Sept 17-21, 2012: First day back to school and a big generator

This week I learned more about relays and solenoids. I took apart two of them that I had had issues with and it turns out the contacts were worn out. I learned why we use relays instead of switch because the relay is the wear point and it saves critical switches from high current. I also learned the difference between relays and solenoids and how we use them in the industry. I also took some pictures of someone doing an engine service on a 372 KW generator. Pretty big oil filter!
Here is also how a dc motor works. This can be made to demonstrate how simple it is : http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=TL8kUd7ZKsA

45 hrs
Total to date for new quarter: 45 hrs

Sept 11-14, 2012: oil cooled engines and broken cylinders

Most of these pictures are actually from a couple weeks ago, but I thought they were to good to not show. I learned about how an oil cooled engine works. I don't mean an air cooled engine, I actually mean there is a radiator and a thermostat except there is no water involved. The engine oil has always been used to help cool the engine, but with this engine you can see the cooling jackets on the open cylinder heads. I also learned more about hydraulic cylinders and bad hydraulic hoses.

40 hrs
Total to date: 550hrs

Sept 4- 7, 2012: park brakes and mower decks

This week I learned how the mechanical park brake works on a RS5. It basically looks the same as disc brakes on a car except on this forklift it is on the front drive shaft. I also learned how to adjust the brakes. This one wasn't holding so I took off the back dash panel and it turned out that there is a small screw on the top of the handle to change the angle of the pivot point. Very smart design.

40 hrs
Total to date: 510hrs

Aug 28-31, 2012 : 1600 cfm air compressors

This week, one of the new things I learned was about electrical switches and how to use what you have. It turned out that we got a switch that had four terminals on the end and we only needed two. We realized that by checking with an ohmmeter we could just use the two terminals that we needed. In the end it worked and I learned a good lesson.

40hrs
Total to date: 470 hrs

Aug. 21-24, 2012 : wheel bearings and breakers

This week I got to do my first wheel bearing service on a forklift. I learned about different styles of wheel seal. This style you install it on the spindle. I also made my own hub seal installer because we didn't have one. I also got to make brand new hoses for a breaker on a 160 excavator. It was interesting dealing with such large hoses, but in the end using the same techniques to make the small ones.

40hrs
Total to date: 430 hrs