Mod One Day Four

Todays exercises included making up compression joints (types A and B) and soldering end feed elbows and Tees.

A Type A compression contains an "olive" which compresses around a pipe when a nut is tightened. This makes a water tight joint. Theres a description and picture listed here on Wiki

Type B fittings have a flared end instead of an "olive" as shown below. This prevents the olive coming loose since it is incorporated into the pipe itself.



The morning session comprised of measuring and soldering different joints and cutting pipes to length to make a simple jig or simple circuit of joints. Essentailly it was 4 pipes of different bore and 4 elbows. This proved to be a run through for an assement that afternoon althought the afternoon session proved to be far more involved.

The small circuit was quite simple to construct and once complete it was pressure tested upto 5 atmospheres (5 bar).

The afternoon assessment consisted of a G shaped jig which was again constructed of 23 and 15mm pipe. The circuit contained the following fittings

1. 2X capillary lebows
2. 2X end feed elbows
3. 1X (15 by 15 by 23 mm) Tee
4. 1X type A (23 by 23 by 15mm) compression Tee
5. 1X Type B compression Tee
6. 2X tap end connectors.

These were all joined with copper pipe and again as in other assessments, the measurements needed to be within a 2mm tollerance.

One of the problems that became clear was that although it was possible to cut the pipes at the correct lenghts, the soldering process needed to be very precise as all the joints needed to be soldered so the jig stayed flat and that i didnt solder in twists into the pipework. I found that i had to resolder/remove a few joints due to this factor.

After a few joint changes and a bit of juggling i managed to get the jig square and the meaasurements accurate. It was measured by the tutor and then pressure tested to 5 bar.

I passed the assessment and then was told to read up on fire safety in my BTSC manual, which i would be later tested on.

Mod One Day Three

Today we learned that we'd be spending all day in the workshop but also found out that we'd be having an assessment on the 7 bends we'd been practicing....although id only done 6 of em!

Our tutor told us that an "assessor" would be marking the accuracy of our bends, which worried us all as we'd only had about an hours practice on each bend, and some of us hadn't even completed the 7th bend.

I manged to get the simple 90 degree and 45 degree bends ok followed by the the 's' bend in 2 planes with in the first 40 minutes. From here on in it started getting tricky!

The next bend proved more difficult! The 45 degree passover failed due to a small amount of "wobble" in the pipe. Since there were 2 bends in the assessment piece, when it was placed flat on the workbench there was a small gap under one of the bends, so when it was pressed at one end, the other end raised itself from the table. Fail.

I wasnt too concerned at the time as i only had 4 more bends to do and i quicky managed to produce another passover which was deemed acceptible by the stickler of a assessor.

So id completed 4 of the 7 and commenced my next bend, the 3 bend passover ( _/\_ ).

This prove more difficult as all 3 bends had to be both accurate in angle and in the same plane. I managed to fluff this bend half way through so didnt even bother getting it assessed. I started another only to find that the clearance under the bend was too great! It was supposed to be just 15mm but mine was nearer 20mm and with an accuracy of 2mm required, this one wasnt even close.

By now im getting quite worried as if i failed to complete all bends accurately, id fail the assessment and have to retake it and pay for the workshop and assessment time. Three bends to go and fortuntely our own tutor returned to mark the rest of our assements. Whilst I felt more comfortable being marked by my tutor, i still managed to mash up my next piece. The 3 bend passover was again a wobbly piece, but i reckoned it was within the 2mm acceptable range.
Unfortuntaly not and another FAIL.

Still 3 bends to go and only an hour left! The 4 bend passover was another fail. Again the clearance under the bend was too great. Two more attempts and it eventually passed.

One more bend to go and 20 minutes left. The 2 bend passover, which i hadnt even magaged to practice during the monday and tuesday workshop demos!
Attempt one was a fail. Attempt two was a fail and that was time up. I was now quite concened that id have to pay to resit the assessment, however our tutor allowed those who hadn't completed the last bend (about 5 of us) to stay in the workshop and attempt it over lunch.

I duely stayed behind and spent the next hour atempting to manufacture 4 of the required bends. I wasnt going to fail this assessment! After lunch, the first bend i submitted was accepted and the assessment was complete. Phew.

After lunch we then were introduced to Mr Propane Torch. We had a demo of how to complete a soldered joint after which we could attempt our own joints. The afternoon passed quickly and i was quite pleased with my efforts at soldering.

