When engineering goes bad...

[RatLabGuy]

I really like TPMS. But I don't like the dumb TPMS is that is on my vehicles, where a light comes on and tells you theres an undetermined tire that is low. My mom had an 04 Grand Cherokee, and it would tell you the pressure at each wheel. I loved watching them change during various sun conditions and driving conditions. But I'm one of "those people" who loves numbers/figures/data even if its useless.

I actually do like the theory, and I'm sure in a good implementation like that it's pretty useful. I like geeky stuff too.
Thus far my experience has only been in poor/cheap implementation (as required now) and completely soured me on the notion.

 

[McCracken]

...They already know everything and won't learn shit from me. 9 out of 10 I can't stand.

I dealt with this for a long time in my first job out of college. You'd have a simple piping solution but you'd get the whole,"no, it would be better if you actually did this and added that and then tie in a level cell and have them run $8k worth of conduit blah blah blah." You're right, I'm an idiot. I would have just spent $50 and been done in 30 minutes but you've got the degree

 

[Ron]

As far as TPMS I love GMs implementation.
Since 2006 or so even their cheapest fleet vehicles had digital read outs of the pressure at each wheel.
Sometime around 2012 they changed to where you need a special tool to relearn position. That sucks though.

Im a fan of the concept and it has saved me several times. Just last Friday I loaded a trailer up and was headed on a 70 mile one way trip with a trailer in tow. When I pulled out of the house the TPMS light was on. Stupid Toyota isnt as nice as GM o their TPMS, no reading or position but I now knew one tire was low. 20" rims and 50 series tires I couldnt tell which one it was. Grabbed the tire gauge out of the trailer tool bag and sure enough one rear was at 29 lbs while the rest were at 35. Squirted some dish soap, found the nail and plugged it and topped it off in the driveway and rocked on. Without a TPMS I likely end up changing to a spare on the side of a back road with a trailer behind me.

BTW this AC condensate drain thing is pissing me off.Toyota just lost a class action on the Camry and a separate one on the Highlander. For some reason they are making each vehicle model a separate class. For now I get no compensation, but its under warranty sir don't worry. Grrr I dont like your $15/hr flunky pulling my transmission. Im sure other dealerships are better but the one Ive dealt with to date for service sucks.

 

[shawn]

If the tires are supposed to be 35, but they're only 28, then they're underinflated and you're negligent with vehicle maintenance. And if the batteries are dead and the alarm goes off all the time, it's because you were a cheap ass and didn't spend the $10 to get them done when you replaced the tires.

And lets not even get started on the whole automatic driving correction/braking thing...

Don't knock it until you've tried it. I drove my Dad's Exploder to the Zoo and back with that shit on. It's fucking GREAT.

 

[Chuckman]

look at the old Honda civic of the 70's - that thing got what ? 200MPG? it was cheap to buy, reliable and ran forever. then they added all that shiznit to it that nobody wanted or needed and now look at it. and now theyre all like- hey we got 50 mpg look at us!! airbags and crash standards didn't change it that much. sigh.... I HATE the automotive union, it killed the industry. cant speak for any others, but I literally have seen with my own eyes what those lazy asshats are willing to NOT DO on the assembly lines. I saw a guy put a cigarette butt out on the front bottom lip of a brand new corvette seat one day. amazing.

-PS Im a engineer in the automotive tier 1/2 supplier base

 

[benXJ]

Like most, I'm a fan of the TPMS tech, but it should not mandated by the over reach of government. Same with auto braking, air bags, rear view cameras, and all other nanny devices.

Just think how much more time the designers and engineers could have to make the cars more user friendly and cheaper to manufacture if they weren't constantly having to bow to government.

 

[CasterTroy]

My favorite thing about working around engineers is making them look like idiots. On top of that, I never tell or show them the solution that would actually work in the real world. They already know everything and won't learn shit from me. 9 out of 10 I can't stand.

This IS actually a sad truth. After 10 years of engineering straight out of college, I left and went into contracting.

1) Because I was burnt out
2) Because I was lacking real world installation experience of what I had been designing.

After 3 years I had a much better grasp on the way mechanical/Plumbing/Fire Protection/Electrical needed to be designed and my approached changed drastically.

