

[@jaymzx0]

I was seriously cheering for it. "Go log go!" *floop* "Yeeea!"

[@charlesdeilke8364]

Flushing gates can be fun. Big trees getting exploded by diffuser blocks.

[@Xsiondu]

Amount of times I was told "you just haven't had good guacamole" "you need to try it at my favorite restaurant" no Megan I don't like avocados. Also there's 3 Mexican restaurants in this town. I'm absolutely certain I've not liked their guacamole either.

[@darkwater72]

Fun Fact: Guacamole means "testicle sauce." The more you know......

[@Bobo-ox7fj]

Guacamole is best used in dishes where it goes unnoticed, like MSG.

[@3a.m.284]

Guac is amazing L take

[@philmccole4309]

I spent 45 years as a power plant electrician, and I've never seen a square synchroscope! Now I can say I have!

[@316neil]

Yes! A long form video! Thank you Chris 😊

[@Physicsduck]

You are sincerely welcome :) I'm glad you're enjoying them! :) Thank you for being here!

[@theradioweyr]

@@Physicsduck I never miss a chance to watch a grid sync. With Florida hurricanes I have synced generators with some success (when the neighbors get together to create a mini power grid) (2 vs 4 pole is difficult for little generators, for me anyway). I bought some Wilmar reverse relays as a beginning to developing something a little more safer and automatic but abandoned that after my solar/battery systems started getting finished.

[@gameexpert385]

I just love the way the generator sounds when it spins down and up, but I bet it's pretty loud in there when it's running

[@justjoe7313]

It's VERY interesting to see the workings of the hydro powerplant! Thank you for posting the videos and letting us in :)

[@MattTrevett]

Cool that as the gate was lowered that the water had to go somewhere, so it went over the nearby weir.

[@Venoli]

So happy to see more videos of maintaining those small hydropower plants! Just awesome. GIVE US MORE

[@wesbrackmanthercenthusiast4695]

Man I love old style hydro, I really want to build a gristmill in Scioto county but lord knows the epa pricks wouldn't let me because everyone knows it's less damaging on the environment to ship bakers corner flower 400 miles by semi to my local grocery store from the packaging plant + farm to the plant traveling instead of doing local processing 😡 , shout out to the nice folks who restored rockmill on the hocking river but weren't allowed to install the dam but currently have to use a pump to run the largest overshoot water wheel in ohio

[@Perri_Redder]

The first thing I thought of when I saw the magnet was demagnetizing arc flash. It made me laugh, they might just cook onto the enclosure. I figure I could tell what was what after a few minutes wandering around. Things do break unexpectedly sometimes, like dominoes. One time an 80 ft steam vent clogged up next to a switchgear. I was setting up some very large motors for a nearby water processing facility to help with a factory next door. A steam vent had gone unnoticed as a hazard because the pressure could never exceed the structural capability of the pipe(plumbing). Maintenance thought it would be a good idea to uncouple the pipe in the adjacent room. This instantly threw a jet of water, kicking the pipe into the MCC room. There it spun the elbow and shot 800 gallons of water under high steam pressure at the steel. Nobody was hurt, except for a perfectly good switchgear. Next month there was a flood. A quarter mile away the whole city was under water. Crazy times, but it was very fun setting up the switchgear and motors for a water processing facility.

[@andymcnabb6115]

As a hydro operator I love seeing how other plants are run. You guys are very manual, where the stuff I run is very automated. Also our units are vertical Francis units of much greater size…. The smallest unit I run is 60MW

[@FailedSquare]

that worm gear gate lifting mechanism might be the most satisfying thing ive watched all month

[@Cragified]

My favorite labels are the ones for the abandoned instrumentation.

[@LumpyFPV]

Cooooool! Dude, I absolutely love your shorts and these longer vidyas are pretty great too. Keep em coming, hoss!

[@jlvcm]

Another fantastic video, don't stop making them. My boss taught the golden rule of synchronization: Never close the connection counter-clockwise from the frequency, it could blow the stator due to the difference in frequencies and the load that it suddenly puts in the opposite direction. (Protections may fail) I've seen generators blow up because of this.

[@craignehring]

I absolutely LOVE videos like this!! Keep em coming Please?

[@TomFynn]

Kale as in smoothies? Blearch. But cooked? With Kasseler, Kochwurst, pork belly and a side of potatoes? Also the occasional Schnaps? Give it a try. If too bitter, blanche it first, pour away the water and then cook it. Do not overcook, or else its just so much green goo. Like spinach is.

