there was an episode of Mayday Mayday where they did just that, left the screws out on one side of the plane resulting in a plane crash. humans are humans but the supervisor should've double checked
Yeah, could have just shown that twice. That's what most Tubers would do. Next time when assembling the transformer use Mr. Burns Transformer Assembly Team, not H. Simpson and Son.
Awesome solution and air bound will get it every time. Had a similar issue on a small peaker tx, 8 MVA and when ever we ran the peakers the temp would rocket up. Even unloaded the first stage fans would cycle on and off. Oil level was good, was like that for 10 years, one of the "it's always been that way" type things. Turns out someone was messing with the FLIR and happened to notice it looked like the oil level was right below the top radiator tube. Low and behold, it was low on oil and the oil gauge, or the float was bad! Topped it off and the fans never came on when unloaded again. But it was a perfect example of new people asking if something is wrong and the older employees telling them that's how this one runs. It had been looked at years ago to try and solve it, but no one ever thought to double check the oil level gauge on it. Always too worried about over filling it, since no conservator and just a nitrogen blanket on top. Too scared to leave no room for oil expansion. Really enjoy your videos, been out of substations for 5 years now and miss it! Keep posting!
I hope the original provisioning company learned from this mistake. Thanks for providing the update and resolution! Closing the feedback loop always tickles us engineers
I truly find these fascinating. Post retirement of 35yrs IBEW inside, I've become interested learning as much of HV info as I can ... because I never 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 learned much of this while in the trade. Obviously, no formal training didn't prevent me from being around my share of 4160, to 13.2. But looking back I wish our apprenticeship included a legit, thorough, HV segment. Yes, a few contractors (w/HV divisions) did their own specialized certification etc. That said, I never was in a position to receive that ... although I was certainly in a position to need it on a few occasions. I appreciate the content.
They do the same sampling with the oil in wind turbine gearboxes. By analyzing the %'s of various metals and other substances, they can create wear-curves to determine the approx. lifespan of each major component in the assembly. This allows for repl/repair planning well ahead of a failure.
These are the best types of videos! A real-world problem, the evidence, the troubleshooting procedures and hypotheses, and a final solution consistent with everything. Thanks for the clips!
air locked! AHHH! I have seen that very issue with other types of radiators, crazy how a little air bubble can stop a fluid from flowing, but it often does.
I was saying to myself when you were talking about belling out the temperature sensor wiring "it's gotta be low oil level or air in the system", I've had a similar defect on a locomotive main transformer cooler group before. That's the problem when you deal with new equipment, sometimes they bite ya in the ass lol. Recent sub to your channel, keep up the good work.
Brand new sub to your channel. A recommendation TH-cam got right for once. I'm a journeyman that has been newly introduced to the world of power testing and commissioning. There is a huge learning curve transitioning from installation of equipment to testing and understanding the concepts of what and why you're testing. I'm from a generation of being grandfathered thru old fashioned ojt. Knowing what you're installing and a full grasp of how it works, was not as pertinent as knowing how to properly install and terminate. It can be and has been very frustrating in self-educating and learning various concepts and theories in the electrical field. Imagine having a basic concept and knowledge on just Ohms Law, your day one your being bombarded with instructions and information about pick-up times on breakers, tan-delta testing and vlf, DLRO, etc. Training within the company can be sporadic at best, unless there is a specific regimen in place with the goal of hiring entry level field technicians and producing fully qualified and competent engineering technicians. For someone that wishes they could afford the money and time to pursue a BA in electrical engineering, I appreciate the information your sharing. It is priceless. For an individual like me, I can absorb the technical information at a massively better rate when I can observe real world applications of the science. Tell me what I'm doing, explain why, and show me how to do it. I can then fully discern the job I'm performing. I'm enjoying your videos. I'd like to make requests for some UPS, MVS, LVS, monitoring and communication, utility PV farm substations, more buried cable, more txs, and inner brain workings of the equipment. I realize you probably post as you come across various issues from your employment, just making a wish list. Again, I appreciate the time you've devoted to giving this information.
A little late, but... that could have been disastrous if the air had gotten back into the transformer! The first thing I thought of was there is a lack of circulation.... oil isn't moving through the radiator. Even in soak the temps are high.... wow!
