Int Olden Days When I wor A Lad - Mercury Arc Recitifers

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johnb2713

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Whilst cruising round Youtube I found this video which brought back memories.

My electrical working life started out in the steelworks, in my second week was introduced to Mercury Arc Rectifiers by way of my initiation ceremony. I was grabbed, blidfolded and dragged away to some switchgear room, I was put in the enclosure securely tied up and room put into darkness whereby my workmates started the thing up, it scared the crap out me and there was much hilarity amongst my so called workmates, my mentors LOL.

 
I knew a bit about these and even played with one at college but it was only reading the articles on here that I learned they could be used in invertor mode to generate AC from DC.
 
Why was it that large industries had this culture of bullying (disguised as an initiation ceremony) young new employee's? Was it the inadequacies of the management or the already established workforce? (rhetorical question)
 
Why was it that large industries had this culture of bullying (disguised as an initiation ceremony) young new employee's? Was it the inadequacies of the management or the already established workforce? (rhetorical question)
I really don't know, I had two initiation ceremonies the first one mentioned and the second one I was shoved along a very high tower crane jib to the end, in the middle of winter and left there out in the rain and freezing conditions with the access hatch locked so I couldn't get back. They let me down after 6 hrs.
I never took part in any such ceremonies to new apprentices but the practice did continue. One apprentice in my department for some reason got his own back on me, even though I hadn't done anything to him. He filled my workboots up with Swarfega, it was bloody horrendous, I cleaned them out as best I could but as soon as the got hot, they started sweating Swarfega, my socks and feet were all slimey. I could have merrily killed him, they were newish boots too.
 
I did work on one we had for a goods lift in a shop (in Camden I think), it was 3 phase and rocked about, tilt one way for up and the other way for down , it looked like an Alien in a cage
Alien in a cage, brilliant and so fitting :):):)
 
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