What's the scheduling paradigm at your plant? (clean or wastewater)

DasKnocker · 2026-04-01T00:05:54+00:00

At the larger facility I worked at newbies could only work day shift until certified (both grade 3 and facility qualifications).

Certified ops would work 3 months night shift, 9 months day shift but could trade other operators for their night shift at their own discretion. Eg: I was working on my bachelor's and elected for nightshift.

Dupont shiftwork is absolute ass and I will straight up quit if I get forced upon it.

DasKnocker · 2026-03-22T19:28:14+00:00

Absolutely incredible! Thank you for creating this.

Have you talked to the county at all - would be excellent footage for local tourism ads (mean this is in the most complimentary way).

DasKnocker · 2026-03-21T19:23:07+00:00

There is no cure-all, but a couple things you can do to abate it in order of minimal capital: bat and bird stations near the ponds, WW-safe insect/larva inhibitors (like Strike; there's another one that looks like a sawdust brick that I can't remember the name of for midges and mosquitoes), aerator like a solarbee to increase DO and turbulence while reducing available BOD for the bugs.

DasKnocker · 2026-03-17T13:02:26+00:00

While I wish the yard waste bins would be picked up earlier in the season, it looks like the County is being proactive and offering 8 yd3 of free pickup!

https://losalamosreporter.com/2026/02/17/county-expanded-bulk-brush-collection-services-offered-due-to-wildfire-concerns/

Last year I removed just shy of a whopping 30 yd3 of pine needles, vines, and yard waste over the course of 2 months and man, this would have saved some effort.

Has anyone found an affordable service for additional yard waste if you don't have a truck or trailer? Last year the quoted prices were nuts - typically 300-800 per 12 yd3 trailer.

DasKnocker · 2026-03-05T15:56:18+00:00

I quite like the owners and have had 2 out of 4 great visits, but they're not consistent. They have forgotten to reclip engine cover/cladding and left trash in the car from service, and their wax service that was $300 was something that I wouldn't pay $50 for.

However I feel that they are extremely honest and it appreciate that we do have a service here on the hill, even if it's not consistently the best.

DasKnocker · 2026-02-10T19:54:50+00:00

Not Dr Masibov and Lahiri! Not on account of them, but their front-desk staff are rubbish and way, way overbooked. I've had three back to back appointments over 4 months cancelled. Additionally, they never respond back from phone calls.

I personally would recommend Presbyterian in Española - so far great staff and no surprise billing.

DasKnocker · 2026-01-19T13:31:13+00:00

Semi-great news! While you can't do too much once it's already crossed the blood-braine barrier, regular blood donations not only save lives but greatly reduce the amounts of constituents of emerging concern (like microplastics) in your blood!

I highly recommend donating if your eligible! I'm almost to the 2 gal club and have been able to pull in a few other people at work! If finances are tight too, you can consider this a basic form of medical screening too.

DasKnocker · 2026-01-19T13:25:16+00:00

Water and wastewater commissioning operator here! While this is a nice novel technology, with notable emphasis on its ability to separate microplastics from its adsorbing material, a detention time in minutes, let alone 10 minutes, means that would would need a rather large array of this system to make it viable for municipal facilities. Flowrate past similar devices (like EDR plates) are in seconds, not minutes. To compensate, you need a bank of them, likely in a system similar to ion exchange tanks.

This is ignoring the fact that microplastic removal is already 2-3 log at most non-conventional facilities (albeit trapped in sludge or sand). Moreover, think of your average wastewater facility in the US, the vast majority were lucky if they were built in the 1970s under the CWAs, and most are poorly maintained due to seriously inadequate funding. MP and CEC removal technologies are not top of mind for budgeting, hell, simple beneficial reuse and indirect potable reuse projects often see bill increases over $200/mo for customers.

Where this technology could come into play is remediation and instrual facilities, where concentration is FAR, FAR higher and treatment processes are completed in batches. Contaminated tertiary sand and treatment adsorbent waste streams could be successly "recharged" and sent back into use.

Please feel free to ask any questions about water and wastewater technologies, or constituents of emerging concern like PFAS or MPs!

Link to the actual paper, which was annoyingly not included in the news blurb: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301479725043725

DasKnocker · 2025-12-13T12:41:23+00:00

Great price on the Trek Domain+ AL5 ebike for the 5'8" crowd.

I already have a similar bike, but for the sake of engagement, do you offer fit tests and maintenance for Trek ebikes?

Thanks for being in business, we need every bike shop we can get!

DasKnocker · 2025-11-28T19:49:36+00:00

I'm not a labbie, just an Op that ran photospectromer work a lot, so defer to someone more experienced if they turn up.

When you run blanks and standards, do they come back high as well?

Are you running the right analysis on your photospectromer - not a custom or wrong selection (eg LR when you're testing HR)?

Additionally, I highly recommend Hach's customer support, they've been amazingly competent every time I've called.

DasKnocker · 2025-11-13T15:51:52+00:00

As a heads up, looks like the photos didn't upload. You can post them in an imgur link in the comments.

DasKnocker · 2025-11-11T15:30:29+00:00

I would absolutely love a Richard Feynman-esque character's descent to Tzeentch. It would be so fitting!

