korzin said:
What do you do day to day when not in the field?
Not sure if you have read this, but in case not,
caocao said:
Ex EGS Tech here, now a CE Supt. Day to day work for an EGS Tech on most bases is preventive maintenance of APUs, UPSs and othe trade related equipment.
•Install, operate, maintain and repair mobile electrical generators and associated control equipment
•Install, operate, maintain and repair power plant electrical generators and associated control equipment
•Install, operate and maintain engine prime movers associated with equipment driven by Construction Engineers
•Install, operate, maintain and repair Static Uninterruptable Power Systems and Rotary Uninterruptable Power Systems
•Overhaul electrical generation systems and equipment
•Produce designs and specifications
•Produce mechanical and electrical drawings
•Perform brazing/welding and machining work
"Air Force but may be assigned to work in the Army or Navy environment..."
ELECTRICAL GENERATING SYSTEMS TECHNICIAN
LEWIS: When you’re on the line and off the grid, keeping the power going 24/7 is crucial to mission success – and to the safety of our Canadian soldiers and air crews.
You’re pretty much going to be responsible for the operation, maintenance, installation of anything from generator sets, uninterruptible power supplies, frequency converters, motor generators…
NASON: On a day-to-day basis, we pretty much do preventative maintenance – we go around, we check the generators, check the oil, check the coolant, load-test them. We just pretty much make sure they’re in a fully operational order. Most of it is pretty much: make sure when the lights go out, the power comes back on, and that’s our job.
Whether you’re in the Regular Force or the Reserves, EGS Techs are the hands-on experts who know everything about the machinery that converts mechanical power into electrical voltage.
Well, we put diesel fuel in the tank and it kinda comes up and goes in the engine, and turns the crank, kinda turns the alternator, and this power comes out the other side. So it’s kinda neat to see this liquid going in one end and see the light bulb come on at the other end and know how it goes from start to finish.
I like the mechanics part, I get to work on the engines, and the people you meet are absolutely amazing. So I couldn’t ask for a better crew and – you’re never bored with the job, ‘cause one day you’re doing oil change, the next day you’re using your mind and doing something with components or computers or something. So there’s always something going on with it that’s a new and exciting experience.
LEWIS: If joining our small group of EGS Techs sounds attractive to you, you’ll need to build up a solid base of knowledge in math and physics, and have a strong interest in machinery, electricity, and how they fit and work together.
NASON: After your basic military training, you’ll head to Gagetown, New Brunswick for six months of intensive, hands-on learning at the School of Military Engineering.
LEWIS: They’ll teach you the theory – and the reality – of power systems, electrical grids, fixed and mobile generators: how they work, how to set them up, and how to fix them when the gremlins take over.
For the final exam, they show you a working generator and then they take it apart – to graduate, you have to rebuild the electrical and the mechanical systems, hook it up, and make it work again.
NASON: But the real final exam comes when you’re deployed overseas – or to a remote region of Canada where the only electric power is generated by the gear we haul in with us.
Up in Alert, we are the prime power, there’s no 800-km extension cord from the closest place. If we ever go down, she gets pretty dark, cold and cranky up there.
LEWIS: I was actually in Kandahar – I was the primary technician on the camp for six months. So it was just myself looking after a power plant of four generators. You have the environment to deal with, the intense heat, the sand. They are the prime power for the camp – we need to maintain that power at all times.
NASON: When the guys come back from being out in the field, they can have a nice hot shower. We have the generators to run the kitchens so they can have a nice hot meal and stuff –
LEWIS: But we also take pride in the ability to see the happiness in the soldiers’ faces when they can come back to the camp, you know, send off an email to their family, to their kids. So it gives us a good sense of pride to be able to do that.
NASON: The best part of the job is when the light comes back on - gives you a good, warm feeling knowing that you did something to make a difference for the better of all.
http://www.forces.ca/en/job/electricalgeneratingsystemstechnician-58#wtd