[@CranialMalfunction]

Ah, I see you're a cultured connoisseur of Grünkohl as well!

[@TsunauticusIV]

THANK YOU for posting a longer video.

[@magic.marmot]

Oh man, the sound of that generator spooling up is music.

[@Daikael]

Loved the REACTOR SCRAM light.

[@trash365247]

That’s a great video. Love seeing the everyday things that need to be done

[@magic.marmot]

OH! A new video on hydropower! I love learning stuff from you.

[@thedragonhunter]

finally an actual video instead of a short

[@hartsfire5706]

so happy to se a longer video,, thank you.

[@VariacManiac]

You did an excellent job on the labeling & paint!

[@butwhytharum]

our plant just changed condenser water sources for our chillers/District cooling heat sink. before our travelling screens would "roll joints" out of sea weed, with how much came through.

[@0dbm]

Love the old stuff , thank you

[@LumpyFPV]

3:58 forbidden waterslide 😳🤌🏼

[@evilsideracing]

Love these long videos you make. Awesome

[@link12313]

All that stuff scooped up from the cleaning grates should be put in a compost pile next to the powerplant and used to feed a garden there.

[@mauricechrupek9944]

Fantastic labeling

[@curtmcbee2238]

7:24 I love how operating a hydroelectric plant is 50% mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical engineering and the other 50% is basically: “the damn dam designers didn’t give us an instrument to show us how open the bypass gates are so why don’t we cut a triangle out of a beer box, duct tape it to this here chain, and use a magic marker to write some reference marks on a column”

[@seamusjohnson2621]

Excellent video as always Chris! Very interesting!

[@barlink7495]

Your paint job came out well. Nice video

[@MacPoop]

Much much cleaner than it was 3 years ago! How's the other plant holding up after the huge refurb project?

[@Ycytd5d78vcy]

When was the last time those worm gears were aligned. Holy cow!!!!

[@realfoggy]

Dam that's a lot of water...I see what you did there!

[@smartazz]

That was awesome 😎

[@douglascalhoun6471]

Fascinating, I always wondered how maintenance was done on a hydroelectric unit.

[@LumpyFPV]

HELL YEAH T-BONE

[@bdot02]

Ooh, something cool to see!

[@jessicalawson1417]

Agree 💯 that guacamole tastes like lawn

[@seandonnelly6823]

Love the red on the cabinets it looks decent

[@DrewMarold]

The new labels look great.

[@bobbysenterprises3220]

Awesome worm gear drive

[@ScottSavageKC7WDG]

Nice video

[@MrSamdavidgm350]

Wow that pretty cool!

[@Tsiikki]

That was pretty cool!

[@maxhearld1035]

Oh hell yeah a new video 🤘🏻

[@joshuavandepol9045]

Labels look Great! Colour choice is really nice, If it were up to me though I'd go with a more we'll say "period appropriate" font type. Something antique but sexy, like the rest of the place lol

[@stolz_ar]

That's pretty cool.

[@bentr0n]

Pffft, “REACTOR SCRAM” 😂

[@DirtBikeBoy5ive]

I love it

[@baileygray404]

I laughed so much at the avocado bit. You're absolutely right and it's why I can't do it either. 😂

[@Deiphobuzz]

Was waiting for a "floater" comment with the log... what a shame..

[@n2nitro444]

Fuck yeah let's get some more long form

[@kyleritchie1100]

Yaaay! A long format video!

[@Minemac2]

That worm gear is terrifying

[@oddball_the_blue]

And that's pretty cool.

[@-r-495]

Thank you for this long format, happy you didn’t find a floater whilst cleaning the rake. I like the new labels, I hope you didn’t take a past comment as critique but as inspiration 😊 Stringent change ctrl can be a nuisance, especially when one is upgrading a plant but can’t test the implementation before.

[@-r-495]

I was wondering how efficient the turbine is and if there are any feasible upgrades that could make the plant more efficient. I recall our turbine had a few different variables that influenced the geometry of the nozzle and the turbine itself. The plant had been upgraded in the 1980s and we had the task of upgrading it forty years later.

[@hifiandrew]

OMG just noticed the Radiation in the Containment.. level 8 (perfectly normal) above the Reactor Scram. I absolutely love China Syndrome, I've watched wayyyy more times than I care to admit. Well done! Bow down to your geeky godness even more.

