This year major tasks of maintenance were not required with the exception of the total reworking of one of the water pumps that provide water to the boiler once this one enters service regime. The work was faced by Lucas Bianchi and we made the corresponding tests two days before November 15th. Everything seemed to work right and only a pair of adjustments were necessary to the pump just repaired.
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Another view of the group... |
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Day 15th (Day of the Technical Education) we began early as usual and
almost without another expectation than things would be working right.
Still more encouraging was the easyness with that burners
had ignited and the speed whereupon the installation was
gaining pressure, to the point that this forced us to cut-off the burners
to enable us to arrive " on time " (we had one hour of advance...) at the
anticipated hour of beginning of the test (1:00 PM).
While our visitors were arriving at time something with which we did not
count was that same as during all the year; rain reached us
near 1:30 PM. And second and more important, the climatic
change would affect in a more than negative way the performance of the
installation. As from that moment it was very difficult for us to raise the steam
pressure and to maintain it.
In order to make us the things easier the two pumps that send water to
the boiler for the first time in years began to work in an erratic way simultaneously
near 5:30 PM., and the failure of a spring of the steam exhaust system drive
at the Compound machine put end to the test one hour before was foreseen.
Certainly we remained with the desire of repeating the test of 2000, but the good news; we have the
consolation of the knowledge that our new technicians were up to the circumstances and that
the solution the problems of this year will not demand great efforts to retry the tests (we hope
that with more luck) in the 2002.
