Hey Limping Tick

We missed you at work tonight. G-10 kept stopping and I had to go tap the timing rod to make it pump. At 11:00PM D4 got a high level and I walked to the pump room. I saw a huge spray of liquid shooting across the pump room. It blew the gland nut and all of the packing out of the liquid side and put about 3,000 pounds of liquid wax all over. There were wax stalactites hanging from the instrumentation and it was running down two drains. The only saving grace was that the sewer was stopped up and it all floated on top so we didn't have to scrape it off of the cement.

Nothing quite makes a nice, cold night like shoveling wax for three hours. Do you miss this place yet?

I wish, we were shoveling wax for 3 hours. Limping Tick was probably home watching a pornographic movie.

Where did the wax come into your story?? Wait, I'm thinking wax like parafin but maybe you meant shiny wax like floor wax.

Yes, wax like parafin wax. Oil has a lot of wax in it and it freezes and won't flow when it gets cold. My unit removes the wax from the oil and a pump blew this 200 degree wax all over the place. There was a lake of it. We shoveled wheel barrow loads for hours.

I'm assuming no one was near the pump when she blew? A bath in hot wax would not be something I would like....

Mikey wrote:I'm assuming no one was near the pump when she blew? A bath in hot wax would not be something I would like....

No Mike, thank God. We remove the wax by chilling it down very cold and dilluting it with two different solvents, this helps the wax crystals to form. The wax is then separated from the oil and heated so the solvent flashes out and we recover it. We have to get it very hot to do this and also keep it in a liquid form so we can pump it. With the wax removed, you get your pour point such as 10W- 30 weight oil. In the summer it turns to 30 weight and in the winter it turns to 10 weight so it can still pour in freezing weather, if we didn't remove the wax it would tirn into gel when it gets cold.

The wax is the treated with hydrogen to make it into food grade wax to line paper cups, plates and other things that need not to leak. They even put it in lipstick and candy bars. Remember those fake lips and whistles made of wax that came out every Halloween? It all comes from oil.

But when this seal blew out I had to sneak up on the pump from behind and close the suction and discharge valves and it slowly bled down. The wax cooled and hardened and the were wax icicles hanging everywhere plus a (very large) pool of it all around the pump floating on the water from the stopped up sewer. It made it easier to shovel as it didn't stick to the ground.

do I miss that place, no no no, but I miss all the guys and gals and the bull **** we threw around.

Famous quotes from the Lube Zone.

Boss "There is trash in that trash can."

Me "What would you like in that trash can?


Boss. "I need you to come in and work overtime tomorrow."

Me " I will be too drunk to report to work in 24 hours."



Boss "We don't staff these units for emergencies."

Me, "But we are having an emergency! It's on fire!"



Rex. "I have to attend a funeral...in Las Vegas."