We use those same thermocouples in some spots. Knew what it was immediately. No idea what is up with that configuration though. Redundancy since there isn't any isolation valves? Let me know when you find out.

Speaking of walls. The wall in this hotel room has this hole in it. I wish I partied this hard.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fd42c1aff6.jpg

I've no idea. Doubt I ever will.

That arrangement is located about 30 feet away from a row of the pumps which move water through the cooling system of the building, from the various chiller loops on the middle to upper floors up to the evaporation towers on the uppermost roof (effectively the 107th floor.) Purple is the color used for condenser water at Sears, so I assume that's a monitoring loop on one of the cooling water circuits. I just have no idea why it has four thermocouples in a row. Makes no sense.

A few of the cooling water pumps located across the room from the previous photo:


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce1d6d8bf7.png

Hard to describe the scale of these pumps, and the piping connected to them. They are large. I'd guesstimate that those pipes are around 16" diameter. They tie into horizontal runners which are probably 3 feet in diameter. There is a lot of water moving through this building.

I can only hazard a guess. It is an energy transfer point where the heat content, either hot or cold water / steam is sold. Two T/C belong to seller and two to buyer of said energy. Two each for redundancy.

There would have to be a flow meter in the main stream for that to make sense, as well as another set of T/C’s at the other side of the flow loop.

Flow * ( Temp out - Temp in) * Specific heat of liquid = Energy transferred. Plus heat of phase change if there is one involved, as in heat supplied in the form of steam.

DNM

I would expect better insulation were that the case.

My guess is that the two on the right are not actually connected to anything, and that at some point, those pipes on the right connected directly into a heat exchanger. When the heat exchanger was removed, the plumbers did not have any standard 90* elbows with them at that moment, but did have thermocouples and the thermocouple-related 90* elbows, so those were installed with the full thermocouple cabling to make it appear correct and wired into the electrical box which was conveniently located and had two available knockouts.

The two on the left were before/after sensors for the heat exchanger...?

I thought about that later. It was a wild stab anyway.

Have you thought about a career in conspiracy theories? Not saying you are not correct, but surely creative. :)

DNM

Hey Joe, check out the condition of ours.
The moron here bought the aluminum hosing type instead of the plastic ones.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f28890f300.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...244bf20fbe.jpg

RE: 4 thermocouples- Maybe a wheatstone bridge?

https://www.ametherm.com/thermistor/...atstone-bridge

Same circuit used in every cheap digital bathroom scale.

No idea whether you are right or not, but that sounds logical to me.

T/C's and strain gauges are worlds apart. No correlation except wiring is involved.

DNM

Has anyone ever thought about extending the capacity of our oil pans?

I'm thinking I could raise the volume up to 6 qts, and the 50% increase would be pretty beneficial.
As in, adding rectangular bulges to either side in the back (deeper portion) and incorporating hollow tubes to access the mounting bolts.
They would be designed to have a slightly sloping bottom towards the center to facilitate drainage, and just high enough so that they would have no oil sloshing around.
The drain would have to be relocated to the back, but that really is no problem at all.

More oil means easier heat management, longer drain intervals, and more...

Am I crazy?

Yes. Yes, you are.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with your enlarged oil pan, you're just plain, bat-shit crazy.

My mental health notwithstanding, what would you have to say about the oil pan idea?

Go for it as long as replacement pans are easy to source in your area.

i added a remote oil filter kit on my cessna 172 so that i would have two extra quarts to help with cooling the engine while climbing to altitude. it worked.

How are you liking owning that C172? I'm training on one, and of course I entertain the wallet-draining notion of buying an old plane to build hours on. My budget would tend more towards a 150 or a Piper 140, though; the 172s are going for silly money - at least up here in Canada - these days. All else being equal, I think I'd rather the Cessna over the Piper, but maybe not at twice the money.

Recognizing that you didn't ask me:

Most of my hours were in a 172. It's not a glamorous airplane, but it's spacious, comfortable and practical. Basically the equivalent of owning a late 80s Dodge Caravan.

The 152 was very nearly impossible for me to fit into. I think we did one lesson in it while N6066R was offline for maintenance. It also didn't feel as composed to me, personally. Kinda of... twitchy.

If I were spending my own money, I'd go for the Cherokee. Yes, it's a weird airplane in a lot of ways, but it looks so much less dorky than the high-wing Cessna.

+1 on the piper for me (simple warrior will do), but dad prefers the cessna.

I prefer a high wing and a tail wheel.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9d74930054.gif