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From http://status.fogcreek.com/2012/10/fog-creek-services-updates.html http://status.fogcreek.com/2012/10/fog-creek-services-update...: "Here's the physical s
by rexreed 14y ago
From http://status.fogcreek.com/2012/10/fog-creek-services-updates.html http://status.fogcreek.com/2012/10/fog-creek-services-update...:
"Here's the physical situation:
The generators are on a high floor in the building and the pumps supplying the generators with fuel are submerged. The best option at this point is for people to physically lug diesel up over a dozen floors, or make other arrangements for pumping fuel to that high floor. "
Yes, a generator not in the basement / ground level makes sense. When a flood happens, it usually happens from the ground floor up ;) Thus why generators are at the upper levels.
Even in this case, using a pump solution makes little sense. Assuming you have electricity to power the pump, I suppose you could power the pump with the electricity from the remaining fuel, but a 17 floor pipe containing fuel would probably be heavier (and more dangerous) than a long mains power cord, and it wouldn't make sense to have a 17 floor cable to power the pump with the pump at the bottom of the run than it would to have just the pipe of fuel running the length of 17 floors and the pump at the top of the run.
Time for a winch? I don't think Home Depot stocks a 17 story pipe, and relocating the generator probably will take more time than just winching / carrying up the barrels.
- nitrogen 14y agoI believe having the pumps at the bottom makes sense because you only have ~14PSI of atmospheric pressure to use to pull the fuel up if the pump were at the top, but you can generate as much pressure as you need at the bottom to push the fuel up.
- jlgreco 14y agoGenerators higher up makes sense, but 17 stories high? I suppose real-estate concerns limit where you can put them though.
- mhp 14y agoIn this case, I think you are correct. Need lots of exhaust so have to be on the roof. One police plaza just tore the side of their building off to make room for generator exhaust. It's a warzone in lower manhattan right now.
- jlgreco 14y agoWow, that is pretty nuts. Did they install temporary generators, or did they run into unanticipated ventilation issues with existing generators?
- alexhawdon 14y agoWhy not store the fuel on the same floor as the generators? I understand that this might be a fire-safety issue. In which case I would agree that a winch should have been installed. (I'm possibly missing something else obvious here!)