"Power company traces Super Bowl outage to electrical relay device." -- CNN (1 Viewer)

[Alan12]

Perfect example of "if it aint broke dont fix it"

Beat me to it.

 

[DesertKajun]

I still say the NFL did it to stop the game from becoming a blow out.....Rating would suffer ya know...

 

[VPCajun]

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From the moment it happened, I've been wondering why they DESIGNED for one half of the dome to be on one bank and the other half of the dome on another bank.

At least as regards the lighting, it seems to me that EVERY OTHER LIGHT (say "even numbered") should on one bank and the other lights (say "odd numbered") be on a different bank and then have a THIRD BANK as the AUTO BACKUP!

They sure SPENT ENOUGH $$$$$ on the electrical updates, it seems they should have DESIGNED it better!

Of course, there is NO PROBLEM with going with the LOWEST BIDDER as the Govt is wont to do!

[Eyes Rolled Skyward...]

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[VPCajun]

So the blame falls on the company that made the switch, right?

.

Well, the THOROUGH job involves ALL INVOLVED to do THEIR PART!

Research on what relay is best, Proper Installation, TESTING (LOTS of testing) to see that all systems are GO, and Followups as necessary!

.

 

[SweetT]

Yeah Entergy's statement does not place blame on anyone. I think all everyone wants to know is who was at fault.

Goodell's at fault. Just blame everything on him.

 

[Lunchbox]

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From the moment it happened, I've been wondering why they DESIGNED for one half of the dome to be on one bank and the other half of the dome on another bank.

At least as regards the lighting, it seems to me that EVERY OTHER LIGHT (say "even numbered") should on one bank and the other lights (say "odd numbered") be on a different bank and then have a THIRD BANK as the AUTO BACKUP!

They sure SPENT ENOUGH $$$$$ on the electrical updates, it seems they should have DESIGNED it better!

Of course, there is NO PROBLEM with going with the LOWEST BIDDER as the Govt is wont to do!

[Eyes Rolled Skyward...]

.

It may not be that simple... Especially if you're adding a new piece of equipment (relay) to an existing electriclal system designed years ago.

And all the money spent addressed adding electrical capacity for the Dome from EXTERNAL sources (electrcial substations).

 

[VPCajun]

It may not be that simple... Especially if you're adding a new piece of equipment (relay) to an existing electriclal system designed years ago.

And all the money spent addressed adding electrical capacity for the Dome from EXTERNAL sources (electrcial substations).

.

I never said it would be simple!

And from the Nola.com article it states:

"In December, a little more than a month before the Super Bowl, Entergy New Orleans was finishing a $4.2 million upgrade to the stadium’s electrical system, changing it from "redundant" to "tertiary” — meaning the stadium would now be served by **three feeder lines rather than two**. As that job neared completion, Superdome officials tested their own power lines and found the equipment had “some decay and had a chance of failure.” "

So, they do have the "three banks" (my term, not their's), it is just a matter of re-routing the "wires in the circuit breaker boxes". (Again, my term, not their's and again, probably not simple.)

BUT...

THAT way only "every other light" would have stayed gone out and, most likely, the game could have continued!

And if not, then they need to design it to have enough lights that DO STAY ON when just ONE bank goes out!

Oh, and did I mention REDUNDACY - there should be REDUNDACY!


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[DesertKajun]

I still say the NFL did it to stop the game from becoming a blow out.....Rating would suffer ya know...

 

[dtc]

relays go bad, it happens but you would think they would have a backup circuit for something as big as the superdome. Generators should kick power on as soon as power is lost and power should never go out... getting power from an UPS system until the generators take over.

How big is a generator that's big enough to power without interruption one of the world's largest interior spaces?

Would it fit in say the arena?

 

[Saint_Ward]

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I never said it would be simple!

And from the Nola.com article it states:

"In December, a little more than a month before the Super Bowl, Entergy New Orleans was finishing a $4.2 million upgrade to the stadium’s electrical system, changing it from "redundant" to "tertiary” — meaning the stadium would now be served by **three feeder lines rather than two**. As that job neared completion, Superdome officials tested their own power lines and found the equipment had “some decay and had a chance of failure.” "

So, they do have the "three banks" (my term, not their's), it is just a matter of re-routing the "wires in the circuit breaker boxes". (Again, my term, not their's and again, probably not simple.)

BUT...

THAT way only "every other light" would have stayed gone out and, most likely, the game could have continued!

And if not, then they need to design it to have enough lights that DO STAY ON when just ONE bank goes out!

Oh, and did I mention REDUNDACY - there should be REDUNDACY!


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The box that all the backup power goes to is what failed, so depending on that failure, it's hard to say if the lights would have gone out.

Also, it's not just lights. The TV press box went out. The coaches up in the booths couldn't communicate, field communications, etc all went out. It wasn't just the lights.

Also, wiring for every other light to be on different banks is crazy hard. Much easier to split the dome into two major lines. Otherwise, you're talking about cross splitting from the box, then alternating from the lines.

But again, it wasn't just the lights.

 

[doctorj]

WDSU alert. Entergy accepts blame for blackout.

 

[saintmike23]

They should upgrade to LED lights. Instant on, less power and brighter.

 

[barto]

The company i work for sells Electrical products such as the device that failed. I wonder if the relay was manufactured by Square D or Cutler Hammer/Eaton.

I know one thing, neither company wants the bad press that is heading their way once the manufacturer is made known to the public.

 

[doctorj]

The company i work for sells Electrical products such as the device that failed. I wonder if the relay was manufactured by Square D or Cutler Hammer/Eaton.

I know one thing, neither company wants the bad press that is heading their way once the manufacturer is made known to the public.

Yesterday they mentioned a company, S&G, out of Chicago. I think that was the company?

Update: I think may be the company I heard them mention:
http://www.sandc.com/company/what-we-do.asp

 

[VPCajun]

The box that all the backup power goes to is what failed, so depending on that failure, it's hard to say if the lights would have gone out.

Also, it's not just lights. The TV press box went out. The coaches up in the booths couldn't communicate, field communications, etc all went out. It wasn't just the lights.

Also, wiring for every other light to be on different banks is crazy hard. Much easier to split the dome into two major lines. Otherwise, you're talking about cross splitting from the box, then alternating from the lines.

But again, it wasn't just the lights.

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Sorry if I am starting to Beat a Dead Horse and/or Make a Mountain out of an Anthill or...

{And this reply is not directed to you Saint_Ward, but to the "world at large".}

Again, going by the diagram in the nola.com article, that, to me, is NOT a Tertiary setup TO THE DOME's systems.

In the article, it states that ENTERGY owns the relay switchgear and from that diagram it shows only TWO feeder lines going from that switchgear into the Dome!

There needs to be THREE FEEDER LINES TO THE DOME (AND INSIDE Three Banks) - TWO to carry out the normal duties and the THIRD as the BACKUP on a Redundant System that kicks in automatically when one of the two banks have a problem

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FWIW, I have NO Electrical Engineering expertise, I am just trying to base what I *think* should be a viable system when I think of how the Air Force (on some planes) has THREE "computers" onboard: Two that are always comparing their data to insure correct operations and the 3rd one kicking in only when there is a "disagreement" between the first 2 computers.

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