Back in October, as my transfer approached, there was just one thing I wanted to do: learn how to run big pipe. Running pipe is one of the most common tasks that is required of electricians (you've got to pull wire through something), but it was something that I had only had a few chances to do. There are all kinds of different pipe sizes, from 1/2 in. up to 5 in. or higher, and most of my experience at that point was with the smaller sizes. I wanted the big stuff.
So when I came to this job I was preparing to ask the superintendent if there was any chance I could be put on some pipe-work. On these big jobs there are tons of different crews doing different things--there are pipe-running crews, wire-pulling crews, rough-in crews, fire alarm crews and a whole lot more--and I knew that Day 1 was my best opportunity to get placed with the men and women running pipe. It turns out I didn't have to say a word: as I affixed my name to my shiny, new hard-hat, my new foreman walked in and introduced himself. "C'mon with me up to the penthouse and we'll get you started," he said. "Hope you like running pipe." Sweet.
And that's what I've been doing for the last 9 months. The penthouse is where all of the big equipment is on this job: the cooling towers, chillers, switchgear, generators, transfer switches, pumps, elevator machine rooms, etc. There are gigantic air-ducts and steam and water pipes crisscrossing the whole area. And all of our pipe has to fit in there as well.
Back in October, the ceiling area was still pretty empty. My mechanic (journeyman) and I were running big racks of twenty or thirty pipes and having a ball. We'd have long, straight runs from one piece of gear to another, with only a few corners and minor elevation changes here or there. Now, in June, it's another story. This is where you really become a craftsman. Over the course of these past nine months, ductmen and steamfitters have been working as hard as we have and so there really is no such thing as a "straight-shot" from point A to point B anymore. You have to sneak your pipe through all sorts of tight spaces. And you've got to do this while obeying code and keeping the people coming behind you to pull wire happy: no more than 360 degrees of bending between pull-boxes, no more than 200 ft. of pipe between boxes, pull-boxes mounted in accessible areas, etc. I thought I knew how to run pipe when I could run it straight and level. Now I know I can run pipe because of all the tricky offsets, kicks, and saddles I've had to bend. You keep learning, even when you think you've got it all down pat.
In my experience, the electricians have always been the "can-do" workers on the job. Our general rule-of-thumb has always been to keep our pipes "high & tight:" as high up and tight to the deck as possible. You think about this when you're planning your run and choosing your ideal path. Every now and then, however, another trade needs to put something in the same spot and it's almost always the electrician who chooses to re-route their pipe to make way for the other trades. A lot of people find this to be a frustrating task, but if you think about it, it simply showcases the talent and craftsmanship of the electrician: she or he is flexible and skilled enough to do the job however it needs to be done.
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