# Fish plant



## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Wowzers,

Just had a big job at the fish plant fall into my lap. Can't blab about it too much due to their corporate secrecy policies, but long story short: they are completely gutting one of their facilities and basically starting from scratch. Original building was built in the 1930s or so, and it has been hacked into piecemeal since then. The primary purposes of this particular facility have been ice production, cold storage, and processing fish and dungeness crab.

The existing refrigeration system is a cobbled-together mess consisting of 3 primary ammonia compressors at about 200 hp each and 3 booster pumps at 125 hp each or so (which run intermittently). These were running the ice production equipment, several freezer storage rooms, and a big chiller tank.

All of that is coming out. Replacing it is several brand new ammonia compressors totalling over 2000 hp, plus a ton of auxiliary equipment, processing machines, dock hoists, and so forth.

The building itself needs some major structural work and is already being worked on by a contractor. First big target date is in June for Pacific Whiting season but we will probably be on site for a year or two revamping everything. I'm really excited. This is my first BIG project I get to take on myself. I'm also running around taking care of troubleshooting and maintenance issues at the other plants on the Newport bayfront.

First issue to deal with is the existing service. It's a 3000 amp service supplied by a 1500 kVA utility transformer, neither of which will be adequate for the future load. In fact, the power company thinks that their primary feed to this area of town is not big enough, because a competing fish plant down the street is also doubling their load. We'll see how that turns out.

In the meantime, I'm doing a lot of demo work and running temporary power as we pare down all the unnecessary stuff for construction. Here's the view I had the other morning from the fish plant dock:


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

You're on your own now, congrats.


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Shockdoc said:


> You're on your own now, congrats.


Nah I'm working for my regular employer. I don't have any desire to run my own company at this time. Boss is giving me free reign on this job though.

Getting geared up to take the Oregon Supervisor test, though.


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

It's a great thing but there is a ton of responsiblity. I had a state spec'd job in 98' that my boss tossed on me. I goofed by not reading the fine print on the plans. I sized all my HR conduit runs for 3ph mwbcs. The state spec'd individual neutrals and #10 wire. They were some pretty miserable pulls and my boss did gave me static over it.


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## Bootss (Dec 30, 2011)

erics37 said:


> Nah I'm working for my regular employer. I don't have any desire to run my own company at this time. Boss is giving me free reign on this job though.
> 
> Getting geared up to take the Oregon Supervisor test, though.


Does Oregon have pretty strict electrical worker licensing?I think compared to California ,Oregon is pretty strict.


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## CADPoint (Jul 5, 2007)

Sounds fun! :thumbsup:


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Got engineers & archy's in it Eric?

~CS~


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

My job for today - six trims, four devices and an AC disconnect - pales in comparison  .


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

erics37 said:


> Wowzers,
> 
> Just had a big job at the fish plant fall into my lap.


dang, I thought this thread was gonna contain some titties or something.


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## dave91 (Jan 8, 2015)

We had a contract to wire a crap processing plant in Nova Scotia turned out to be the provinces largest plant I recommend you have an engineer on your staff at all times we install all soft starts on the worm drive motors for the refrigeration . We used across the line starters elsewhere . All the conveyor belts were complete with VFDs . Its going to be a large contract to complete My advice keep on top of all the invoicing some large company's love dealing with small company's Good Luck 
www.dfinlayelectrical.com


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## NacBooster29 (Oct 25, 2010)

Wow, sounds like a great project! I'm sure you will Excel and meet all the deadlines. You seem very diligent and task oriented. 
Keep us up to date as things progress


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Lep said:


> Does Oregon have pretty strict electrical worker licensing?I think compared to California ,Oregon is pretty strict.


Yeah, pretty stringent.



chicken steve said:


> Got engineers & archy's in it Eric?
> 
> ~CS~


Their corporate HQ has a really good engineering staff. They designed their shrimp plant from the ground up a few years ago; PLC integrated everything. Similar setup here. I'm already familiar with how they like doing things so it should be pretty smooth.


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## sparky970 (Mar 19, 2008)

I get you smell like fish. Congrats, have fun


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## Chris1971 (Dec 27, 2010)

Take progress pictures and post them if you can. Nice to see quality work being done by professionals.


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## RIVETER (Sep 26, 2009)

erics37 said:


> Wowzers,
> 
> Just had a big job at the fish plant fall into my lap. Can't blab about it too much due to their corporate secrecy policies, but long story short: they are completely gutting one of their facilities and basically starting from scratch. Original building was built in the 1930s or so, and it has been hacked into piecemeal since then. The primary purposes of this particular facility have been ice production, cold storage, and processing fish and dungeness crab.
> 
> ...


Make your life easy. You are an electrician. Let them hire an engineer to tell you what to do. You should not care if it is ammonia, R-501, CO2, or whatever. Let them tell you what the service...etc., should be.


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## Frank Mc (Nov 7, 2010)

erics37 said:


> Wowzers,
> 
> Just had a big job at the fish plant fall into my lap. Can't blab about it too much due to their corporate secrecy policies, but long story short: they are completely gutting one of their facilities and basically starting from scratch. Original building was built in the 1930s or so, and it has been hacked into piecemeal since then. The primary purposes of this particular facility have been ice production, cold storage, and processing fish and dungeness crab.
> 
> ...


Good Luck with the project Eric,post some pics when you can
Frank


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Couple weeks in and it's all demo work so far!

They are keeping their ice production machinery running for a couple more weeks but everything else is getting gutted, ripped out, demolished, and rebuilt. Bit by bit I've been de-energizing and removing equipment that doesn't pertain to the ice facility. All that's left at this point is the service equipment, a couple feeders for existing compressors and the ice making machinery, and a few temporary construction power circuits I ran.

Power company is getting started on installing a new, bigger 12.5 kV underground primary line for this neighborhood. They are going to give us two 1500 kVA transformers for the new service. Electrical distribution is pretty much all designed and laid out on paper. Service equipment getting ordered on Monday. Gonna be fighting for space with the refrigeration guys but we'll make it work.

Fun project so far! Demo work for a bit longer.


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## dronai (Apr 11, 2011)

Arrrrrhhhh Mate !


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## retiredsparktech (Mar 8, 2011)

sparky970 said:


> I get you smell like fish. Congrats, have fun


What does a blind man say when he walks past the place?
"G'morning girls."


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

sparky970 said:


> I get you smell like fish. Congrats, have fun


id rather work in a fish plant than a paper mill (ugh)
johnsonburg Pa. we nicknamed that place the town of the unending and unbearable fart

frankly i could deal with the smells in a morgue better than that place.


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## pete87 (Oct 22, 2012)

Is this Fish Plant for all the Fukushima Fish ?




Pete


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

gnuuser said:


> id rather work in a fish plant than a paper mill (ugh)
> johnsonburg Pa. we nicknamed that place the town of the unending and unbearable fart
> 
> frankly i could deal with the smells in a morgue better than that place.


Which Johnsonburg?


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

erics37 said:


> Original building was built in the 1930s or so, and it has been hacked into piecemeal since then. The primary purposes of this particular facility have been ice production, cold storage, and processing fish and dungeness crab.


I did 2 years of apprenticeship for a company that specialized in grocery store remodels. 

The smells that develop in the days fallowing the powering down of a seafood lineup are unspeakable.


You may eat seafood again, but you will never look at it the same way again.


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## daks (Jan 16, 2013)

five.five-six said:


> I did 2 years of apprenticeship for a company that specialized in grocery store remodels.
> 
> The smells that develop in the days fallowing the powering down of a seafood lineup are unspeakable.
> 
> ...


 Walked in to quote a job at a rendering plant.
That was like sucking in farts from roadkill.


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

LARMGUY said:


> Which Johnsonburg?


northwest Pa. in elks county
had to go to help investigate a fire in a conveyor tunnel
seriously wished for an scba face mask (not from the smoke)
I honestly could not understand how people could live in that town or work there


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

pete87 said:


> Is this Fish Plant for all the Fukushima Fish ?


:laughing: I've been making that joke for like 4 years now. No one likes it 

Really though, the fish smell is nasty but it's nothing especially noteworthy. You get used to it. All the seafood is right off the boat and gets processed and then immediately frozen. Not really any time for it to go bad, except the random guts and chunks the seagulls get a hold of.

By far the worst and most noxious thing I've ever inhaled was a lungful of ammonia. They use it as a refrigerant and it works great but when a pipe springs a leak or something it gets horrific QUICK. They have issued me an ammonia mask but I don't haul it around with me all the time. One whiff of that stuff and I'm done. F*ck this job, I'm going to the bar. :laughing:


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

no, the nasty part is when you power down a freezer, and all the hidden goop that's been frozen for decades thaws out.. that's a very special kind of smell.


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## papaotis (Jun 8, 2013)

eric, yes all those other smells are terrible, but ammonia can kill you quick!


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