Mod One Day Two

Today was pretty much a continuation of day one with pipe bending in the morning and theory in the afternoon.

Today i managed to get through the next 3 bends but got through quite a bit of copper pipe. I seemed to have problems with the passover dimensions as there needed to be a 15mm clearance under the passovers which i couldnt seem to manage.

The afternoon session consisted again of theory and health and safety but we also had to watch and answer questions about a video on the dreaded "ASBESTOS".

We then were given a lesson in how to work out "x dimensions" which was how to accurately work out the the distance between the width of an elbow minus the depth of the joint seating.

E.g If you have two elbows which need to be 300mm apart, how long should the piece of adjoining pipe be to join them?

Its a simple calculation, but its difficult to explain without a diagram.

Essentially the x-dimentions in the above joints are dinemsions E and G which are unknowns.
You are give dimension D and the depth of the elbow and you deduct this measurement from the 300mm adjoining pipe length.

If D is 40mm and the depth of the elbow is 15mm then the x dimension (E in diag above) is 40 - 15 = 25mm, so if the distance between the midpoints of a left and a right elbow is 300mm, then the pipe length needs to be 300 - (2x25) = 250mm.

The afternoon task was to work out the x dimensions for several fittings and then calculate the lengths of pipe required.

Apparently this method is not used to calculate pipe lengths and is generally only a method of pipe layout design.

Module One Day One

I arrived early and was directed to a workshop where i met 12 other newbies just like me. They ranged from property developers to actors so it was a mixed bunch. Our first task was a health and safety assessment about how to lift objects safely followed by demo/practical in pipe bending. There were about 8 different bends which we were shown which consited of:

1. 90 degree single bend
2. a 45 degree bend
3. 2 opposite 45 degree bends (s shape or 45 degree "passover")
4. 2 90 degree bends in 2 planes ( s shape with one leg bent straight up instead of flat)
5. a 3 bend passover (a straight pipe with an 'v' shaped bend in it _/\_)
6. a 2 bend passover as above without the last bend. (_/\ )
7. a 4 bend passover ( _/ \_)

i managed to get through thee first 3 bends before lunch and went through quite a bit of copper pipe.
All of the bends were to be be accurate to 1 degree and measurements had to be accurate to within 2mm.


After the lunch break it was into the classroom for some plumbing theory and health and safety.

The First Test

OK, its started...the beginning of the end.

My web existance is about to breathe its last breath. The death rattle has been wheezing for years and its about to be put out of its misery. I have a week to go and I have nothing to do but wait for my exit. Ive been recently using my idle hands to study for my BTSC Health and Safety exam which I attended yesterday.

I rather foolishly booked my exam before I had any of the study material so have spent most if this week with only 1 book. Ive therefore been reading and re-reading the rather dry, scant chapter on Health and Safety. Fortunately my second book arrived 3 days late from Blackwells on the morning of the exam. I had a quick flick and set off for my test.

I arrived for the exam early yesterday due to the high winds and poor weather conditions. I did not want to miss this test through detours, being struck by falling objects or being whisked off to Kansas without my ruby slippers.
My exam was at 2:30pm and I spend my final 20 minutes cramming. Yesterday, there were only 2 of us taking the test, me and another newbie, who's name I think was Enrique. I think the rest of the other students in the room were all taking other exams as the two if us were furnished with the exam etiquete (no phones, not bags, no talking etc)

The Health and Safety Exam.

Individuals are allocated one of a number of PC's to sit their exam on and the module which is being tested is loaded onto that allocated PC. It's therefore possible that everyone being tested in the room could be sitting a different exam.
The test consisted of 50 questions which were to be answered in 50 minutes. It was of multiple choice format and you had to choose 1 of 4 possible answers.

The test itself wasnt too difficult as I managed to complete it in about 15 minutes. I think its mainly a formality which just proves that candidates have read the H&S chapters of the study material. I think there are about 60 odd pages of text and diagrams in total so its not rocket science. The course suggests about 10 hours of study time to cover this, which is about right if you read though it a couple of times ... assuming you have all the study material that is!

Once candidates have finshed their exam they can leave and they then have to wait for their results to be posted to them. I was told that I could also telephone the admin department for my results on Saturday morning, and if I was successful, I could book my first module.
I think the passmark is about 80% and since I reckon there were about 5 questions that were either ambiguous or i just didnt know the answer, that would put me on about 90% so I'd be very dissappointed if I failed.

