Work at Halley September 2004

30 September, 2004 Halley

Digging the melt tank is a daily task which everyone takes turns in doing. It can become one of the worst tasks on the station when the weather turns bad. Thankfully it usually only takes 20 to 40 minutes to complete.

Checking the level of the platforms and adjusting the legs when necessary is a monthly task carried out by Graham our carpenter and is usually helped by a volunteer here it is Frank the Station Doctor.

Many of the experiments can be accessed remotely which can save a trip to some of the more remote locations such as the Caslab and the Optical caboose.

When not repairing things Nigel the Station Plumber spends most of his time carrying out routine checks and maintenance on the water services, heating and ventilation equipment. Plumber school has taken over the Wednesday afternoon slot when Nigel throws some light on the black art of plumbing from bending pipes to the theory behind heating and ventilation systems.

Flubbering is carried out by Graeme our generator mechanic again a volunteer is required. Fuel is transferred from the bulk fuel tanks to the Flubbers. These are large inflatable fuel tanks located in the Laws and Piggott tunnels. Since Graeme seems to do all the hard work, drive the Dozer, collect the bulk fuel containers, connect up the fuel hose and go down the tunnel all the volunteer has to do is stand by the dozer with a radio and wait until requested to open the fuel valve and turn the fuel pump on. Then wait until requested to switch the fuel pump off and close the valve. Got to be the easiest job on base to volunteer for.

The GPS survey was finally finished by Ed & Simon this month.