The Case of the Temperamental Comms System
THE MYSTERY A large municipality hired ACES to upgrade their telemetry system from MDS serial to MDS Ethernet radios. We replaced almost twenty radios and installed two access points. After the replacement one access point periodically locked up. Cycling power would...The Case of the Condemned Generator
THE MYSTERY A large aerospace company in Kansas owned a large industrial generator that wasn’t generating; it was subsequently sold to two different companies — neither of which could make it work —so the generator was condemned. THE CLUES The first thing the ACES...The Case of the Frozen Drive
THE MYSTERY A Yaskawa 515 variable frequency drive at a local aerospace company wasn’t starting. The VFD had been working correctly until suddenly stalling in its tracks. THE CLUES Upon arriving on the scene the CSI immediately recognized that the VFD run light was...The Case of the Overeager Pump
THE MYSTERY The freshwater division of a municipal water works complained that one of three pumps at a lift station was running constantly, causing the hydrostatic chamber to drain empty. This, in turn, caused the other pumps to come on, and eventually put so much pressure on the system that the pipes burst. The system was only rated for 93 psi, but with the other pumps running the pressure shot up to 130 psi.
The Case of the Transplanted Oven
THE MYSTERY An aircraft company purchased a large used oven and had it moved to their location. They set up the oven and lit it, but it would not stay lit. The customer removed duct work and replaced the burner, but the oven still refused to stay lit. THE CLUES...The Case of the Salt Bath Burner Gone Bad
THE MYSTERY A local company had a power failure during the night. They have a large salt bath with two burners. One burner relit automatically but the second would not relight — and upon manual relighting would not stay lit.
The Case of the Mysterious Flame Rod
THE MYSTERY A paint bake oven for a plating company would quit burning at random. The sensor in the flame rod was reporting no contact with fire