The Failure Procedure.

If candidates fail by a margin of 10%, they can return and retake the test (for a resit fee). Candidates only have to answer the questions that they got wrong which intially sounds great, but sounds like a bit of a double edged sword to me.
Whilst they only have to answer the questions they got wrong, I'm not sure if they are notified which questions they were. So whilst candidates can't get a result worse that the original test, they'd still have to revise the whole subject as they wouldnt know which Q's they'd failed, unless they mentally noted the questions they werent sure about.

The questions werent too difficult and some of them, whilst they didnt help you answer other questions, were repetitve in their construction. For example.

Q. The following fire extinguishers are coloured RED, BLACK, CREAM and BLUE. Indicate the correct sequence of fire extinguishers.

a) Water, Powder, Foam, CO2
b) Powder, Foam, Water CO2
c) Water, CO2, Foam, Powder
d) Powder, Foam, Co2, Water

With a subsequent question of

Q. A fire extinguisher with a blue label contains which substance?

a)Powder
b)Foam
c) Co2
d) Water

So you do have to know the content, but the exam isnt designed to fail students, I think its really used to reinforce what youve already learnt.

I'll let you know how i got on in my next episode so stay tuned.

BTCS Induction

I arrived at the Barwell unit at 2 yesterday to attend the induction for the new intake of students. There were 12 of us, so i assume i might be seeing alot of these people in my not too distant future.

The induction gave a quick overview of how the course works, how to "book" your module, your examinations and proceeding with the next module.

Essentially there are about 7 or 8 sets of 12 cubicles (somewhere around 80 i expect) which are used for the 12 students to undertake a module. The class sizes are 12 as a max. Im also assuming that since the desired modules are booked via a team of administrators, then once the class size has reached 12, then the course is confirmed and the module will take place in a particular week.

The contract which students have to sign when they pay the £4850 suggests that you should be able to undetake any module within a 4 week period and the modules are run AT LEAST EVERY 4 WEEKS.

Before any student can book a module they must study for and pass a rudimentary Health and Safety exam. Im sure that this is to make students aware of the dangers of burnin "stuff" they shouldnt in the workshops, what fire extinguishers to use on different types of fire and the vagaries of to carry a ladder!

I'll be using the following texts to aid me in this task.

Plumbing: Heating and Gas Installations
By: Roy Treloar (Author)

Plumbing: Mechanical Services: Bk. 1
By: G.J. Blower (Author)

Safe Start: Safety Handbook: GE 707
By: Denis Hands (Author),
CITB-ConstructionSkills (Author)

Point to note.
BTSC can supply these books and id advise you getting them from them as the likes of Amazon dont carry all the books. I forgot to buy them fromthe BTSC yesterday and had to trapse around Charring Cross road trying to fimd them. Blackwells had the Plumbing: Heating and Gas Installations book so ill have to make do with that for now.

Once your have regailed yourself with this first milestone your plumbing career can commence. ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!

Financing the module.
Once you have completed the module you will then have to book your exams. The City and Guilds exam is free for first time takers (£22 per retake), but the BTSC also run a more comprehensive exam which they are trying to get accepted as a higher standard within the industry and charge students £20 per exam.

STUDENTS MUST PASS BOTH EXAMS TO PROCEED ONTO THE NEXT MODULE

Those days are almost gone

Its not long now (January the 26th) until im released from purgatory , well my current job at least.

Its been 6 and a half years of highs and lows, with the last 2 spent in a Sisyphean challenge in the implementation of a new system which thankfully ate my job.

"As a punishment from the gods for his trickery, Sisyphus was compelled to roll a huge rock up a steep hill, but before he reached the top of the hill, the rock always escaped him and he had to begin again" (Odyssey, xi. 593).

My friends from there I shall keep for life, although im happy to cast off that heavy burdon of boredom and neglect.

So, time for a new start, it's been a long time comming, but i reckon I deserve it. My old role as web developer has become a chrysalis from which i shall hopefully emerge a Plumber.

My training will commence shortly at the BTSC (Builder Trade Skills Centre) where i shall be undertaking the first stage of the City and Guilds Technical Certificate to gain the skills required to become a Bathroom Fitter and then hopefully continue to eventual Corgi Registration.

This is where the story starts ...