Rsquared

So a couple of our other guys and I have been working at the NOAA home offices in Silver Spring Maryland for the last couple of months. We've been doing pretty much a ground up Re-Fit on the control systems for their central plant in one of their four buildings that they have here. Just like the other building that we did for them last year, they got all new chillers, pumps, cooling towers, freq drives and control valves. It always makes me laugh a little. Because, being a Re-Fit on a live, functioning system. You kind of have to attack these things in a caveman type of way. They have to stay somewhat functional, but yet you still have to rip everything out and replace it with new, modern equipment. Meaning, at some point, the place looks like an ABSOLUTE train wreck, with $hit running or dangling everywhere as you try to overlay the new stuff in place of the old. I could go on for days about this process, but I won't kill you guys with all the mundane details. I'm just rambling anyway. So I'll just show a little of what we had to deal with, and what we're about to walk away from as a finished product. First of all.....what we had to start with. Yep....pretty fugly huh? No reason for a control system running a chiller plant to EVER look like this. Obviously, this was after we had ripped the old panel down, cut in a trough for all conduits coming into the new panel, and custom building the new panel. I was probably about half way through the new wiring of the panel at this time, with just some baseline programming running some pumps. More wiring done. Stuff starting to come together. All wiring done at this point. Covers in place to help "clean" it up. Software maybe about 2/3 (ish). Just about everything buttoned up. Still tweaking software at this point. This plant has 23 line voltage (120 volt) 2 position valves. So we had to custom build a relay panel to control them. This is basically getting the panel layed out on the inside, in preparation for the relays and wiring. Installing the relays and getting them pre-wired for their incoming power source. Landing all of the power and control wiring. Pretty much finished. Just need to hang the laminated legend on the inside of the door, and then pop all of the cable ties that were holding back the wire before the covers were put on. You guys can probably see why I'm so anal with my own projects that I do at home now.

Yeah, yeah I know......silly but somewhat useful at times right?

Actually, I do have my "first class operating engineer" license, for what that's worth. It usually just means that somebody passed a test though. God forbid you put a wrench or screwdriver in their hands though. A lot of those guys would be lost.

I knew that you'd like that. And I agree. I HATE the way guys do residential electrical $hit. You can never "trust" the joker that was before you. AND....I was tempted to run either greenfield or liquid-tight from the panel to the appliances. But I had to contain myself.

Welcome from Maryland.

Welcome from Maryland.

Welcome from Maryland.

So I go stumbling through the door of my local gun pusher. WAIT......NO.....wrong story. That's how I start the other type of stories. So in between other major projects that I need to perform (read as finish) around my house, I had this little thing pop up. A couple years back, while working in my basement, I happen to be doing something (don't really remember what) around the area where my washer/dryer are located. For some reason (don't remember that either), I leaned against the dryer only to find that thing cooking. Yep, dryer off, but heater elements just working as if they were in a toaster oven. Apparently the heater contactor had fused itself together from extreme age (dryer was from the 70's). So, the dryer got $hit-canned, and I slid another one in it's place. So needless to say, I don't trust any kind of appliance that has any kind of heaters in them these days. Dryer, toaster, coffee maker....you name it. They don't stay powered up around here unless they're being used. So I kept telling myself that I need to put a small disconnect switch before the dryer receptacle, so that I wouldn't have to keep flipping the breaker on and off. After all, breakers aren't meant to be thrown consistently like that. They'll wear out just like any other switch. So.....like anything else.....I got right to it. AND never got around to installing that simple disconnect. So, flash forward by a mere 5+ (ish) years, and the one of the poles of the 2-pole breaker wore out. Hmm...didn't see that coming. So, I replaced the breaker not too long ago. And, you may ask, so did I install the aforementioned disconnect switch? Well of course not. After all, since I do commercial controls for a living, I couldn't just put a simple switch in line from my breaker panel to the dryer. That would be too fukin easy. I had to have something that would be simple to enegize. Would be durable. Oh, and since I'm kinda on the anal side, I had to have some kind of indicator to let me know if the power was on. Then I figured that I had to have another indicator to let me know if the "switch" was energized to the dryer. Then that turned into a whole other setup for the washer sitting right next to it. Sooooooo......it turned into this. Luckily, I had all (well most) of the things that I needed sitting around. Panel, wireduct, terminal blocks, power relays (contactors). I was really only missing the LED indicator lights. I usually only work with 24 volt, and I needed 120 volt lights. Panel interior. Exterior with all power off at breaker panel. Power on at breaker panel. Internal circuits in the off position. Power on to panel. Off to internal circuits. Labeling applied. Washer circuit energized. Washer and dryer circuits energized. I've still got to draw the schematic so I can stick it in the panel, but she basically works just like a miniature commercial motor control center. If nothing else. I know that Eric and Neil can appreciate something stupid like this. Overkill you may ask? Yes! Turbo anal? Definitely YES!

Carlos held the record for a long time. Until the early 2000's I think. One Out-Fucking-Standing Marine. OoRah!

I like those Young bolt tools. For both platforms.

Welcome from Maryland.

Welcome from Maryland.

Welcome from Maryland.

HEY! What happened in the truck.......STAYS in the truck.

One word. Nightforce. Slap that on a $400 build and you'll shoot the eye out of a gnat at 100 yards. Well.......maybe further.

And that's why we love you brother.

Oh my GOD.............he's BACK!

Welcome aboard, from Maryland.

An outstanding movie. That's a damn good series. As with anything else these days, the first couple seasons are pretty damn good. It slows a little later on, but still worth watching. Anson Mount plays his character very well.

Gas, Grass or Ass.......nobody rides for free.

Welcome aboard, from Maryland.

OP It's already been stated that you don't need to over complicate $hit with super slick race gun parts just to try and reach some rifle nirvana point. Case in point. I've got a 12" AR-10 SBR that I've taken out to the desert fall shoots that we do every year. I've stated many times that I love building rifles, I love shooting rifles....but I absolutely HATE cleaning rifles. But, that being said, I didn't bother cleaning this rifle between the fall shoots last time out. Needless to say. We go through ALOT of ammo at some of these get togethers. But my "little", ball of hate-filled SBR didn't even hiccup last time out. Why? Because it has nothing but.....standard Armalite AR-10 parts with a Noveske barrel. The only "modified" parts would be an extra heavy buffer from our guy Slash and a Geissele trigger. And that is why this thing just works. Even after being dragged through the dirt. And even being a "short barrel", it'll bang steel at 500 yards.

Now you've got the curiosity stirring. I'm guessing something with an FSB.

Welcome from Maryland.

That's a knee slapper Mack.