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UER Forum > Archived UE Photography > Government Spiders (Viewed 35172 times)
bouncewiggle 


Location: Johnson City, TN
Gender: Female




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 40 on 9/22/2009 6:31 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by DJ Craig
PM me more.


Let me know what you find out.




Post by Shutter
was it as creepy as the stories made it out to be?


When I went, the creepiest thing was hearing unknown critters scurrying around in the weeds as we walked in. The mobile solitary confinement cells were a little unnerving, too. But sadly I saw no UFOs nor was I accosted by any mercenaries.




Posted by uLiveAndYouBurn
Looks like the second trip was much more productive than the first. I need to go back


Next time, I'm making it to the top of that damn tower. And definitely not leaving my camera at home.

"bouncewiggle, now more entertaining than Jell-O"
Rankine Cycle 


Location: Pittsburgh, PA




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 41 on 9/23/2009 2:48 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by AnAppleSnail


Anyone been there long enough ago to confirm a question about that reactor sitting on top of the roof of unit 2?


If you are referring to Aurelie's photo #2, that is not a reactor, that is whats left of a generator stator.

Very cool exploration, looks like you had tons of fun.

Nice job, congrats. This is very Hartwarming to see....



Jannx 


Location: on Location
Gender: Male


stay low

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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 42 on 9/23/2009 3:59 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
@ applesnail: your post no 30 shows some rods for controls. I'm trying to figure out if this was a nuke power generation plant and if it was did you check for radiation levels? Just curious, considering Pripyat and all....

On topic. Amazing documentation and excellent photos. This is 'a big one' alright.

ue.. it ain't what it usta be...
AnAppleSnail 


Location: Charlotte, NC
Gender: Male


ALL the flashlights!

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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 43 on 9/23/2009 4:08 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Rankine Cycle


If you are referring to Aurelie's photo #2, that is not a reactor, that is whats left of a generator stator.



Ah, your name is appropriate to knowing about such things - that's kinda cool. Wouldn't the turbine have been far away though?

Posted by Jannx
@ applesnail: your post no 30 shows some rods for controls. I'm trying to figure out if this was a nuke power generation plant and if it was did you check for radiation levels? Just curious, considering Pripyat and all....

On topic. Amazing documentation and excellent photos. This is 'a big one' alright.


Aleksandar brought it to my attention that control rods are often radioactive - but these were not. I suspect they were cut out either for salvage, or because local laws mandate that all parts of certain types must be disposed of as if they are radioactive. Thanks about the photos - and we like the big bigs too ;)



Here's that crystal ball I had posted yesterday before Flickr ate it. Click pic for big, and here for stupid big.



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Loki 


Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 44 on 9/23/2009 4:40 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Great story, I really wish we had stuff like this in Aust.

Does anyone know the name of the fall arrest system on the ladder? I'm looking to climb something with what appears to be a similar rail and would like to get an arrester for it.

Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank | Wank
Quarantine 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 45 on 9/23/2009 5:09 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Wow. Just... wow. What a location.

evan-e-cent 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 46 on 9/23/2009 6:18 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by ExplorerLoki
Great story, I really wish we had stuff like this in Aust.

Does anyone know the name of the fall arrest system on the ladder? I'm looking to climb something with what appears to be a similar rail and would like to get an arrester for it.


DJ Craig has been climbing high ladders without any safety precautions but this time he experimented (kiwi style) with his rock climbing harness and carabiners but after he got back he has made up a new general purpose ladder safety system with two large carabiners which are easier to operate. You can see the climbing harness in Post #20. He can explain it better.

It appears that the ladder on the cooling tower has a vertical pipe up the middle (called a carrier rail) for a safety system.

A Google search for "ladder climbing harness" took me to these sites for commercial climbing harnesses. The third link (Saf-T-Climb) takes you to an 18 minute instructional video. At about the 9 minute mark they show how the sleeve device works. It only wraps about three fourths of the way around the pipe so it can slip past the horizontal steps or rungs without being disconnected. It slides freely on the rail unless you pull down on the rope that connects it to the harness, then it clamps onto the rail. It is connected to the climber by a carabiner with a shear pin that breaks if the climber falls, but the climber remains connected by a lanyard that is designed to stretch to absorb the energy of the fall without injuring the climber (a similar concept to a bungee cord).

There are similar (cheaper?) systems designed using a wire rope installed over the ladder ($276 for the grabber).

