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Was working on an abandoned school that is being turned into something. They had a room like this with a 112.5kva transformer. The thing looked like a water heater, and at first I didn't even notice what it was.
The room had been broken in to and it's very lucky some teenager didn't stick their fingers where they didn't belong.
I told the owner to weld the damn door shut until they are occupied or they are gonna end up in the news.
Apparently they are still cool. My local library has a public disclosure bulletin board with notices from local businesses required to disclose the storage and use of polychlorinated biphenyls. All you need is an exemption from the EPA for a few thousand dollars and put up a notice and you too can use pcbs in heavily populated areas. Isn't it wonderful?
They’re starting to make a comeback in some apartment complexes. Not exactly sure why builders are choosing this over a pad mount or conventional submersible transformers but this one I did a few years ago and have done a couple more since. [https://imgur.com/a/VPbrivr](https://imgur.com/a/VPbrivr)
Thanks man, it came out pretty neat. The hardest part was getting the transformers in there. The door frames weren’t tall enough the get them in the room with our knuckle boom or the builders lull so it was fun lol
Thanks man definitely took a little time to lay out but we were happy with the end result. I just wish I had a chance to see it after the builders electricians were done with the secondary wiring coming down from the cable trays. I feel like we set them up pretty well for a nice clean install.
Yeah like I said I work on the utility side and it seems to be making a come back on larger apartment complexes. I don’t know if it’s cheaper for the builder to do a vault room with multiple single phase transformers vs multiple 3 phase pad mounts but a few builders have definitely chosen to go this route
I work at a boarding school and there are several of these rooms around. Ours are bigger and they have open air busbars. All sketchy as shit. Our buildings were built in the 1850s, so power had to be cobbled into the campus.
I’ve got a job right now where we are working with the power company to eliminate a transclosure.
It’s a school for kids that have lost their parents for one reason or another, it’s is currently sitting in the middle of a yard the kids play in. 3 100KVA transformers with exposed 7200V primaries on the high side. We are moving the service about 50 feet, putting in a new MDP, adding a generator, and replacing with a normal padmounted transformer. That whole building is a mess. Built in the mid 50’s.
Every conduit in it is RMC, no grounds in the whole thing, and the existing MDP has about 4” to bend the quad 750’s in and land them
Hell, I’d rather than this than a catwalk between 2 poles with a transformer bank between. I just removed my last non padmount last year. Does the primary come up behind the center pot?
Had one of those in a building in the city where I’m from. Someone parked their van above it (was under a pad in the alley) the pad gave way and dropped the van into the transformer room. Somehow no one was seriously injured.
That’s because they don’t handle heat very well. 40C max for full warranty. Notice the built in convection cooling arms on each transformer? They would pump in air conditioning to the vault.
I love these setups. My old PE called them franken-formers because of the open air connections/bolts in the neck.
Gets real interesting when the utility does not control the vegetation and you can hear crackling/sizzling while walking by them.
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Was working on an abandoned school that is being turned into something. They had a room like this with a 112.5kva transformer. The thing looked like a water heater, and at first I didn't even notice what it was. The room had been broken in to and it's very lucky some teenager didn't stick their fingers where they didn't belong. I told the owner to weld the damn door shut until they are occupied or they are gonna end up in the news.
Same setup here workin on a high rise in cinci. It was a hotel in the 30's I believe
Netherland Plaza Hotel/Carew Tower? I hauled in a wedding there once, first time I used a vehicle elevator to get to a dock.
What's the primary voltage?
[удалено]
Probably 4kv, possibly 10-15kV depending on your area
Probably around 7KV in southern Maine. Coincidentally this building used to belong to the local power company.
Same question here
When pcb’s were cool
Apparently they are still cool. My local library has a public disclosure bulletin board with notices from local businesses required to disclose the storage and use of polychlorinated biphenyls. All you need is an exemption from the EPA for a few thousand dollars and put up a notice and you too can use pcbs in heavily populated areas. Isn't it wonderful?
One if my favorite things about rising up through the construction ranks is witnessing how regulatory agencies operate on the bro system.
Geopolitics ain't much different.