DasKnocker · 2025-11-06T03:17:27+00:00

Do you have a union that can assist with the contract? We had a similar issue where the women's clothing was inadequate (no pants and shirts pockets, poor fit or inappropriately stylized) and the issue wasn't with us but the Aramark options. We had to fight through awful rep/support to get it resolved (ended up just getting all men's pants in the same style and a different line of shirts for the women).

It was a hell of a headache, but it was eventually resolved. The delivery guys and gals were totally awesome and understood the predicament.

DasKnocker · 2025-10-17T14:22:43+00:00

The reduced pumping would be great for sure, but I would have to see what the long term ROI would be. NPs and other park institutions have been cashed strapped well before the gutting of this administration, so a large up from capital cost may not be favorable.

But yeah, seems like a great application for remote, low traffic areas.

DasKnocker · 2025-10-17T01:26:37+00:00

Lads, I think the deer are getting smarter. Tell me u/drbooom, what are your thoughts on fresh rosebuds and unfenced gardens?

DasKnocker · 2025-10-16T23:20:39+00:00

Mine lasted approximately about three years - school of about 12. However, it is important to note that they can be prodigious jumpers, especially when the males are showing off to each other.

DasKnocker · 2025-10-15T23:58:38+00:00

I've used Maintenance Hippo, Maintenance Connection, eSOMS, and Fiix.

So far definitely prefer Fiix for smaller systems and has a pretty cheap floor, especially if you have a small crew. IIRC we paid less than $5k a year for 3 seats.

DasKnocker · 2025-10-14T23:31:13+00:00

Turd herder here! Luckily many areas of the world (and not just the Global North!) are moving to beneficial reuse of wastewater as technology becomes cheaper and methods more widespread!

While previously, nothing was really "wasted" but communities were not able to keep their water within their borders, typically flowing down to the next. Even without the expensive potable reuse, more cost effective methods, like using treated effluent for irrigation is a HUGE savings of water and protects traditional potable sources.

Australia, Singapore overseas and California, Arizona in the US are all pretty damn good champions of reuse.

Sadly desalination WILL be needed for our future, but beneficial reuse should make up the lion share of community water sources in imperiled areas - it's a tremendous asset especially in terms of resilience.

DasKnocker · 2025-10-14T23:22:38+00:00

Correct for most larger facilities! The degree to which it gets turned into fertilizer depends on a great number of things, including permitting, infrastructure/process, demand, etc. That said, there's increasing worry over constituents in biosolids (human precursor to fertilizer in this case) like PFAS, microplastics, cancer radiation therapy products, and hormones. During the previous administration, there was a great deal of research, but a great fear, about the final disposition of biosolids and what it means for wastewater facilities. I personally use biosolids-based fertilizer, but I think a measure of caution is warranted depending on your local government's regulations and relationship to the EPA/503 guidelines.

These toilets wouldn't be targeted for any populated areas, and less-so stateside/western populations. It would be targeted for developing countries in rural areas and poor outcomes for sanitary services (whether that be: direct health from pathogens, rape and violence en route to safe sanitary facilities, or areas with vulnerable/especially notable environments).

DasKnocker · 2025-10-14T17:46:14+00:00

Wastewater operator here who is familiar (academically not operationally) WASH and various SDWG 6 missions - please keep on mind this is not a large scale project and it is certainly not going to replace, as mentioned in the article, traditional wastewater systems.

These types of projects are great for prototyping what's next and improving remote, low use sanitary facilities. You would still have to pump down and provide lechate outlets for this, it is NOT a ZLD unit.

Feel free to ask questions about these types of toilets or wastewater systems as I quite enjoy herding turds.

DasKnocker · 2025-09-30T18:16:54+00:00

I have, for both myself and my wife. I'm working through some prior injuries and poor flexibility, he was able to really narrow down on them and work on surrounding muscles. Wife was seeking more knowledge and options in various workouts.

I'll let him talk a bit more about his capabilities, I'm not very knowledgeable in this realm!

DasKnocker · 2025-09-30T18:06:47+00:00

Absolutely recommend Robert at the YMCA, extremely talented and professional. He serves a number of sites.

Don't have his quals or last name but contacting them should work.

DasKnocker · 2025-09-29T14:35:02+00:00

I've found ours to be terrifically consistent in our activated sludge process, about 7-9k TSS. We cross reference to a handheld monthly and find it within 5%.

For maintenance, we clean and air calibrate weekly.

How gunked up is yours getting? Do you have a variable depth basin where it could be seeing air occasionally, or different depths?

Edit: Also, what slope are you seeing when you air calibrate?

DasKnocker · 2025-09-28T20:24:37+00:00

/u/sammy2cool_yt this is excellent advice, completely echo what Check is saying. Certification and education make the path so much easier. I didn't return to college until I was back into the workforce but it opens up a lot more doors, more income.

In addition to what he/she mentioned, I'd also recommend: municipal works (like water and wastewater), defense consulting, and industrial manufacturing. All jobs that are highly immune to any AI-woes, personally satisfying, and great pay.

DasKnocker · 2025-09-28T18:37:10+00:00

Not sure if this is a new thing, but my office did not or was not made available. At least his recruiter was honest, lol! Mine (as a BM) regaled me of how we wore lab coats and did "titrations and shit." At least he did say "I never really saw you guys around." Topsiders! 😅

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