Synchronous Generators - an overview of construction and operation

I've posted quite a bit about other aspects of power plants - posts about gas turbines, steam turbines, the steam cycle, nuclear reactors, and done a few posts about different or interesting places where I've worked in the past.

Oddly enough, I've never posted about electrical generators before, except for historical electrical progress and small household emergency generators.  It seems a bit odd that I've overlooked this for so many years, because the entire reason power plants are built is to spin the generator!  The machines we will be discussing are actually an alternators, because the output is alternating current.  In the business, we tend to use the term "generator" more often than "alternator", so please bear that in mind while reading.

Annual fire extinguisher training

This is actually pretty fun, even though I lost part of a day off to attend.

Stihl Chainsaw Repair - Model MS362 - *UPDATED*

Late last year I was dropping and limbing a few trees, when I noticed that the chainsaw wasn't using any bar oil.  I stopped using the saw, and shortly afterwards heavy snow fell.  The trees I had felled were buried in snow all winter long - so there was no clean-up.

Minor shop improvements...

I had a little bit of extra material remaining from the big cabinet project, so...

Spring Vacation 2018, Part 2

Part 1 is here:

I did not complete the big project I was working on during vacation in March.  It was a little discouraging.  I was uncertain about my skills building and hanging the doors on the new cabinets, so I held back from doing that.

The Berkely Pit - an unfolding environmental nightmare

I don't suppose many people are aware of the Berkely Pit.  If they live anywhere in the Northwest US, they should be aware of it, and they should be knowledgeable about it.

The past weekend...

...was cut short, as I was called in to work one day.  That left me with 48 hours off, the beginning 7 hours of which I had to sleep.  I got off work at 6:00 AM and trudged off to bed.  That left me with half of Saturday.  Church took half of Sunday.  The weekend was brief.

Tire Changin'

Yesterday I took the winter tires off my little Subaru commuter car.  I have to say this:  That car is a monster on snow and ice with those studded and siped tires.  When you have a Subaru with all wheel drive and four studded tires you really have to mess up to get stuck or lose control.  Yeah it's a little light and may get dragged around in ruts a little, but it always goes forward!

That said, it gets pretty crappy mileage for as tiny as it is, due to the AWD drivetrain.  I get about 24 MPG with the winter tires, and about 27 with the summer tires - or maybe the engine has to run a richer fuel mixture when it's cold...  I don't care.  It gets me to work reliably in all kinds of god-awful weather, so for that reason alone, I love the Subie.