Finally got to see the old switchgear at the Hotel del Coronado

I did a walkthrough there last week to bid on some lighting work and couldn't believe the original knife switches are still in the basement. They've got them behind glass now but you can see the copper contacts. Have any of you guys worked on really old gear that's still in service?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma_smith14d ago

Used to think old gear like that was just nostalgia bait for electricians who refuse to let go of the past lol but honestly seeing those knife switches in person changed my mind. The copper contacts were still shiny after like a hundred years and the whole thing was built like a tank compared to the plastic garbage we deal with now. There's something about the way they designed things back then that just feels more honest, no planned obsolescence or cheap shortcuts. Makes me wish we still made stuff that could outlast our grandkids instead of crapping out after five years lmao.

logan_dixon1814d ago

My buddy @emma_smith, he actually found an old knife switch at his grandpa's farm last summer. Thing still worked after sitting in a barn for fifty years, copper was barely tarnished even with all that dust. Kinda makes you wonder why we can't just build stuff like that anymore.