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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 12/14/21 7:58 AM, Ann Bogaerts
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAJqD27ayOn3mEpHPr+tU1UHicsZKCwiUR0XmE3K5KddU3Yo1TA@mail.gmail.com">
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<div dir="ltr">Hello everybody,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We wish to renovate our herbarium with 4 milj. specimens
and we want to get some feedback from other institutions who
already renovated or renewed their collection buildings. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>One of our main questions is the use of compactors yes or
no? So what is your opinion about this? How much space do you
save using a compactor and how is it working with this kind of
system? For which collections do you use it?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>We are really interested in the do's and don'ts and it
would also be nice if you could send us a picture of the
compactors you use.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Briefly: our insect collection went from regular static insect
cabinets to a compactor system in 2002. It almost doubled our
storage capacity (instead of 7 aisles and 8 rows of cabinets, we
now have 2 aisles and 13 rows of cabinets). That bought us a few
decades' worth of expansion.<br>
</p>
<p>Liquid storage cabinets are in the static units to either side,
and and microscope slides are in a narrow shelving unit in the
middle; the 11 movable compactor units are only for cabinets of
pinned specimens, and operated manually. In 18 years we have not
needed any repairs, which is a far better track record than
electric-powered compactor systems. Insects on pins are fragile
but not as bad as people might think; we routinely ship specimens
using postal delivery and only rarely experience significant
damage.<br>
</p>
<p>The MAJOR caveat for compactors has to do with design and
execution: we had to literally breathe down the necks of the
people from the compactor company because they kept screwing up
the blueprints and specs for the hardware dimensions in very minor
ways, and there were also issues with pouring a layer of concrete
on top of an existing floor. To illustrate how subtle but
devastating a mistake can be, one of the things they didn't
account for was that both sides of each moving unit had a knob
that could be pulled out to engage the brake on that side. Those
knobs stuck out an inch when fully retracted. We have two aisles,
and each was calculated on the blueprints to be about 36 inches
wide, and there are 6 moving compactor units on one side and 5 on
the other. They failed to realize that their calculations had <b>excluded
the knobs</b>, which subtracted 2 inches of space per unit. Had
they proceeded with the installation as planned, the aisle on one
side would have been only 24 inches, and only 26 inches on the
other, which isn't even enough space to open the cabinet doors. I
caught this mistake and had them machine the knobs an inch shorter
so they retract almost flush with the side, instead of projecting;
they are a little tricky to pull out, but at least we can work in
the aisles. They similarly failed to account for the three inches
in height that were added by the wheels of the undercarriage on
the compactor units, but I didn't catch that mistake, so the tops
of some cabinets would have run into some low-hanging ceiling
ductwork that we had expected to be clear. We had to rebuild the
ductwork before all the cabinets could be installed.</p>
<p>I advise anyone planning compactors to stay very actively engaged
during the design process, and don't trust the contractors to get
every little detail right. Be very wary in particular about the
precision of dimensions, and maybe plan a few extra inches here
and there if you can.</p>
<p>Peace,<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html">https://faculty.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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