To me looks like the FLIR images are the other way round, the one which has hot radiators is the one which is working right. Thanks for the videos. Normal people can get nowhere near those things and they are quite fascinating because power transmission is so important, yet normal people see and understand very little of it.
You are correct my friend. The heat is not getting to the problematic one because of the airlock, which is why it is uniform and cool. In thermal inspections, functionning radiators must always have a cool to hot gradiant from top to bottom as seen on the bottom picture.
@@PeterWalkerHP16c Good question Is it possible it's simply a sensitivity setting within the thermal imaging? I suggest that because the area below the radiator fans is of a different color spectrum. I've no idea really, certainly not qualified to say. Although I'm retired IBEW, that's 35yrs inside wireman, only a little HV experience.
@@PeterWalkerHP16c The images are on different scales (as indicated by the max and min values on the right hand side). These should be matched in the flir tools software in order to make accurate comparisons and avoid mis interpretations.
Top one is normal, bottom abnormal. Oil used for uniform heat dissipation. Area of no oil, heat builds up. Temp in the center crosshair shown in upper left. The scale on the right shows minimum and max temp in the field of view. On a side note, the FLIR is a good wildlife research nighttime tracking tool.
So cool to see a follow up! I remember reading the comments on the last one and there were a few people saying they thought it would be air locks in the radiators, nailed it. Bet everyone's relieved its not a manufacture issue or anything like that.
Your use of the microphone is fine. Very clear and easy to follow. Glad you managed to find the problem and it was an easy fix. FLIR's are very useful things.
Just like a car, don't want to get it air locked or you'll be sitting on the side of the road with an over heat situation. That is the exact that on an AIO PC water cooler, if you put the radiator vertical, never put the tubes on the top, as you will trap air and the pump on the CPU will have cavitation and not cool correctly due to the air trapped in the system. Always put the tubes at the bottom. 😎 Great video by the way.
That is crazy. I thought all transformers needed a nitrogen blanket to prevent oil decay or moisture. Really wild. I guess that guy wins on Jerpady too :)
Interesting, thanks for the follow-up, and thanks for the videos! These environments always scared me (rightfully so esp when younger), but learning and seeing helps take it down to earth.
Speed, i love your style, whether it's on site or sitting in a chair, you sir are teaching me more than i bargained for when i first found your channel. your narrative skill is equal regardless of location in my opinion :) and oh, as a long time BF4 player, i left a few comments on your BF4 material. i have a few BF4 clips myself, including shooting down a Commander Cruise Missile with a SCAR SV on Pearl Market.
That problem transformer was filled with oil on a Friday afternoon. LOL Wonder if the tech(s) responsible lost their job. Willing to bet there is an extensive initialed check off sheet for these builds.
This is nowhere near my area of interest or expertise, and I'll never use this info in real life. However, the way you explain things makes this a very interesting video! Good job!
I've gone through a majority of the comments so far and have finally found my question mentioned. Where are the checklists? Unfortunately, no commentors answering yet. Right, where are the checklists? Where is the QA and QC? Blaming the designer is often a cop out. Was the Saturn V rocket perfectly designed? No. Did controls on manufacture, assembly, testing, and modification help? Yep. So, did the designers need to have flawless designs to succeed? No. Takeaway: Design hard, test harder! Clearly, a frequently performed task with very high likelihood of being done correctly was done here. To wit, the working radiators side. What's at fault is not using (or having?) a verified, installation checklist that has each step signed off by a dedicated signer offer. I'm not versed in Big Electricity hardware but have design and tested for big DoD Government/NASA, so I have some QA OJT. What usually happens in these installation and handoff events? What is the root cause of the failure? I'm here to learn.
I used to be Drafter for ABB Transformers in STL and it appears the Fans are mounted on a solid plate ? Tried to blow up photo but can’t tell how they are mounted. I don’t see any fins in the side view.
I like the voice over. Walking and talking adds wind noise and so on. It lets you tell the story in a easy to follow way. You can do a bit of both. In editing add voice over when appropriate an do "walkie talkie" when that is works.
