Arc Flash Protection/ Compressor Teardown Seminar

Saturday October 3 was the Fall region 2 training day for RSES Region 2. Region 2 is known as Empire Keystone Association or EKA and comprises those member chapters from New York and Pa. There were close to 30 attendees on Saturday at the compressor tear down seminar. These guys came from Pittsburgh and Buffalo and everywhere in between. It was a terrific event that was held at URI compressors http://www.uricompressors.com/ . Bruce Reich is the owner/operator and this gentleman knows his stuff. My only regret is that we didn't start an hour earlier as we certainly could have used the extra time. Bruce spent ample time explaining the "triangle" of possible causes for compressor failure. When a compressor fails, he explained, it's not just a matter of "it wore out". There is always a reason for the failure and unless you determine the cause of failure it will happen again- sometimes in a matter of hours. After the discussion about compressor failure it was time to dig in! There were six tear down stations so everybody got their hands a little dirty. At my station I was able to look at an oil problem that caused a valve failure that wound up destroying a piston and connecting rod. It all comes home when you can see it as well as hear about it. We are very appreciative to Bruce and Gobin for taking time to share your expertise with us.

In the afternoon the president of EKA, Mr. Tom Schaefer CMS, did a "pinch hit" by filling in for the scheduled speaker who had to cancel due to other obligations. Tom was able to spend time "reviewing" the basics of electrical theory, schematic reading, and meter usage. As Tom mentioned, there are veterans with 15 yrs experience that still benefit from this type of review. You can always learn something new or be reminded of something that you forgot. Thank you Tom!

All this leads me to the next and final squib. Thursday October 15 @ 6PM at the Moravian College "doghouse" we will host our October meeting which is a very scary topic appropriate to the Halloween season. The stark difference is that this topic really is scary for a really good reason. We will do a presentation about Arc Fault Safety. This important safety topic is relevant to all of us. We all work on systems and around motor controls that are susceptible to this event. Bring your Halloween mask if you must, but plan to attend this meeting. YOU NEED THIS TRAINING!!!! Or ELSE..............................................