[@joeschulz7997]

Awesome video. You need some proper permanent badging on the panel doors. Im surprised to see the operator not wearing a PFD. I love the new upgraded lock....its totally authentic. 👍🏻

[@paleoph6168]

Welcome back!

[@fatman123526]

Wee little baby generator 😂 I'm definitely not fond of the magnetic labels for that application. Too much chance of something stupid happening for me.

[@SeanBZA]

But a temporary marker, while you get a proper one made, and then rivet into position ( none of this glue rubbish, solid metal rivets last a lot longer) it is workable.

[@stefan6256]

Reactor Scram! I love it

[@hifiandrew]

One above it's even better LOL

[@u574254]

What a great job. I hope you look forward to going to work every day.. pretty sure I would . But I would clean the grates an hour or two after lunch…

[@TechOne7671]

That was good to see. Give us more detail on the startup and sync of the machine. Cheers

[@mxslick50]

He already has a video detailing startup and sync on this channel.

[@davidgrisez]

It sure looks like that Hydro power plant is very old. I find it interesting how fast a hydro unit can be brought up to speed and synchronized to the line. That is nothing like the steam electric generating stations I used to work in that took about 12 hours to go from a cold start to generating significant amounts of power.

[@allenshepard7992]

Yes, we will say "Cut over when the indicator is moving clockwise, fast" Good transfer.

[@jjackle6431]

Your control panel labeling looks really slick. Love seeing a well-kept facility! What year was the plant built?

[@blaydCA]

Just like MY toilet! The dam logs just won't FLUSH! 😂

[@user-ld7wh2ff4m]

I'm guessing you were in prison at one time or another.

[@rogervanbommel1086]

0:31 is that a RBWR reference????😂

[@hifiandrew]

China Syndrome movie references... 😅 fantastic

[@IndianaDipper194]

cool video, and i love the new magnet labels, but one thing that bugged me is some of the labels spell out one and two and some use the number 1 and 2, for common understanding i think it should all be in numbers rather than spelled just in case someone who doesnt know english has to use it for some reason, i know its a fringe theroy but it would also look alot better IMHO. :) love the content, glad your back!

[@rbrtcrowther]

Ahhh finally…. The content I’ve been waiting for… love the hydro videos…. Why does that generator sing so loudly?

[@tsm688]

cogging perhaps? it's got a lotta poles

[@lightingnut]

So you have 2 power plants you take care of? Interesting videos, keep them coming.

[@ethant8967]

I would love to see your explanation of why KWh is a bad unit for measuring the usage of power. Thanks.

[@billliscombe2912]

I do the same intake cleaning in the UK for a 2000MW Coal Station.

[@WarrenGarabrandt]

Thanks for posting! What was the total shutdown duration for the cleaning? Sorry if you said it in the video and I missed it.

[@leandrolaporta2196]

Nice!! you have to do this everyday? that often? nothing like the noise of the genny syncing up with mains, i love that!.

[@boudreauxlee8090]

Damn finally. A new video

[@jakelangevin301]

And here we all are

[@chriscoracini5378]

Damn that's a lot of water...

[@Physicsduck]

That gate is 10 feet wide. The flow is immense. :)

[@fanplant]

you made magnetic poetry

[@mechguy83]

neat!

[@Flame__War]

What happens during droughts? Can you not open the gate as often to clean the system or do you have to shut the plant down?

[@crazzyearl]

well he wasn't slowly in the fast direction but at least it wasn't 180 out usually we look for a 12 second revolution before syncing

[@mikeybhoutex]

Question: How many times per year... or month... or week... does this maintenance have to be done? Is it a seasonal thing, or is it by some metric seen in the control room? I really appreciate what you're doing here. You're one of the few channels I watch shorts for. Love the long videos when they happen. Thanks for showing us this!

[@Physicsduck]

Thank you! :) I'm glad you're enjoying the videos and I'm working to make more longforms. Given that I'm trying to make 100% scripted content, with planning and preproduction and such, things move a lot slower. Longforms take at least a month to write and produce. This one was an experiment though, just unscripted and off the cuff. If it does well and people like it, I'll try and make more of them. To answer your question, this time of year this happens once a day at every plant. In the autumn it's often twice a shift, sometimes more. We have to keep the leaves clear of the intakes, and as you've seen it's a very manual process.