You state that air was trapped over the tops of the radiators. Wasn't that transformer vacuum filled as part of the assembly? I'm not sure of all the details of vacuum filling because it has been years that I witnessed a new xformer being dressed but radiators may be valved closed during the fill. Also most transformer manufacturers instruction manuals provide a step by step set of instructions as to what to do during the oil fill. Good troubleshooting with the infrared camera. Thanks for sharing.
Wouldn’t this have resulted in the oil fill level being lower then it was expected to be? Or for the reservoir tank sitting at a higher level? I feel there would have been more signs of something being not quite right here... then again I’m an armchair engineer 🤓
not an expert in this field (auto tech) but if say it takes 100 gallons of oil to fill, are you going to notice if one transformers 1 gallon less? .. takes very little air to airlock an automotive cooling system, so assume the same here, though I have to say, given how critical this cooling system must be, i am genuinely surprised it doesn't self bleed. little vent lines atop each radiator to a header tank would do. but im sure there are reasons.
Not necessarily chap as the air substitutes the liquid giving a false fill level reading. This also causes an air lock, where the air sits in pipework etc, usually at the highest point, and causes the flow of liquid to stop. Another failure point of this defect is cavitation of pumps which move the liquid throughout the system.
@@HotAxleBox sure, but if they know when commissioning they need to fit it with say... 100L of oil, and they only used 99L (or whatever that is in the old money) that should have made them think twice before signing it off.
@@matthewlewis5631 more than likely they are not metering the fill volume, or at least getting an approximation of oil pumped in and the slight difference wasn't caught. The manufacturer of the transformer is only going to have a calculated fill volume to go from, but due to slight variations between each transformer, each one may be slightly different volumes when full.
Like some of the other replies, not an expert, but I would think the bleeder valves are something that would only be used during initial instillation or during oil replacement. Having them be automatic, would add a whole new series of possible failure points which could lead to leakage, followed by transformer failure. This kind of human error would be EXTREMELY rare.
I was thinking plugged tubes in the radiator or other flow restriction. Like a forgotten item by a fabricator. A dead bird or rat that got in during fabrication. Some masking tape by a painter.
Transformer in this video is quite different in design having an inlet manifold, common for all the radiator rows. The other one appear to have individual inlet/outlet which needs to be bled individually. This design may only need bleeding in one spot, and would be rather simple to have an incline pipe running to the oil tank, thus self bleeding the system.
What would have happened if the issue wasn't spotted and the transformer had gone under full load during a hot summer day? Would it just overheat or do those systems have overprovisioning for such cases?
I did not expected trapped air, because I would have assumed that it would auto-bleed. Normally, the highest point in a system should have a mean to remove air. A simple 1/2" pipe on top going to the expension tank would have prevented all this.
It is in all "liquid cooling 101 basic", but it still bites you in the a$$ again and again. Had practically the same problem with apartments building heating system after being drained for some fixes. It is supposed to bleed off by itself, when there are automatic bleeder valves, right? Wrong. It won't if there is 27degC outside, so the radiator valves are in fact closed. And it won't anymore once the circulation pump is running. Was chasing "no heat" complaints for two months there (the difficulty to convince all tenants to wide open their valves to let it bleed properly was not helping either).
I guess you don't go around putting your hand on the radiators to see if they are hot at the top like you do for your home central heating! Nice video thx for sharing.
That FLIR image is a bit misleading, but that's the risk you run when you allow your thermal imager to auto-scale. It would be much better if you had two images with the same scale setting the color palette to identical ranges when you put them side by side for comparison.
Ok, I'm confused. The "good" transformer has a higher heat range (4.3 - 25.1) then the "bad' one (3.5 - 24.4). The "bad" one is transferring heat to the radiators, but you're telling us the fault was the oil wasn't circulating, preventing any cooling. If there was no circulation, I'd think the radiators would be stone cold. Are the photos switched?? I'm thinking it would be nice to lock the range on the FLIR between shots to compare color to color.
