WaterAndPowerTroubleshooting

Water and Power Troubleshooting

No Power If you find that there is no power at an outlet, especially if it had power just a moment ago, A good first check is to see if the generator is running. If it has shut down, see the next section. If it is running, proceed in this section.

First check to see if you are connected to a power strip. These often have switches and circuit breakers. Have a device like a light or an electric drill that you can plug into each socket as you trace the extension cord back. Follow the extension cord back towards its source. Often extension cords are chained through multiple triple taps and someone will unplug something because they ran out of space at that junction. If you get all the way to the break-out box and there is still no power, check the breakers on the break-out box. If those breakers are OK, there are breakers on the generator itself. If any of these breakers are tripped, you must inform David or someone on the electrical staff.

Generator Shutdown If you find that the generator has shut down on its own, first check the temperature gauge on the top of the box. The box temperature should not be higher than 40°F above ambient. Next check that there is fuel in the tank. Use the hand bulb to pressurize the fuel line and restart by reaching in the access hole and depressing the rocker switch. If the Genny starts, hang around for a few minutes to make sure it doesn't stumble. You may need to squeeze the fuel bulb a bit more. Also check that the cooling fan is running. If the cooling fan is not running check to see that the breaker on that circuit is not tripped.

Tripped Breakers If the breakers on the break-out box or on the face of the generator have been tripped, we need to find the cause for the trip. These are the last failsafes for our power system and we can't ignore the warnings they are providing. If we know that the reason for the tripped breaker was a bone-head short circuit fine, but if it was due to an overload then we need to balance the loads or reduce usage in general.

The first place to start is with the meters on either side of the break-out panel. These present voltage and current for each of the circuits. The currents should be under 25 amps on each leg and each leg should be within 25% of each other if operating at higher amperages. If this is during the heat of the day and there is significant cooling happening, this is an excellent time to rethink the circuits. The largest loads are the start-ups of the air conditioners like the one in the vegetable cool box. If 2 A/C's are attempting to start at the same time, it could easily overwhelm a circuit.

If you think that you know the cause for the overload, feel free to take some corrective action but be sure to tell someone on the electrical team what you have done and what you observed. IF you do not feel comfortable with that decision, just inform the electrical team.

No Water Flowing The first question here is "are you referring to the foot pumps or the faucets at the shower?

Footpumps

If you are trying to get water at one of the sinks with the foot pump and there is some back pressure on the pump lever, that means that someone has turned the valve off at the sink faucet. Open the valve and it should operate normally. If the valve is open and the foot pump actuates normally but no water flows, check that the pump inlet hose is in the reservoir bucket. If it is in place but the bucket is empty, check that the main pump is operational and that there is water in the large tank. See the next section. If there is water in the reservoir and the pump is working as it should, there is a problem with the float valve in the reservoir that feeds the float pump. Try shaking the reservoir or opening the lid and jostling the blue float on the underside of the unit.

Shower Faucet.

If there is no water when you open the faucet at the shower, check to see that there is water in the tank that serves that line. If the tank is empty unplug that pump so that it doesn't overheat. Notify someone on the plumbing crew. If the tank is full check to see that the pump is plugged in and operational. It should start automatically when the faucet is opened. You may also want to check the hose from the pump to the faucet to see that it is not kinked or that a car has not parked on it. If all these things check out. Notify someone on the plumbing crew.

Greywater backed up

If you mean that the greywater basin below the sink or shower is overfull, then this is the correct section. If you mean that the large 250 gallon greywater tank behind the trailer is overfull, then refer to the next section.

The greywater collection bins are emptied with a combination of sump pump and float switch.

We ran out of Greywater Capacity

If you are noticing that the greywater tank is full and overflowing, take immediate action to stop the flow of greywater into the tank. Go to each of the three grey water pumps and unplug them. There is one at the shower, the kitchen and the hand wash station. Each of these pumps has a reservoir that can accumulate some greywater until a strategy can be created to deal with the problem.

The 30' trailer has a grey and a black water tank with a combined capacity of about 100 gallons. It is possible to take the pump from the shower and direct the outlet hose into the greywater fill port on the side of the trailer. Make sure that there is a collection basin underneath it to catch what falls when it over fills. There may also be a wye valve to direct the flow to the other tank. These details will be amended once the trailer is modified. Make sure the plumbing crew is made aware of this as these tanks will need to be emptied when the greywater tank is dumped. One the 100 gallons has ben removed from the tank, a decision can be made to modify water usage depending upon when the next dump is scheduled.

water reservoir is leaking

If you notice a leak around one of the 5 gallon fresh water reservoirs at the side of the kitchen, immediately turn off the supply valve to the reservoir at the pump. The problem may be that the float valve is sticking and the reservoir is completely full to the point of flowing over the top. Remove the reservoir lid and jostle the blue float on the underside of the valve. turn the water on again and ascertain that lifting the float completely stops the flow of water. If it does not, you may need to rebuild or replace the valve. Get the plumbing crew involved.

If the reservoir is not over-full, the leak is probably from the hose connection. Disconnect and check the selling gasket. There are more gaskets in the plumbing supply box.

Refrigerators are not Cold

Vegetable Toolbox is too warm

Misting system is not working

Generator is overheating

We ran out of Fresh water

The stove Won't put our enough heat