A third system uses a rectangular box section safety rail with a T-slot in it.

http://www.mytools...klein/connect.html

http://www.saf-t-climb.com/

http://www.saf-t-c...065262b21&item=vid

http://www.nextag....rness/compare-html

http://store.pksafety.net/lasasy.html

http://www.millerf...eLoc+Appl.jpg.html


[last edit 9/23/2009 6:29 AM by evan-e-cent - edited 1 times]

evan-e-cent 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 47 on 9/23/2009 6:48 AM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I have been trying to estimate how high that gigantic cooling tower is. From the photo of people inside the base of the tower, the open triangle base appears to be four times the height of a person or 25 feet high. The tower is about 16 times the height of the base. So that makes the whole tower about 400 feet tall. But that is a crude estimate. I wonder whether there any construction records. Anyone want to count the number of rungs on the ladder next time!

Rankine Cycle 


Location: Pittsburgh, PA




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 48 on 9/23/2009 12:32 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by AnAppleSnail


Ah, your name is appropriate to knowing about such things - that's kinda cool. Wouldn't the turbine have been far away though?



Aleksandar brought it to my attention that control rods are often radioactive - but these were not. I suspect they were cut out either for salvage, or because local laws mandate that all parts of certain types must be disposed of as if they are radioactive. Thanks about the photos - and we like the big bigs too ;)



No, the turbine generator hall would not be far away. What you are calling the 'roof' is actually the operating floor of what would have been the turbine hall. The three openings just to the right of the generator stator are the openings for the low pressure turbines, and the condensers would have been below that, to the right of the three openings would have been the high pressure turbine.

Nothing in this plant is radioactive, and never was. The plant was never even loaded with fuel, let alone went critical. So nothing is hot.

The cooling tower for a unit this size would be around 350 to 425 feet tall depending on design conditions, and the amount of fill installed in it (this cooling tower never had the fill installed prior to the cancellation of the plant). This is a quite typical size cooling tower.




[last edit 9/23/2009 1:37 PM by Rankine Cycle - edited 1 times]

Man Underground 


Location: Oz
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freedom of choice ~ choose well

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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 49 on 9/23/2009 1:00 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Mad location, crazy explorer's, cool photo's. You guys rock.

I know not what I do, but when I do it
Air 


Location: Canada




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 50 on 9/23/2009 3:15 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by evan-e-cent
I have been trying to estimate how high that gigantic cooling tower is. From the photo of people inside the base of the tower, the open triangle base appears to be four times the height of a person or 25 feet high. The tower is about 16 times the height of the base. So that makes the whole tower about 400 feet tall. But that is a crude estimate. I wonder whether there any construction records. Anyone want to count the number of rungs on the ladder next time!


400 feet is 37 stories. I think this is taller. It just could be optical illusion because there is nothing else around, but yeah.

"The extraordinary beauty of things that fail." - Heinrich von Kleist
evan-e-cent 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 51 on 9/23/2009 3:18 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Rankine Cycle
The three openings just to the right of the generator stator are the openings for the low pressure turbines, and the condensers would have been below that, to the right of the three openings would have been the high pressure turbine.

The generator stator is the stationary part of the generator which produces the electricity. The steam turbine spins the rotor inside the stator, creating alternating magnetic fields, which produce alternating electric current in the wires of the stator. The strange thing is that I cannot see any wires at the ends of the stator. What are all the white pieces sticking out of the ends?


The cooling tower for a unit this size would be around 350 to 425 feet tall.

My estimate of 400 feet may not be far off then.

evan-e-cent 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 52 on 9/23/2009 3:34 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by Air 33

400 feet is 37 stories. I think this is taller. It just could be optical illusion because there is nothing else around, but yeah.

I agree it looks higher, but I just checked the satellite pictures and the length of the shadow is 40 times the length of the shadow seen on typical surrounding buildings so about 40 stories high appears to be correct.

And here is a better method. The satellite pictures give a linear scale so you can accurately measure the diameter of the base as 320 feet. A distant view of the tower shows the height is approximately 1.25 times its base diameter. 320 x 1.25 = 400 feet ! The camera tilt may make a slight difference so it could be 425 feet.
[last edit 9/23/2009 3:40 PM by evan-e-cent - edited 1 times]

DJ Craig 

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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 53 on 9/23/2009 3:54 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by evan-e-cent
DJ Craig has been climbing high ladders without any safety precautions but this time he experimented (kiwi style) with his rock climbing harness and carabiners but after he got back he has made up a new general purpose ladder safety system with two large carabiners which are easier to operate. You can see the climbing harness in Post #20. He can explain it better.