Looking at the previous video, it appears the top of the radiator is well above the top of the transformer. And the radiator outlet is indeed the top most part in the assembly where air or any gas would get trapped. That looks like a pretty dumb design and would create an air lock and prevent oil from circulating. One might assume this kind of equipment would be built pretty bulletproof, but apparently the radiators are "oversized" for this design and while probably originally self bleeding, not in this design anymore.
I wonder what is the original reason to mount the lower inlet so high in the transformer, a little below mid way on the side? If it was lower, radiators could be larger without extending above the top. e: Looking at the video again, the inlet seems to be lower, but there is a pipe running up the side, why is it made this way? To give clearance and room to service the fans?
@@gearloose703 The reason the radiator is higher than the transformer is because it's oversized for increased cooling and MVA rating. The reason I speculate the lower inlet is not at the bottom is to intentionally keep the bottom not so cool in order to limit temperature differential between top and bottom due to proper thermal expansion and proper magnetic permeability.
too quiet (warching on mobile); if you edit in Premiere - there's volume level gauge, use it; if you do sound volume normalization by ear, it is a good idea to listen to a hi quality sample to calibrate your hearing and hence judge the volume level; good luck with your channel, subed last week, like it so far; please, normalize the sound volume over your new mic
ROOT CAUSE: This failed install, is NOT a worker issue. The ROOT cause IS: Transformer commissioning company has a Q.A. CULTURE problem. THAT'S IT. Lack of Q.A. (Quality Assurance). No excuse for this. ZERO. ZEEERRRROOOO! Either somebody is needing to get retired, or somebody needs to get FIRED. Ridiculous! NO LUXURY OF IGNORANCE. NONE. If a HIGHLY TRAINED Q.A. department was riding the installation/commissioning team's ass, this would NEVER EVER EVER EVER HAPPEN. I know. I've seen this EXACT same ROOT CAUSATION ISSUE before. BAD Q.A. PERIOD.
Audio-wise, there's a fair bit of echo from the room. Being closer to the mic can help, along with some EQ to compensate the (audio) proximity effect so it's not too "boomy". Next, you can hang some thick fabric in front of a wall (the one behind you) and add shaggy carpet to the room if there isn't. That should go some way without being too invasive.
Good informative video, too rare to find these from YT nowadays.
"I'll get the other side after lunch" XD
Never got done
🎩🧠❤
there was an episode of Mayday Mayday where they did just that, left the screws out on one side of the plane resulting in a plane crash. humans are humans but the supervisor should've double checked
Yet another excellent video :) Would have loved an "after bleeding" thermographic picture, but I presume it's basically exactly like the top one.
Yeah, could have just shown that twice. That's what most Tubers would do. Next time when assembling the transformer use Mr. Burns Transformer Assembly Team, not H. Simpson and Son.
Awesome solution and air bound will get it every time. Had a similar issue on a small peaker tx, 8 MVA and when ever we ran the peakers the temp would rocket up. Even unloaded the first stage fans would cycle on and off. Oil level was good, was like that for 10 years, one of the "it's always been that way" type things. Turns out someone was messing with the FLIR and happened to notice it looked like the oil level was right below the top radiator tube. Low and behold, it was low on oil and the oil gauge, or the float was bad! Topped it off and the fans never came on when unloaded again. But it was a perfect example of new people asking if something is wrong and the older employees telling them that's how this one runs. It had been looked at years ago to try and solve it, but no one ever thought to double check the oil level gauge on it. Always too worried about over filling it, since no conservator and just a nitrogen blanket on top. Too scared to leave no room for oil expansion.
Really enjoy your videos, been out of substations for 5 years now and miss it! Keep posting!
That was fascinating...I admit, I wouldn't have guessed that. Thanks for the update, it has had me wondering.
I hope the original provisioning company learned from this mistake. Thanks for providing the update and resolution! Closing the feedback loop always tickles us engineers
I truly find these fascinating.
Post retirement of 35yrs IBEW inside, I've become interested learning as much of HV info as I can ... because I never 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 learned much of this while in the trade.
Obviously, no formal training didn't prevent me from being around my share of 4160, to 13.2. But looking back I wish our apprenticeship included a legit, thorough, HV segment.
Yes, a few contractors (w/HV divisions) did their own specialized certification etc. That said, I never was in a position to receive that ... although I was certainly in a position to need it on a few occasions.
