Our aerosol instruments sample air through long inlets. In order to draw air though the inlet, you use a pump- simple enough. A few weeks ago we had a pump freakout, stall, and die. No big deal, all the major sampling was over. We switched the other pump over and after some calibrations, everything was fine. Fast forward a week. We’ve been busy processing data and preparing for the presentation (which was yesterday). We finally go check on the site, only to find that the pump has CAUGHT ON FIRE. Needless to say, it wasn’t pumping any more. I don’t have pictures, but I intent to get some tomorrow if possible. I’m not sure exactly what caused the fire (which may have just been melting, not actual flames). The plastic inlet and exhaust lines to the pump were thoroughly melted, the power cable to the laptop had melted through, but thank god that the pile of (damp?) sawdust didn’t ignite and burn down my co-workers shed. Really scary.
I’m going to ride my bike today. Really. Incredible, I know.