I think every engineering student should take the first 2 years after college to be an installer (be it MFG, Const, Aero...whatever) and try to decipher the "Intent" of another engineers work.....only to say "WTF was THIS asshole thinking" so when they finally sit there and design they know how it feels to try and put their hinky creations into reality.

Also, too...my best friend (who was recently promoted from lead mechanic at Cummins atlantic) use to bitch at me all the time (stupid engineers) about how motorhomes were designed. Stating that they sure as hell had NO intention of making an engine in an RV (pusher) accessible for routing maint. Much less catastrophic replacements. He'd say that if the engineers who spent all day looking at computers and making things compact (glaring at me, knowing I'm an office ranger myself) would take a day to spend with a mechanic that has to FIX those damn things, they'd find a way to carve out more accessibility for the poor mechanics tasked on working on them.

 

[XJsavage]

^^^ Mechanical engineers or future MEs especially!
Just to spend a few weeks walking around commercial job sites seeing the way things are put together would be very beneficial.
I've noticed in my years of doing doing HVAC installs and duct cleaning that hospitals in general are built to some very high standards as far as the mechanical side goes. If you want to see how electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc is suppose to look in real life, spend a few weeks/months/years seeing the inner workings of a hospital.

 

[Blaze]

^^^ Mechanical engineers or future MEs especially!
Just to spend a few weeks walking around commercial job sites seeing the way things are put together would be very beneficial.
I've noticed in my years of doing doing HVAC installs and duct cleaning that hospitals in general are built to some very high standards as far as the mechanical side goes. If you want to see how electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc is suppose to look in real life, spend a few weeks/months/years seeing the inner workings of a hospital.

Pharma is the same way. Even more so actually. I work for a pharma engineering firm and design mechanical systems.

And yes, I came from the construction side so I have had to watch what I designed get installed. I learned a lot there....

 

[drkelly]

In my experience when someone here at my work thinks I have over designed something it is because they do not know all of the constraints and requirements that I am dealing with.

 

[CasterTroy]

In my experience when someone here at my work thinks I have over designed something it is because they do not know all of the constraints and requirements that I am dealing with.

Agree!

(except structural engineers! Screw those hippies! "If 130% safety factor is good, then 290% is better, so we'll make it 430% overdesigned!!!" So where 18" Joists @ 48" O.C. may support that equipment just fine, we'll throw in 40" joists @ 24" O.C. with a 42" ceiling cavity and let the mechanical try to push 10k CFM across the structure)

GOD forbid we allow another course of block or 2 so the architect can maintain a 16ft clg

 

[XJsavage]

I'll say this: the one out of ten that really has broken the mold for me is my boss, Tim Mozely. He owns the HVAC company I work for. 6 year Marines combat vet with a mechanical engineering degree to add to the clout. His dream following his return to the US and graduation from college is to own a company of badass employees educated well beyond job title and take over the industry in his home town. A few years in, he's already succeeded. I came to work for him after being "bought" from a competitor, Advantaclean ( national company). He knew of my years as lead duct cleaning technician and years of HVAC install experience with this and other companies and made me an offer I couldn't refuse.
The best part about Tim is that not only is he the mastermind behind the company, (intelligent to the point most are intimidated to talk to him), he takes the initiative to educate every lead installer to be as eduactated with the technical side of designing mechanical systems as he is. On top of that, is very open to all input from the installers end. When you mix the technical genious of an engineer with the many-year install experience of a lead installer, you have an unstoppable combination. He knows this, we know this.
When one can teach a person not just what to do, but why, you'll have a bulletproof team.
He just hired a 20 year master plumber. Why? Why the fuck not?
Knowledge is never a detriment to anyone.

 

[shawn]

Agree!

(except structural engineers! Screw those hippies! "If 130% safety factor is good, then 290% is better, so we'll make it 430% overdesigned!!!" So where 18" Joists @ 48" O.C. may support that equipment just fine, we'll throw in 40" joists @ 24" O.C. with a 42" ceiling cavity and let the mechanical try to push 10k CFM across the structure)

GOD forbid we allow another course of block or 2 so the architect can maintain a 16ft clg

Says the guy that wants to run a pair of 10" chilled water pipes across the roof along with a pair of 30x60" insulated ERV ducts on dunnage.

