Hot days, sercice providers and retailers...

[4Vman]

What is wrong with some convenience store retailers and service providers? every time it gets over 30'c you:
1) can't catch a train because they all break down,
2) try and find a damn convenience store with a slurpy machine that's working... tried 3 today and all broken down, happens every hot day, seems slurpy machines wont work in the heat...???? WTF?.
3) ice fridges empty and run out of ice, planning???
4) icecream fridge so ineffective everything is soft or molten inside...

Surely these places can plan and service their equipment to cope?

[DJM83]

All about profit most are probably doing it tough and dont look after their equipment soon as it gets slightly hot the give up the ghost. Try QLD mate its like it almost everyday, im a dairy/freezer manager for woolies and never have that problem :

[onfire]

Coming from a retail background. Iv worked as a produce manager in an older store for a few years, and it basically all costs money. Alot of the time, you're either running older equipment or fridges and cooling that for 90% of the year run fine. Its easier and cheaper to fix them a handful of times a year, or once a month than close the business down to replace the entire thing... Im talking about larger cases.

As for Ice Coolers, sometimes that the largest storage fridge they have thats cold enough to keep ice frozen. Simple. Cant stick bags of ice in a dark corner and hope for the best.

You can order as much stock as you need, but you can never predict a customer wanting to buy a small truck load. From being in the supermarket business, Iv seen customers that own small businesses come in a clear out entire specials, unless you've got the option to order more for that day or another store near by, you're out.

[J_Tank]

Are these places airconditioned? A lot of the refrigerated gear these days is designed to work at a certain temperature and a certain humidity and is mostly designed overseas. Most places shut off the air con over night which means temps and humidity rise out side of the conditions the equipment has been designed to work within. I'm in a supermarket as well and anything to do with refrigeration means $$$$$. I should have become a fridge mechanic.

[onfire]

My last day was on Friday, so I cant call it ' mine ' anymore. But the equipment in the boiler room was so old and almost completely written off, that when the company that handles our problems came the first time, they had to go away and research as to what they were actully dealing with.

You know those old Steam Driven tankers they put in parks for people to look at, all of it was basically like that.

You have to consider one other thing with Supermarkets, most are really at its core a big shed. Big hot tin roof, no air con in the store rooms, with large back doors open. Surrounded by alot of concrete and activity. And with 40 degree heat, cooking it.

[snappy]

Just heard that the big wheel in melbourne (southern cross) i belive.
Is being shut down indefinatly becaus of buckling and warping because of heat .
Please tell me this structure was not a paid for with our taxes

[outback_ute]

Pretty sure it is private.

Other thing I heard on the radio is that some of the blackouts were caused because electricity retailers were opting not to pay higher prices that kick in for them after a certain amount of power consumption on a daily basis. Not sure if this is true or not, but a big call to make if so.

[Brent]

Well, I (like many others) enjoyed the woeful inadequacies of the Melbourne train system last Wednesay/Thursday/Friday where a half hour trip each day was turned into a 2 hour circus just to get home.

Now, I'm no public infrastructure expert of engineering guru, but two things intrigue me. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation/answer for each:

1. Why would you buy European-manufactured trains for Australian conditions when the airconditioning systems are only rated to maximum 35 degrees celcuis operating range?

2. Why are railway lines now laid down in continuous lengths without apparent expansion joints, thereby ensuring that they buckle as per the laws of physics when it gets very hot?

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by Brent

1. Why would you buy European-manufactured trains for Australian conditions when the airconditioning systems are only rated to maximum 35 degrees celcuis operating range?

Just for info.

The trains with most of the air con problems seem to be the Comeng type. They were built in Dandenong in the early 1980s, but almost always have problems when the temps reach 32 and above.

That said, it always comes down to money and you'll never see Governments willing to spend on something for 'us' if they can get the cheapest contract/tender price.

[RG]

Originally Posted by Brent

Well, I (like many others) enjoyed the woeful inadequacies of the Melbourne train system last Wednesay/Thursday/Friday where a half hour trip each day was turned into a 2 hour circus just to get home.

Now, I'm no public infrastructure expert of engineering guru, but two things intrigue me. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation/answer for each:

1. Why would you buy European-manufactured trains for Australian conditions when the airconditioning systems are only rated to maximum 35 degrees celcuis operating range?

2. Why are railway lines now laid down in continuous lengths without apparent expansion joints, thereby ensuring that they buckle as per the laws of physics when it gets very hot?

I can actually answer these.....as long as the info I have been provided is correct.

1. The euro trains don't have the A/C issues as said above, it's the old comeng ones that were refurbished a few years ago. The issue has been known basically forever but due to "costs" when they were refurbed (a lot by ALSTOM up here in Ballarat) the A/C was never replaced with a more effective system.

2. I have been led to believe that the track do have expansion joints and they are laid in the same lengths that they have always been. It's just now that they decided that to provide a "smoother" service it would be a good idea to weld the joints. Fail.

You think connex is bad try Vline. I travel between Ballarat and Southern Cross Monday through Friday and apart from the last 2 days the closest to running anywhere near on time was 40 minutes late except for last Friday. Last Friday my 5pm train didn't get in to Southern Cross to leave until 5.45pm so by that time I had given up and decided that the 5.49pm service that was running as a bus that day would be a better idea. Good thing that I did too, it beat the train that left 5 minutes before it to Ballarat by 1/2 an hour.

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by outback_ute

Pretty sure it is private.

I was under the impression that State Government invested $100 million for the project.

[X000BOSS]

4vman i had the same problem last night. the local quix's slurpee machine was out of order. boughts some ice-creams but had to put them in the freezer at home for a while before we pigged out.

[outback_ute]

Bobman, you may well be right, it sounds stupid enough to be true!

Also a/c systems are frequently/normally built for 35C max, the idea that 25% more cost for a system that will cope with 42/43/44/name your figure for a few days a year is not worth it. Mind you this assumes it will be operating & a few degrees above set point rather than cycling too long and freezing the condenser. Yep money - tenders always say "cheapest price not necessarily accepted" but if they don't they have to justify why not.