Just so as not to lose all my adrenaline junkie cred...I did climb down without it.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..." -Dr. Suess
evan-e-cent 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 54 on 9/23/2009 3:57 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
I was wondering how they constructed the tower.

If you look closely at the inside of the tower in the fisheye photos from TheAppleSnail you can see 30 vertical stripes that taper as they go up, making the diameter of the tower decrease with each level of boxing. When the taper gets down to nothing, they remove two narrow adjacent panels to make room for a new wide wedge section.

Between these tapering units are the imprints of square sections of boxing which are probably not tapered at all. Each square has at least two bolt holes so it can be attached to the layer of concrete below that has already hardened. They would also be attached to adjacent sections of boxing.

I imagine it would be steel boxing inside and out but you would only need one complete circle of boxing at a time and the metal plates can be reused. The concrete would probably be poured continuously in a spiral fashion because if you let one layer dry, the next layer will not stick to it properly.

If you measured the size of one of the square boxing imprints and counted squares you could estimate the height again.

Rankine Cycle 


Location: Pittsburgh, PA




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 55 on 9/23/2009 4:05 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by evan-e-cent

The generator stator is the stationary part of the generator which produces the electricity. The steam turbine spins the rotor inside the stator, creating alternating magnetic fields, which produce alternating electric current in the wires of the stator. The strange thing is that I cannot see any wires at the ends of the stator. What are all the white pieces sticking out of the ends?


My estimate of 400 feet may not be far off then.


This stator has been stripped of her copper. All the white pieces sticking out of the ends are the structure which supports the end turns and the water cooling components. There are no 'wires' leaving per say anyway, its very heavy thick copper busbars..

Here is a picture of one that has not been scrapped and is still installed in the generator housing, but with the rotor removed.

The second picture shows the actual removal of the rotor from the stator...


153848.jpg (118 kb, 800x533)
click to view


153849.jpg (97 kb, 800x533)
click to view




mascarah 


Location: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
Gender: Female




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 56 on 9/23/2009 4:24 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
rankine cycle is correct. there were to be more levels and that is a generator sitting on the "roof". however, rankine cycle, i do have a photo i would like you to look at.

now, on with the show.

i love the smell of nuclear in the morning.


if you look VERY closely you will be able to spot the little man. he hides in plain view.


we are mildly naive to the dangers that surround us.


what's your reaction?


nearly the only sign that something the size of human has ever existed here.


i do not trust their roping abilities.


our campsite was phenomenal. through the rust colored doorway is the reactor housing.


vacancy. enjoying the calm.


government spider webs. look closely.


there are millions more photos where these came from so if you want to see more, PM me, and i'll post them.

Life and death are only temporary but freedom goes on forever. Find me on: Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr.
\/adder 


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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 57 on 9/23/2009 4:26 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
3-400 feet you say? I was hoping they'd be taller. Ahh once you get above like 60' you're dead no matter what you land on. (hell you can die from a 15' fall if you land on razorwire or your neck)

I don't know, really. I found that around the 60-120' mark is when my palms start to sweat but above that my adrenaline levels even out. There's no difference in my acrophobia 150' to 300' or more. Wind picks up the minute you get above the treeline, though.

"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis...
aurelie 


Location: pacific northwest
Gender: Female


high tech:: low life.

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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 58 on 9/23/2009 4:32 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Posted by TheVicariousVadder

I don't know, really. I found that around the 60-120' mark is when my palms start to sweat but above that my adrenaline levels even out. There's no difference in my acrophobia 150' to 300' or more. Wind picks up the minute you get above the treeline, though.


I seem to have a curious un-awareness of heights; the part that got to me was where the ladder curved in against the tower. Not as bad as it looks from the ground though. And yes, it was very windy.


reckless thoughts abide; anachronistic and impulsive.

loosely jacketed against the cold and ten thousand worlds for the choosing.
Rankine Cycle 


Location: Pittsburgh, PA




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Re: Government Spiders
<Reply # 59 on 9/23/2009 5:00 PM >
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
 
Sure, shoot me the pic...

Correct, the tower should have been built as a continuous pour with no 'cold joints' if all went well...



THese photos are all excellent by the way !!!!!


[last edit 9/23/2009 5:14 PM by Rankine Cycle - edited 1 times]

UER Forum > Archived UE Photography > Government Spiders (Viewed 35172 times)
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