I appreciate the content.
They do the same sampling with the oil in wind turbine gearboxes. By analyzing the %'s of various metals and other substances, they can create wear-curves to determine the approx. lifespan of each major component in the assembly. This allows for repl/repair planning well ahead of a failure.
These are the best types of videos! A real-world problem, the evidence, the troubleshooting procedures and hypotheses, and a final solution consistent with everything. Thanks for the clips!
Fascinating - and of course, like most mysteries, completely obvious when you have the answer! And nice when the fix is so 'easy'. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome vids. I'm a substation estimator for a contractor in wind and solar and its cool for someone to show the world we live in.
air locked! AHHH! I have seen that very issue with other types of radiators, crazy how a little air bubble can stop a fluid from flowing, but it often does.
I was saying to myself when you were talking about belling out the temperature sensor wiring "it's gotta be low oil level or air in the system", I've had a similar defect on a locomotive main transformer cooler group before.
That's the problem when you deal with new equipment, sometimes they bite ya in the ass lol.
Recent sub to your channel, keep up the good work.
Equipment was fine! A human who didn't make the equipment did the biting. Physics and materials are reliable , it's the humans you gotta suspect
Brand new sub to your channel. A recommendation TH-cam got right for once. I'm a journeyman that has been newly introduced to the world of power testing and commissioning. There is a huge learning curve transitioning from installation of equipment to testing and understanding the concepts of what and why you're testing. I'm from a generation of being grandfathered thru old fashioned ojt. Knowing what you're installing and a full grasp of how it works, was not as pertinent as knowing how to properly install and terminate. It can be and has been very frustrating in self-educating and learning various concepts and theories in the electrical field. Imagine having a basic concept and knowledge on just Ohms Law, your day one your being bombarded with instructions and information about pick-up times on breakers, tan-delta testing and vlf, DLRO, etc. Training within the company can be sporadic at best, unless there is a specific regimen in place with the goal of hiring entry level field technicians and producing fully qualified and competent engineering technicians.
For someone that wishes they could afford the money and time to pursue a BA in electrical engineering, I appreciate the information your sharing. It is priceless. For an individual like me, I can absorb the technical information at a massively better rate when I can observe real world applications of the science. Tell me what I'm doing, explain why, and show me how to do it. I can then fully discern the job I'm performing.
I'm enjoying your videos. I'd like to make requests for some UPS, MVS, LVS, monitoring and communication, utility PV farm substations, more buried cable, more txs, and inner brain workings of the equipment. I realize you probably post as you come across various issues from your employment, just making a wish list.
Again, I appreciate the time you've devoted to giving this information.
A little late, but... that could have been disastrous if the air had gotten back into the transformer! The first thing I thought of was there is a lack of circulation.... oil isn't moving through the radiator.
Even in soak the temps are high.... wow!
To me looks like the FLIR images are the other way round, the one which has hot radiators is the one which is working right.
Thanks for the videos. Normal people can get nowhere near those things and they are quite fascinating because power transmission is so important, yet normal people see and understand very little of it.
You are correct my friend. The heat is not getting to the problematic one because of the airlock, which is why it is uniform and cool. In thermal inspections, functionning radiators must always have a cool to hot gradiant from top to bottom as seen on the bottom picture.
@@jonathandamours6453 Then why are the bushing pedestals and transformer top so much hotter on the bottom pic?
@@PeterWalkerHP16c
Good question
Is it possible it's simply a sensitivity setting within the thermal imaging? I suggest that because the area below the radiator fans is of a different color spectrum.
I've no idea really, certainly not qualified to say.
Although I'm retired IBEW, that's 35yrs inside wireman, only a little HV experience.
@@PeterWalkerHP16c The images are on different scales (as indicated by the max and min values on the right hand side). These should be matched in the flir tools software in order to make accurate comparisons and avoid mis interpretations.
Top one is normal, bottom abnormal. Oil used for uniform heat dissipation. Area of no oil, heat builds up. Temp in the center crosshair shown in upper left. The scale on the right shows minimum and max temp in the field of view. On a side note, the FLIR is a good wildlife research nighttime tracking tool.
