The Last of Us

Hydromarty

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Mechanical parts that aren't lubricated don't just stop. They destroy themselves. You can test this by draining the oil out of your car's engine and then running it until it stops.
Generally, in most vertical turbines of the lower head variety, the oil is always on the bearing, unless the oil was drained. And is picked leading edge of the bearing for lubrication. They are designed to be reliable, and are.
 

pharmakos

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does it really matter? my google fu tells me that it's still going to need oil lubricant, and when I look up some different brands of industrial oil lube the largest shelf live I see is 24 months, so even if the oil drain interval is 5 years or more (just quick google i'm seeing three years for hydro lube change interval), you're still fucked
Not like it results in a nuclear explosion when the lubrication wears out. It just stops turning until it's re-lubed.
 

Gravel

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Think BrutulTM BrutulTM hit on the other portion that's more likely to fail than the generator, which has been ignored while you all sperge out about this, and that's the power lines.

And more than that, the power grid. The way our grid is designed is that if something fails, the whole thing shuts off.

If they disconnected it from the grid, I'm curious who the fucking electrician is that setup the transformer to step down the power that the giant dam is producing. I can't imagine megawatts and 10's of thousands of volts are super useful for a town of 500 people.

And while I know the theory behind transformers (coiling copper wire), the likelihood that they have someone who not only can do that, but find the resources to do it, and get the correct wattage and voltage is pretty fucking low.
 
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BrutulTM

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Not like it results in a nuclear explosion when the lubrication wears out. It just stops turning until it's re-lubed.
It doesn't stop turning though. It keeps turning but the metal parts that are rubbing together wear each other into shavings at a much higher rate.
 

Kiroy

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Not like it results in a nuclear explosion when the lubrication wears out. It just stops turning until it's re-lubed.

no, like brutul said, if it runs while not lubed, it seizes. Breaks. It's done. And even if that didn't happen, or you shut it down before seizer, you can't re-lube because your lube is expired and all fucked up.
 

pharmakos

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no, like brutul said, if it runs while not lubed, it seizes. Breaks. It's done. And even if that didn't happen, or you shut it down before seizer, you can't re-lube because your lube is expired and all fucked up.
Some of the turbines might seize but surely at least one would survive. And one would be enough for a small settlement considering that the dam probably used to power at least a whole city if not more
 

Kiroy

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Think BrutulTM BrutulTM hit on the other portion that's more likely to fail than the generator, which has been ignored while you all sperge out about this, and that's the power lines.

And more than that, the power grid. The way our grid is designed is that if something fails, the whole thing shuts off.

If they disconnected it from the grid, I'm curious who the fucking electrician is that setup the transformer to step down the power that the giant dam is producing. I can't imagine megawatts and 10's of thousands of volts are super useful for a town of 500 people.

And while I know the theory behind transformers (coiling copper wire), the likelihood that they have someone who not only can do that, but find the resources to do it, and get the correct wattage and voltage is pretty fucking low.

lol ya it's all fucked after 20 years of nothing
 

BrutulTM

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Think BrutulTM BrutulTM hit on the other portion that's more likely to fail than the generator, which has been ignored while you all sperge out about this, and that's the power lines.

And more than that, the power grid. The way our grid is designed is that if something fails, the whole thing shuts off.

If they disconnected it from the grid, I'm curious who the fucking electrician is that setup the transformer to step down the power that the giant dam is producing. I can't imagine megawatts and 10's of thousands of volts are super useful for a town of 500 people.

And while I know the theory behind transformers (coiling copper wire), the likelihood that they have someone who not only can do that, but find the resources to do it, and get the correct wattage and voltage is pretty fucking low.
If the generator was directly powering the residential line that fed the town then the transformers would already be there. I doubt that's the case though. The power plant probably feeds a transmission line and there's a substation that steps it down to 30kv or whatever is on a residential power line.

Just the poles staying up without maintenance is a long shot though. If you live where there's trees and snow you know poles are going down all the time and that's with the power company going around and testing them for rot. My local power co-op told me that they try to replace 1000 poles a year in addition to the ones that break off for some reason.

Nothing works for long without maintenance.
 
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Hydromarty

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After looking at the turbine from the videos, they are probably outputting great power in good condition. They are horizontal, which makes the oil issue a bigger deal, and scroll case style, making them more complicated, and apparently the generators are driven by a belt or other drive transmission system.

Assuming the oil lubricates, even with age, and after "advertised shelf life" this seems to be a difficult task.
Chances of foh members with Google Search PHDs but no Google search available being able to get this running are slim.
Even assuming a few of you have some mechanical competence, and willingness to use expired oil I think the chances 10 of you and a miracle get THESE turbines running are are very slim.
The oil having to hold the weight of turbine and shaft up (horizontal orientation) instead of just centered (vertical orientation) only hurts.

All that being said, these style turbines with that amount of head doesn't really make sense, but I've not seen every powerhouse ever.
 

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pharmakos

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After looking at the turbine from the videos, they are probably outputting great power in good condition. They are horizontal, which makes the oil issue a bigger deal, and scroll case style, making them more complicated, and apparently the generators are driven by a belt or other drive transmission system.

Assuming the oil lubricates, even with age, and after "advertised shelf life" this seems to be a difficult task.
Chances of foh members with Google Search PHDs but no Google search available being able to get this running are slim.
Even assuming a few of you have some mechanical competence, and willingness to use expired oil I think the chances 10 of you and a miracle get THESE turbines running are are very slim.
The oil having to hold the weight of turbine and shaft up (horizontal orientation) instead of just centered (vertical orientation) only hurts.

All that being said, these style turbines with that amount of head doesn't really make sense, but I've not seen every powerhouse ever.
But the industry standard manuals would still be on site no?
 

pharmakos

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I mean you were the one arguing they would work. I conceded they were using elk fat but you kept on going saying that would work in the real world.
It might take a year or three but after 20 years I'm confident I could get the fuckers working. If you lack confidence in yourself to follow a fucking manual then I feel bad for you.
 

Hydromarty

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But the industry standard manuals would still be on site no?
Giving the variables with head and flow, there's not really a manual, they are pretty much site specific. There are suggested maintenance, and general assembly drawings. Suggested lubricants and such. Basically if a temp gauge goes off, you shut down and investigate. If you heard loud noises, shut down and investigate etc etc.
 
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Kiroy

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It might take a year or three but after 20 years I'm confident I could get the fuckers working. If you lack confidence in yourself to follow a fucking manual then I feel bad for you.

You can't even function irl because of narcolepsy but you're going to get the fucker working after 20 years? I guess we're assuming you're a peak physical fitness show character with godlike macgyver skills, so full circle back to fantasy land I guess
 

Penance

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From the makers of too much brown and knees too sharp...

Turbine lube.

This shit has gone too far. Can we get back to the fucking tampons please.
 

pharmakos

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You can't even function irl because of narcolepsy but you're going to get the fucker working after 20 years? I guess we're assuming you're a peak physical fitness show character with godlike macgyver skills, so full circle back to fantasy land I guess
I can function IRL just other than needing to stay awake for 8 hour cashier shifts and shit. Give me a problem that's actually difficult and my mind stays awake just fine. Eat shit.
 

Kiroy

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let's settle this in a way that's at least circular.

irl there's no way any of this would work and they'd be using lamps that worked off rendered animal fat

in the show, they render animal fat and process it into lube and have a preeminent power specialist, skilled lineman and large turbine experts in their village of 500 people