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 bfinan0
 
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
 |  |  | Steam tunnels: how to find them
< on 1/28/2009 10:29 PM >
|  | | | For those of you in the northeast US and southeast Canada, or anyplace else there are steam tunnels and snowstorms, it seems that snowfall provides a few nearly 100% accurate ways of finding steam tunnels.
[0. Some covers will simply say, in large block letters, "STEAM."]
1. As the snow first starts falling, and sticking to the ground, look in parking lots, sport fields, and other large expanses that may have tunnels under them. Sometimes, an otherwise inexplicable line of melted/non-adhering snow will appear, signifying a steam tunnel (found one under the 10-yard-line at the scoreboard end, in my case), and then disappear as more snow falls and the radiant heat from the tunnel is no longer enough to melt it.
2. After some more snow (1-2 inches), if the temperature is relatively close to freezing a similar phenomenon may occur under pavement/sidewalks. If there has been very little traffic, look for paths with inexplicably (not due to salting/plowing) little snow on them.
3. Also with about this much snow, manhole covers begin to differentiate themselves: electrical and telecom covers have no temperature about them and become snow-covered very shortly after their surroundings. Sanitary sewers, depending on size, will also snow over rather quickly. At this point, only the storm drains (usually open grates, slightly warmer than air temperature) and steam tunnels (usually closed covers) will remain. Add a few more inches (6 or so), and only the steam tunnel covers will be visible. These will be completely clear still, and often warm to the touch as well.
4. It is also possible to determine if the "STEAM" marked covers are inactive, as some of them are, since an inactive tunnel will obviously be cooler than an active steam tunnel.
Results, after about half an hour of looking: 29 confirmed steam tunnel entrances, 24 inactive (marked or suspected) steam tunnel, 11 storm drain, all the rest (dozens) sanitary and/or electric.
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\/adder
  
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 1 on 1/29/2009 4:04 AM >
| | | | I just look for steam coming out of a manhole cover...
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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bfinan0
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 2 on 1/29/2009 4:23 AM >
| | | | Posted by TheVicariousVadder
I just look for steam coming out of a manhole cover...
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I don't know what kind of steam tunnels you have, but none of the ones here have ever done that...
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Dick Winter
Location: Richmond
Gender: Male
| | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 3 on 1/29/2009 4:36 AM >
| | | | That's a bunch of good ideas. Where I live, the steam tunnel covers have small holes in them, so I just look into all the manholes I see. Also, i just found maps of the steam tunnel system, which is a lot easier.
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Dowcet
   
Location: Middletown, ct
| |  | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 4 on 1/29/2009 4:37 AM >
| | | | Posted by bfinan0
I don't know what kind of steam tunnels you have, but none of the ones here have ever done that...
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I've seen it in Manhattan and multiple campuses of the University of Massachusetts. I would guess that it is only newer and more well-maintained systems that don't release visible steam through the manholes.
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micro
 
Gender: Male
Slowly I turned
| | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 5 on 1/29/2009 4:46 AM >
| | | | Posted by bfinan0
3. Also with about this much snow, manhole covers begin to differentiate themselves: electrical and telecom covers have no temperature about them and become snow-covered very shortly after their surroundings. Sanitary sewers, depending on size, will also snow over rather quickly. At this point, only the storm drains (usually open grates, slightly warmer than air temperature) and steam tunnels (usually closed covers) will remain. Add a few more inches (6 or so), and only the steam tunnel covers will be visible. These will be completely clear still, and often warm to the touch as well.
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I don't know what's going on in your crazy city, but sanitary sewers are always warmer than storm drains. They'll burn through the snow that's fallen on top of their lids relatively quickly.
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bfinan0
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 6 on 1/29/2009 4:47 AM >
| | | | Posted by Dowcet
I've seen it in Manhattan and multiple campuses of the University of Massachusetts. I would guess that it is only newer and more well-maintained systems that don't release visible steam through the manholes.
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Maybe part of the problem is that both the campus and city systems are 80+- % abandoned/deprecated/underutilized. Many tunnels, even those marked "STEAM", contain nothing active anymore, while others may have only one active line, and many empty.
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bfinan0
Location: Rochester, NY
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 7 on 1/29/2009 4:48 AM >
| | | | Posted by micro
I don't know what's going on in your crazy city, but sanitary sewers are always warmer than storm drains. They'll burn through the snow that's fallen on top of their lids relatively quickly.
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The sanitary sewers are deeper, at least in the area I was observing (within 1/2 mile of the river), and are also smaller lines farther from downtown.
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\/adder
Location: DunkarooLand
Gender: Male
I'm the worst of the best but I'm in this race.
| | | Re: Steam tunnels: how to find them
<Reply # 8 on 1/29/2009 4:55 PM >
| | | | Posted by bfinan0
I don't know what kind of steam tunnels you have, but none of the ones here have ever done that...
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Seen it at University of Connecticut. Which during one of their "party nights" the cops and campus police are so occupied with the 10s of thousands of drunk kids, access would be easy. The only time I've been to UCONN; I was one of the drunk kids.
"No risk, no reward, no fun."
"Go all the way or walk away"
escensi omnis... |
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