Switch It Out Take Apart

So a bit ago. Like probably three years? Maybe longer? We had a new UV sterilizer system installed behind our fishwall. 

And I knew that the UV bulbs within the system needed to be changed out every now and then.

Which seemed to be every 6 months?? Yet there's also a thing saying it's only like...once every three years?

In any case.

I had no idea how to change the UV bulbs. I was never shown how with the new system. I knew the basic mechanics of it.

And people kept saying that they'd show me how to do it, or we'd figure it out together. 

Only for it to never happen. 

We kept receiving in new UV bulbs to replace the old....

But they just sat there.

And one by one the lights showing that the UV system was working...went out. Until none were lit.

But this year.

Corporate is having us do all these 'deep clean' tasks.

One of them being that we needed to switch out the UV bulbs and write down on a paper when they were last switched.

Which meant figuring out just how to do that.

Like I said. I knew the mechanics of how to do it.

And Saturday before I left for the day, me and my other manager figured out how to take apart at least one of the sleeves so that we could pull the bulb out and hook it back up again so that that manager could then work on switching out the rest of them yesterday during work.

However, that manager and one of our coworkers only managed to change out half of them.

Because they were struggling to connect the bulbs back in once they were switched.

It was only as this manager was working on switching the rest of the bulbs today that they discovered an easier way to ensure that all the bulbs were hooked up and working.

But.

Like I said at the top. This UV system is new compared to the rest of the mechanics behind the fish wall. 

And so...it doesn't quite....fit. 

There were three bulbs that were difficult to get out because various components of the older system were in the way. 

-Which is another reason they probably haven't been changed in years....it's not an easy process to replace all those bulbs. 

two of those three bulbs we managed to wiggle out without breaking them. Woot!

But the third?

No way. It was blocked from either direction.

And so we ended up having to take apart part of the older system which was a trial and a half in of itself because the bolts holding that particular piece were firmly held in place. It took far more effort than it should to get that part unhooked and far enough away from the bulb in order to pull it out. 

BUT! We got the bulb out. So HA.

Still. Far more effort than it was worth.

And in the end...two of the bulbs still didn't work. XP Beh. 

So we'll have to figure out what's wrong with that part of the system.

But at least we know how to take apart everything so that we can replace the bulbs as they go out.

Hopefully that's not anytime soon though. It was a pain.

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves. 
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi