Atlas: Copco Radiator Repairs

The air in the Nevada desert had a teeth-rattling density to it, a thick slurry of heat and fine dust. For three weeks, the Atlas Copco XATS 900E had been the heart of a gold mine’s leach pad operation, breathing a relentless 900 cubic feet of compressed air per minute into a network of pipes that kept the cyanide solution agitated. Without it, the gold didn’t float. Without it, the mine lost $40,000 an hour.

Dave grimaced. The “Atlas Special” was an unspoken religion among field techs. It involved a mobile hydraulic press, a custom-made fin comb, a case of argon gas, and a TIG welder that could draw enough current to dim the lights of a small town. It meant performing major surgery in the field, under a tarp, in 104-degree heat. atlas copco radiator repairs

They refilled the system with distilled water—no coolant yet, because a leak check required the low surface tension of water to find pinholes. Dave pressurized the system to 15 psi. They waited. Ten minutes. Twenty. The needle on the gauge didn’t flicker. He pressed a paper towel against the weld. Dry. The air in the Nevada desert had a