A Scrapper's Dream - Page 7

In two weeks, 3,000 miles have been put on my butt crossing the midwest. 30 miles from Omaha a strange thing happened. Going 70 mph hauling a 30 ft. gooseneck loaded with a skid steer and all the attachments owned, a crack was heard. Looked back to see a wheel and tire from the trailer in turbo speed flying across the interstate. It seems the wheel broke all the lugs from the wheel assembly and decided to pursue it's own uncharted path. Limped into Omaha, unloaded skid steer and trailer and went to relax. I have no idea what happened, but since no one was hurt I am feeling much better now. If anyone knows what causes this, I would love to know. Otherwise it was a freak event in scrapping that will reveal itself someday.

This is the ramp that was built to allow access to the bottom level of the building and the staging area for extracting the metal from the building with a excavator.

This is a picture of the west side of the power plant. The following pictures will show how the metal will be removed from the power plant from this perspective.

That doesn't look like much of an opening haha ; ) but, it does look like one hek of a foundation. That ramp could be utilized for future deliveries etc, long as security was under control. Is the river side of the building close enough to the bank to warrant any concerns over years of bank erosion or water damage to the substructure? What shows of it here looks like a very well made foundation.
I like those old glass block lights. Also those weep holes did their job well too. That's a great looking building there.
I thumbed through those past projects once and that old livestock sales building really stood out. They did some fine work up there Patriot

Originally Posted by Bear

That doesn't look like much of an opening haha ; ) but, it does look like one hek of a foundation. That ramp could be utilized for future deliveries etc, long as security was under control. Is the river side of the building close enough to the bank to warrant any concerns over years of bank erosion or water damage to the substructure? What shows of it here looks like a very well made foundation.
I like those old glass block lights. Also those weep holes did their job well too. That's a great looking building there.
I thumbed through those past projects once and that old livestock sales building really stood out. They did some fine work up there Patriot

A larger opening will be made this week that will eventually be the entrance ramp to the basement parking. The Burlington Northern railroad tracks sit between the river and this building so if any problems exist, it will affect them before us.

Only too recently I became schooled on the availability of torque sticks to monitor wheel nut torque. We all know what under-tightened wheel nuts produce. Same with overtight. I've also lost wheel, tire AND hub when a spindle broke. Scared the heck out of a herd of cattle one day as the wheel went bouncing through the pasture. I need to invest in one or two of these or at least use a torque wrench.

Torque Stick

Originally Posted by Yunkman

Only too recently I became schooled on the availability of torque sticks to monitor wheel nut torque. We all know what under-tightened wheel nuts produce. Same with overtight. I've also lost wheel, tire AND hub when a spindle broke. Scared the heck out of a herd of cattle one day as the wheel went bouncing through the pasture. I need to invest in one or two of these or at least use a torque wrench.

Torque Stick

Thank you Yunkman. I think I will be investing in a few when I return to my farm scrapping. Until then a new computer will be the next investment.

Met the captain of the Omaha Bomb Squad today. They will be blasting several holes in the building in the basement to allow us to move metal below ground level. Good PR, cheap labor, and creating a great network.

Also met a fellow scrapper that has been doing it for 28 years. Very knowledgeable and created more contacts for this challenge. Also have a great burner on the crew that will provide another opportunity to learn. More information will be provided about these resources as time goes by. We are training several other individuals to become burners and so far, so good. Today the crew numbered nine individuals. We hope to have 20 within two weeks.

I was wondering where my pictures were.

Only 2? Stop slacking Patriot! I need my picture fix.

Keep up the good job, I'm enjoying following the threads. I want to know where your hiding the coolers...you did bring one right? Mine is there in spirit!

Sirscrapalot - Entertained, Keep'm coming.

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

I was wondering where my pictures were.

Only 2? Stop slacking Patriot! I need my picture fix.

Keep up the good job, I'm enjoying following the threads. I want to know where your hiding the coolers...you did bring one right? Mine is there in spirit!

Sirscrapalot - Entertained, Keep'm coming.

Problems with the computer prevent speedy communications. The coolers are used to keep the contents from freezing. We keep them outside because it is only zero degrees outside and much colder inside with the concrete and brick.

Hopefully you have a civil engineer helping with designing the blasting--you don't want to screw up any foundations that need to stay in place! Basement walls can also serve as lateral stabilization to column foundations. You aren't always sure of this unless you have a guy that understands this kind of design.

Please be cautious!

Jon.

First, an apology to Sir for the lack of pictures for this post. Still to dark inside for decent pictures. The coal powered plant was remodeled into a fuel oil powered plant. That means in addition to coal fires and coal dust explosions we are now dealing with fuel in tanks and pipes. We started drilling holes in the low points to drain the combustibles but now hope to find a company that will pump the fuel for reuse. To deal with these concerns bags of baking soda, oil absorbent material, and numerous fire extinguishers are available. Each torch has it own fire extinguisher and numerous others are scattered around the building. Several retired supervisors of the plant have been brought in to identify dangerous areas as well as the Omaha Fire Department. We are looking for all resources that can help in the safety of this project.

Originally Posted by Patriot76

This is the fuel tank we need to modify to meet the sales agreement. The capacity of this tank needs to be reduced to meet federal guidelines. One thought was to scrap this tank and replace it with a smaller tank. Then it was suggested that we cut a section out and re weld the tank. In a discussion with a security guard, he suggested we just pour concrete in the bottom of the tank to reduce the capacity. We went from a very expensive plan to a simple solution because a security guard offered some common sense. Lesson - keep your ears open and never underestimate the contributions of others.

How much concrete are you thinking about? It sounds like the simple solution might be pretty costly. I don't have much experience with concrete, but I'm wondering how easy it would be for a large volume of concrete to cure. Also, how would it stress the tank itself while still in a semi-liquid state.[/I]

Too many unknowns on my end, but really don't like the sounds of the adding concrete to the tank to make a smaller tank idea. What's going back in the tank and what is that going to be used for? What happens if the concrete breaks down, crumbles? When it is time to remove everything what will happen? Will it end up costing your company big at that time? Be a hazardous situation?

Can the walls be shortened to make a smaller tank?

Really think you should just remove it and replace with new on this one. Don't try and invent in this situation.

This is a picture of two electric motors that will be sold separately from the rest of the scrap iron. We do not have time to scrap the copper, so I received quotes for these separate. There are over 100 of these motors in the plant, but we have not taken the time to count them. We have been offered .27 cents per pound for these by a local non-ferrous dealer. These motors can be seen in post # 132 above right above the torch sparks. In addition to these small motors the facility has numerous larger motors ranging from 25 lbs. to 2 tons.