So cool to see a follow up! I remember reading the comments on the last one and there were a few people saying they thought it would be air locks in the radiators, nailed it. Bet everyone's relieved its not a manufacture issue or anything like that.
Your use of the microphone is fine. Very clear and easy to follow. Glad you managed to find the problem and it was an easy fix. FLIR's are very useful things.
Just like a car, don't want to get it air locked or you'll be sitting on the side of the road with an over heat situation. That is the exact that on an AIO PC water cooler, if you put the radiator vertical, never put the tubes on the top, as you will trap air and the pump on the CPU will have cavitation and not cool correctly due to the air trapped in the system. Always put the tubes at the bottom. 😎 Great video by the way.
Checklist? Check!
Exactly, somebody missed a step... or the checklist is now updated, I hope... 😀
That’s awesome. I never thought that air could cause an issue like that.
That is crazy. I thought all transformers needed a nitrogen blanket to prevent oil decay or moisture.
Really wild. I guess that guy wins on Jerpady too :)
5:00 So basically you had your own little Three Mile Island sitting there waiting to happen. ;-)
Interesting, thanks for the follow-up, and thanks for the videos! These environments always scared me (rightfully so esp when younger), but learning and seeing helps take it down to earth.
Awesome presentation. I learn more with each viewing of one of your videos. Thanks for sharing your insight.
Speed, i love your style, whether it's on site or sitting in a chair, you sir are teaching me more than i bargained for when i first found your channel. your narrative skill is equal regardless of location in my opinion :)
and oh, as a long time BF4 player, i left a few comments on your BF4 material.
i have a few BF4 clips myself, including shooting down a Commander Cruise Missile with a SCAR SV on Pearl Market.
That problem transformer was filled with oil on a Friday afternoon. LOL
Wonder if the tech(s) responsible lost their job. Willing to bet there is an extensive initialed check off sheet for these builds.
Super interesting! I've never seen that problem before. Thanks for sharing your experience!
This is nowhere near my area of interest or expertise, and I'll never use this info in real life. However, the way you explain things makes this a very interesting video! Good job!
I've gone through a majority of the comments so far and have finally found my question mentioned. Where are the checklists? Unfortunately, no commentors answering yet.
Right, where are the checklists? Where is the QA and QC? Blaming the designer is often a cop out. Was the Saturn V rocket perfectly designed? No. Did controls on manufacture, assembly, testing, and modification help? Yep. So, did the designers need to have flawless designs to succeed? No. Takeaway: Design hard, test harder! Clearly, a frequently performed task with very high likelihood of being done correctly was done here. To wit, the working radiators side. What's at fault is not using (or having?) a verified, installation checklist that has each step signed off by a dedicated signer offer.
I'm not versed in Big Electricity hardware but have design and tested for big DoD Government/NASA, so I have some QA OJT. What usually happens in these installation and handoff events? What is the root cause of the failure? I'm here to learn.
Good find. Did they process the oil after it was filled? Weird....
Super interesting! Glad to hear how it turned out 😁
So simple, thanks for the update.
I used to be Drafter for ABB Transformers in STL and it appears the Fans are mounted on a solid plate ?
Tried to blow up photo but can’t tell how they are mounted. I don’t see any fins in the side view.
I like the voice over. Walking and talking adds wind noise and so on. It lets you tell the story in a easy to follow way.
You can do a bit of both. In editing add voice over when appropriate an do "walkie talkie" when that is works.
Thanks for sharing!
You state that air was trapped over the tops of the radiators. Wasn't that transformer vacuum filled as part of the assembly?
I'm not sure of all the details of vacuum filling because it has been years that I witnessed a new xformer being dressed but radiators may be valved closed during the fill.
Also most transformer manufacturers instruction manuals provide a step by step set of instructions as to what to do during the oil fill. Good troubleshooting with the infrared camera. Thanks for sharing.
Wouldn’t this have resulted in the oil fill level being lower then it was expected to be? Or for the reservoir tank sitting at a higher level?