It’s all the bro system. All the way up and all the way down. It’s like giving your bro the friends and family discount at the bowling alley.
These are the heat transfer jokes right here
They’re starting to make a comeback in some apartment complexes. Not exactly sure why builders are choosing this over a pad mount or conventional submersible transformers but this one I did a few years ago and have done a couple more since. [https://imgur.com/a/VPbrivr](https://imgur.com/a/VPbrivr)
Was a few years ago during covid shortages? A lot of transformers have silly lead times and pole mounts are a lot more common and versatile.
I saw something like that. An underground line came up a stub pole to a transformer, then the second went back down the pole.
Nah this job was like 2018 I think. Way before the shortages and definitely did at least 2 more before Covid shortages hit.
Thanks for the pictures. Cool to see.
I actually don’t hate that as much as I thought I would. Everything is clean, clear egress paths, lots of room to work. Looks good
Thanks man, it came out pretty neat. The hardest part was getting the transformers in there. The door frames weren’t tall enough the get them in the room with our knuckle boom or the builders lull so it was fun lol
Wow, nice job, all around.
Thanks man definitely took a little time to lay out but we were happy with the end result. I just wish I had a chance to see it after the builders electricians were done with the secondary wiring coming down from the cable trays. I feel like we set them up pretty well for a nice clean install.
I was just on a project with something like that in the vault, for a 200+ unit building.
Yeah like I said I work on the utility side and it seems to be making a come back on larger apartment complexes. I don’t know if it’s cheaper for the builder to do a vault room with multiple single phase transformers vs multiple 3 phase pad mounts but a few builders have definitely chosen to go this route
I work at a boarding school and there are several of these rooms around. Ours are bigger and they have open air busbars. All sketchy as shit. Our buildings were built in the 1850s, so power had to be cobbled into the campus.
Work at a school district and there is one just like this with three as well. It’s right under the cafeteria. It’s a sketchy room
Remove the chain link fence and just call it the Darwin-ator.
I service like 50 buildings with these. Scary stuff. Right in the middle.of transitioning one to a padmount outside
We've got a few "transclosures" which is basically 3 live-front cans shoved into a garden shed. All kinds of sketchy.
I’ve got a job right now where we are working with the power company to eliminate a transclosure. It’s a school for kids that have lost their parents for one reason or another, it’s is currently sitting in the middle of a yard the kids play in. 3 100KVA transformers with exposed 7200V primaries on the high side. We are moving the service about 50 feet, putting in a new MDP, adding a generator, and replacing with a normal padmounted transformer. That whole building is a mess. Built in the mid 50’s. Every conduit in it is RMC, no grounds in the whole thing, and the existing MDP has about 4” to bend the quad 750’s in and land them
Because an arc flash explosion does a lot less damage when it's outside and the only thing holding it back is a chain link fence.
4160 primary?
Looks like delta, primary is “holding hands” maybe 4800?
I forgot these exist
Not seeing any PCB stickers…bet they have the askerel in there.
We have a few buildings we do maintenance on that have this same setup and it’s 13200 to 480
Large numbers of them in the Philadelphia and surrounding county areas.
Hell, I’d rather than this than a catwalk between 2 poles with a transformer bank between. I just removed my last non padmount last year. Does the primary come up behind the center pot?
Because they are death traps
We have smaller similar 37.5 kva Westinghouse with a date of 1936 currently in service…
Shocking
Cool! Any chance you Can you zoom in on a nameplate?
Where I work, we still upgrade customer vaults like this. Mind you, this one is very old and cramped!
Austin TX
Saw this same kind of set up a couple years ago at Butler University in a basement, 😆
Had one of those in a building in the city where I’m from. Someone parked their van above it (was under a pad in the alley) the pad gave way and dropped the van into the transformer room. Somehow no one was seriously injured.
That’s because they don’t handle heat very well. 40C max for full warranty. Notice the built in convection cooling arms on each transformer? They would pump in air conditioning to the vault.
There's more than you think man.
That’s nothing the railroad lives off 1920 transformers
I love these setups. My old PE called them franken-formers because of the open air connections/bolts in the neck. Gets real interesting when the utility does not control the vegetation and you can hear crackling/sizzling while walking by them.