 

[Fabrik8]

So who here that's an engineer is not working on something related to buildings? Anyone besides me and Chuckman? We seem outnumbered by all these people bitching about HVAC and pipes and joists and stuff. Your building doesn't need TPMS, it can't even roll down a street properly, it's too square.

 

[LBarr2002]

So who here that's an engineer is not working on something related to buildings? Anyone besides me and Chuckman? We seem outnumbered by all these people bitching about HVAC and pipes and joists and stuff. Your building doesn't need TPMS, it can't even roll down a street properly, it's too square.

I have an engineering degree (computer engineering from Clemson), but I went into programming so I'm unofficial.

If I had it to do over probably would have gone automotive engineering and could redesign those tpms for you.

 

[Lurch830]

So who here that's an engineer is not working on something related to buildings? Anyone besides me and Chuckman?

EE here in the power industry. I don't do a lot of design work behind a desk, more real-world/field application/troubleshooting. There's a few of us where I work and we'll bounce ideas off each other and 90% of the time we end up with the simplest solution which normally ends up being the cheapest one too (K.I.S.S. principle). That also has a little to do with the fact that we come up with the idea, build/test it & implement it in the field.

 

[Chris_Keziah]

So who here that's an engineer is not working on something related to buildings? Anyone besides me and Chuckman? We seem outnumbered by all these people bitching about HVAC and pipes and joists and stuff. Your building doesn't need TPMS, it can't even roll down a street properly, it's too square.

ME here but still in school, currently a Process Improvement Engineering intern.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[drkelly]

So who here that's an engineer is not working on something related to buildings? Anyone besides me and Chuckman? We seem outnumbered by all these people bitching about HVAC and pipes and joists and stuff. Your building doesn't need TPMS, it can't even roll down a street properly, it's too square.

I am an engineer in the Heavy truck industry. I am not the only one on this site who works for the company.

 

[Bogleparsons]

I guess i'm in the minority but I really like the TPMS on my JK.

I can set it to what ever PSI alarm I want with a programmer, and can see exactly which tire has what PSI real time.

Only problem is my OCD kicks in when they aren't all exactly the same.

 

[rockcity]

@Ron

So why not just disable the system and let the condensate just drip on the ground like normal?

 

[CasterTroy]

Says the guy that wants to run a pair of 10" chilled water pipes across the roof along with a pair of 30x60" insulated ERV ducts on dunnage.

Give me more room above the ceiling and we'll talk

But, hey, as long as the building is "pretty" and makes a "statement" who cares if the people inside are roasting and suffering from legionnaires disease

(irony is my degree is in Architectural Engineering yeah...I found out after graduation that's not a real field either...but is sounded damn good from the NCA&T recruiter)

 

[shawn]

Give me more room above the ceiling and we'll talk

You get 20". No more, no less. That includes insulation, so plan on a 16" max duct height.

 

[Fabrik8]

But, hey, as long as the building is "pretty" and makes a "statement" who cares if the people inside are roasting and suffering from legionnaires disease

Shit yeah, make people suffer for your art. Wait, I think you're supposed to suffer for your art. Whatever, someone's going to suffer.

 

[Ron]

@Ron

So why not just disable the system and let the condensate just drip on the ground like normal?

Because the aforementioned valve defaults to closed when the system is off. And the current problem began because it was draining properly and the drain tube got clogged by mildew/mold/fungus/gunk...
The condensate wouldnt just drip on the ground it backed up and flooded the underdash box. Discovered because of a strong mildew smell upon initial start up. Running it for hours with recirc off has dried it up until they pull the transmission

 

[rockcity]

Because the aforementioned valve defaults to closed when the system is off. And the current problem began because it was draining properly and the drain tube got clogged by mildew/mold/fungus/gunk...
The condensate wouldnt just drip on the ground it backed up and flooded the underdash box. Discovered because of a strong mildew smell upon initial start up. Running it for hours with recirc off has dried it up until they pull the transmission

Be careful. AC condensate left untreated has a tendency to breed legionnaires disease.