I feel there would have been more signs of something being not quite right here... then again I’m an armchair engineer 🤓
not an expert in this field (auto tech) but if say it takes 100 gallons of oil to fill, are you going to notice if one transformers 1 gallon less? .. takes very little air to airlock an automotive cooling system, so assume the same here, though I have to say, given how critical this cooling system must be, i am genuinely surprised it doesn't self bleed. little vent lines atop each radiator to a header tank would do. but im sure there are reasons.
Not necessarily chap as the air substitutes the liquid giving a false fill level reading.
This also causes an air lock, where the air sits in pipework etc, usually at the highest point, and causes the flow of liquid to stop.
Another failure point of this defect is cavitation of pumps which move the liquid throughout the system.
@@HotAxleBox sure, but if they know when commissioning they need to fit it with say... 100L of oil, and they only used 99L (or whatever that is in the old money) that should have made them think twice before signing it off.
@@matthewlewis5631 more than likely they are not metering the fill volume, or at least getting an approximation of oil pumped in and the slight difference wasn't caught. The manufacturer of the transformer is only going to have a calculated fill volume to go from, but due to slight variations between each transformer, each one may be slightly different volumes when full.
Like some of the other replies, not an expert, but I would think the bleeder valves are something that would only be used during initial instillation or during oil replacement. Having them be automatic, would add a whole new series of possible failure points which could lead to leakage, followed by transformer failure. This kind of human error would be EXTREMELY rare.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. Wild that it was a simple problem! I do commissioning for generators, so this is an interesting finding for me!
Where is the checklist that identifies an overlooked step? No knowledgeable commentors ever bring this up or a designer gets blamed.
I was thinking plugged tubes in the radiator or other flow restriction. Like a forgotten item by a fabricator. A dead bird or rat that got in during fabrication. Some masking tape by a painter.
So what functions do the big 3 cylinders do?
Transformer in this video is quite different in design having an inlet manifold, common for all the radiator rows. The other one appear to have individual inlet/outlet which needs to be bled individually. This design may only need bleeding in one spot, and would be rather simple to have an incline pipe running to the oil tank, thus self bleeding the system.
What would have happened if the issue wasn't spotted and the transformer had gone under full load during a hot summer day? Would it just overheat or do those systems have overprovisioning for such cases?
Since the thermostats were working a high temp alarm would go off and most likely trip the breaker.
@@spdfreakls1 Thank you for the answer! Always great to learn more about the systems that keep our world up and running!
I did not expected trapped air, because I would have assumed that it would auto-bleed.
Normally, the highest point in a system should have a mean to remove air. A simple 1/2" pipe on top going to the expension tank would have prevented all this.
I would not have thought that either what with the extra tank up high like that.
wow a simple mistake like that could have major probs under higher load down track . good one !
Thank you very much. That's very helpful.
Excellent use of FLIR. I thought the outer casing would be a bit warmer.
I wonder what would eventually happen to the transformer if it was kept in that scenario?
Hey I know that location.... small world. Love the informative videos by the way.
is it 'air' or a nitrogen blanket??
As long as you don't have to vent these radiators annually like the ones in your house.. ;-)
Great video! Checklists! Checklists! Checklists!
I absolutely crave more knowledge on this keep it up just subbed
It is in all "liquid cooling 101 basic", but it still bites you in the a$$ again and again. Had practically the same problem with apartments building heating system after being drained for some fixes. It is supposed to bleed off by itself, when there are automatic bleeder valves, right? Wrong. It won't if there is 27degC outside, so the radiator valves are in fact closed. And it won't anymore once the circulation pump is running. Was chasing "no heat" complaints for two months there (the difficulty to convince all tenants to wide open their valves to let it bleed properly was not helping either).
I guess you don't go around putting your hand on the radiators to see if they are hot at the top like you do for your home central heating! Nice video thx for sharing.
What’s the 4th HV side bushing on the transformer at the beginning for?
Neutral
Very interesting how many things can be seen from the oil sample
That FLIR image is a bit misleading, but that's the risk you run when you allow your thermal imager to auto-scale. It would be much better if you had two images with the same scale setting the color palette to identical ranges when you put them side by side for comparison.
Methane content in the DGA rises due to oxidizing of cellulose components if this problem isn't noticed early.
