ut6&' ftnY l+ecP t'-t

ttttlTQtcS. frAttbty'( Why thisguideis needed

ffau* D^z

A GUIDEFORMEC IANICALFITTERS

More and more thesedays, MechanicalFittersare expectedto be ableto: o Changelight bulbs r Tune in transistorradios . via ChangeTV channels remotecontrol . Operatemicrowaveovens . Replacecar batteries r Maintain handtorches As theseskills are foreign to MechanicalFitters' training and competence, few hints are recordedhere for their guidance a

llints for Fitters

l. Most electricity is manufactured Power Stationswhere at it is fed into wires which are then wound around large drums. Someelectricify,however,doesnot needto go along wires. For example,that usedin lightning and portable radios is not generated, itjust lies around loose. Electricity makesa low humming noise;this noise may be pitchedat different level for use in doorbells,telephones and electronic organs. Electricity must be earthed. That is to say it has to be connectedto the ground before it can function, except in the caseof aeroplanes, which have separatearrangements. not -Although electricity d(,e.is leak out of an empty light ' socket,that light sockedis, nevertheless, ifyou live happento shove your finger in it when the switch is on (so if it is not leaking,what is it doing?). Electricity is made up of rwo ingredientsPositiveand Negative. One ingredient travels along a wire covered in brown plastic,and the other along a wire coveredin blue plastic.When thesetwo wires meet togetherin what we call a plug, the different ingredients mix togetherto form electricity. Electricity may be storedin batteries.Big batteries not do necessarily hold more than small batteries. big batteries In the electricity is just shovelledin, while in smallones the electricity is packed in flat. With the inventionof colouredelectricity,so also came a greateasingof the traffic problem. Before this, policeman had to be usedat roadjunctions. An even bigger breakthrough came in 1929with the inventionof negativeelectricity;this resultedin the inventionof the elecfic refriserator.

The light bulb-'Ihis is one of the few times wherr can actuallybeenseen. electricity This takesthe fonn of a tiny spark which is magnified many hundredsof tirnesby the curved glassof the bulb. Unfortunatelythesebulbs havea limited life because, anyonecan tell you, the heat as generated the magnified spark causes oxygen in the by the bulb to condense into moistureand this moisture then quenches spark. the 3. The fusebox- This is whereall the wires in a housecoine together(or fuse)with the wires from the power station.It is proneto failure due to the facr that manufactures this of serviceput in wires that are far too thin. NO'|E: :['here a brandof chicken is wire that is an exceilenr substitute fuse wire and is much more reliable.Use this and for even thoughyour spin drier may bust into flamesyor-rr fuse bo>i will still not let you down.

2.

The smoke discoverv

The tig lie from when g"njurin Franklin discovered electricity,hasfinally beenmadepublic by a few turn-coat Electricians. TheseElectricianshave sincebeenexcommunicated from their colleagues the ElectricalTrades in ' Union. This informationon what electricityreally is, rvould be of considerable value to MechanicalFitters: . Computers; electric lights, stoves,electricmotors and all other electricaland electronicequiprnenirun ot1srnoke. r All the smoke is generate power stations.It can be at . - stcrcd at a local level in batteries aud capacitors. . All thoseoverheadwires, housewiring and printed circuit boards can all carry smoke from the power station to the fuseboard to the appliances and electricalequiprnent. If one of the wires or components break or becomedamaged, the smokeescapes and stopsthe equipmentfrom working. . The biggerthe applianceis the thicker the wire is needed to carry the smoke,or, in the caseof a complicateddevice, many thin wires carrying a small amountof smoke. o The severityof an electricalproblem (when the srnoke star.ts leaking from the equipment)can be judged by the colour of the escapingsmoke.Heavy black smoke is the most serious,with lighter grey smoke usually not as bad. o Justhow the smokeworks can be easily explained.When you turn on a light switch, the smoke flows into the light bulb with such a force that it gets excitedand glows. This sucksup all the dark in the foom and turns the smoke black (in the return wiring) This black smoke is used in your toaster,where it falls onto the breadto make it darker.Sometimes when t'*,o much smoke is used it will escape the top ofthe toaster. out r The first industryto cotton ontb the smoke theory was the Railways. They noticedthat a lot of smokewas escaping from theirsteamlocomotives they switched diesel. so to Thesealso leakeda little, so the trend today is torryards the almost leak-proofelectric trains. Mechanical Fitters shouldunderstand smoketheory,tc this become proficientin theirgoal of achieving someoI the competencies theirelectrical of worker colleagues.

2.

3.

4.

t,

6.

7.

8.

9.

Electricalapparatus
A few noteson the function of various ElectricalApparatusfor Mechanical Fitters: , | . The light switch-The levercontrolsa,s.mall vice or clamp which grips the wire very hard thus preventsthe electricity from passing that Point when the switch is in the .OFF' nosition.