Ok, I'm confused. The "good" transformer has a higher heat range (4.3 - 25.1) then the "bad' one (3.5 - 24.4). The "bad" one is transferring heat to the radiators, but you're telling us the fault was the oil wasn't circulating, preventing any cooling. If there was no circulation, I'd think the radiators would be stone cold. Are the photos switched?? I'm thinking it would be nice to lock the range on the FLIR between shots to compare color to color.
Looking at the previous video, it appears the top of the radiator is well above the top of the transformer. And the radiator outlet is indeed the top most part in the assembly where air or any gas would get trapped. That looks like a pretty dumb design and would create an air lock and prevent oil from circulating. One might assume this kind of equipment would be built pretty bulletproof, but apparently the radiators are "oversized" for this design and while probably originally self bleeding, not in this design anymore.
I wonder what is the original reason to mount the lower inlet so high in the transformer, a little below mid way on the side? If it was lower, radiators could be larger without extending above the top. e: Looking at the video again, the inlet seems to be lower, but there is a pipe running up the side, why is it made this way? To give clearance and room to service the fans?
@@gearloose703 The reason the radiator is higher than the transformer is because it's oversized for increased cooling and MVA rating.
The reason I speculate the lower inlet is not at the bottom is to intentionally keep the bottom not so cool in order to limit temperature differential between top and bottom due to proper thermal expansion and proper magnetic permeability.
Got my switchgear and transformer fix for the day. Now off to find some video 1000 Kcmil being pulled....
Surprisingly simple 😂 did not guess that...
Good catch!
Keep the videos coming
Fascinating
Install crew should have had "Checklists"
Man! one day closer.😁
I'm excited!
On a 345KV line, how many amps is the wire carrying?
The wire will carry the same max maps regardless of the voltage. A single 954 ACSR conductor will handle up to 996 amps.
@@spdfreakls1 "Shock it to me, shock it to me!"
Feels like this could and should have been a 2 minute video.
Oil level?
Very interesting. Thanks!
Btw. Microphone sounds better.
too quiet (warching on mobile); if you edit in Premiere - there's volume level gauge, use it; if you do sound volume normalization by ear, it is a good idea to listen to a hi quality sample to calibrate your hearing and hence judge the volume level; good luck with your channel, subed last week, like it so far; please, normalize the sound volume over your new mic
Interesting
I found the level to be fine.
It is a wee bit quiet but audible enough
Awesome content. Keep it up dude.
Like this mic alot
this content is awesome
What is your job title?
Nah... air coulda gotten on one side and not the other because the transformer got tipped when installing.
Ya gotta connect the ankle bone to the leg bone. Not the elbow bone to the ankle bone. That thar's your problem. In correct bone.
JSHP Chinese transformers? Come on America!
Sound is very low with new mic.
ROOT CAUSE: This failed install, is NOT a worker issue. The ROOT cause IS: Transformer commissioning company has a Q.A. CULTURE problem. THAT'S IT. Lack of Q.A. (Quality Assurance). No excuse for this. ZERO. ZEEERRRROOOO! Either somebody is needing to get retired, or somebody needs to get FIRED. Ridiculous! NO LUXURY OF IGNORANCE. NONE. If a HIGHLY TRAINED Q.A. department was riding the installation/commissioning team's ass, this would NEVER EVER EVER EVER HAPPEN. I know. I've seen this EXACT same ROOT CAUSATION ISSUE before. BAD Q.A. PERIOD.
You like talking as you're walking, so you're a walkie-talkie. :D
If you dont have a FLIR you only have the problem.
Not true. There is a backup: "Hey, Ralph! Go up top and put your hand on those radiator vanes and see how hot they are!"
Audio levels are too low.
Audio-wise, there's a fair bit of echo from the room. Being closer to the mic can help, along with some EQ to compensate the (audio) proximity effect so it's not too "boomy". Next, you can hang some thick fabric in front of a wall (the one behind you) and add shaggy carpet to the room if there isn't. That should go some way without being too invasive.
Fascinating - and of course, like most mysteries, completely obvious when you have the answer! And nice when the fix is so 'easy'. Thanks for sharing.