As leading suppliers of welding gas in the UK, it’s no wonder that we love researching into some of the extraordinary feats of engineering which rely on the welding process in order to be a complete success.
One of the most impressive feats that we’ve come across is the Spaceship Earth structure which is situated in the Future World area of Epcot, one of the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in Florida.
Without engineers and welders working together to create such a unique structure, it’s quite possible that the most iconic attraction in the park would have not been created. Join us as we take a closer look at this impressive structure, and how welding played its part in its creation.
Structural Design
The Spaceship Earth structure boasts a massive 518.1 foot circumference and measures 165 feet in diameter to create its sphere-like shape.
This complete sphere is actually engineered using two dome structures to provide strength and stability to the entire structure. The first dome is located at the bottom of the sphere and provides the stability for the 6 leg supports that protrude from the base of the sphere.
The legs of the structure needed to be inserted 160 feet into the ground to provide enough support to keep the sphere “suspended” off the ground.
The Creation of the Domes
The skeleton of Spaceship Earth is created using a variety of steel beams, rods and pipes The outer “skin” is kept away from the skeleton using smaller pipes to allow room for essential maintenance and utilities to take place.
Welders were required throughout the whole process, securing the skeleton and the outer skin using various different welding and fabrication techniques. The whole project took around 26 months to complete.
If you have a welding project that you’re looking to get started on but need to get your hands on some welding gas, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Adams Gas. Call our team today on 0800 195 444 and we will be more than happy to help you with your enquiries.
Welding Wonders: Spaceship Earth, Epcot
As leading suppliers of welding gas in the UK, it’s no wonder that we love researching into some of the extraordinary feats of engineering which rely on the welding process in order to be a complete success.
One of the most impressive feats that we’ve come across is the Spaceship Earth structure which is situated in the Future World area of Epcot, one of the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in Florida.
Without engineers and welders working together to create such a unique structure, it’s quite possible that the most iconic attraction in the park would have not been created. Join us as we take a closer look at this impressive structure, and how welding played its part in its creation.
Structural Design
The Spaceship Earth structure boasts a massive 518.1 foot circumference and measures 165 feet in diameter to create its sphere-like shape.
This complete sphere is actually engineered using two dome structures to provide strength and stability to the entire structure. The first dome is located at the bottom of the sphere and provides the stability for the 6 leg supports that protrude from the base of the sphere.
The legs of the structure needed to be inserted 160 feet into the ground to provide enough support to keep the sphere “suspended” off the ground.
The Creation of the Domes
The skeleton of Spaceship Earth is created using a variety of steel beams, rods and pipes The outer “skin” is kept away from the skeleton using smaller pipes to allow room for essential maintenance and utilities to take place.
Welders were required throughout the whole process, securing the skeleton and the outer skin using various different welding and fabrication techniques. The whole project took around 26 months to complete.
If you have a welding project that you’re looking to get started on but need to get your hands on some welding gas, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Adams Gas. Call our team today on 0800 195 444 and we will be more than happy to help you with your enquiries.
Air Conditioning Maintenance Advice
The Adams Gas team love the feeling of knowing that we can help our valued customers outside of our standard opening hours; our blog being the main extension of this. Through providing our industry-insider blog, we get to address many of the customer queries and product issues we hear whilst providing of our reliable gas cylinders.
Take our nitrogen gas bottles for example; whilst these can be implemented for as varied an application as wine dispensary to use by racing teams, it is their use as the refrigerant in air conditioning units that we would like to highlight. It’s far too easy to take these units for granted, embracing their wonderful temperature regulation, but there are several things that you could be doing to ensure that you are getting the best out of your unit.
The first thing to remember with all these recommendations is that if you are unsure of what you are doing, always seek the assistance of a professional. With that in mind, there is one particular part of your air conditioning unit that can become incredibly clogged up and subsequently reduce its effectiveness; the filter. To guarantee the air that is coming through your unit is being fully filtered, it’s important to keep them clean. Not only will it improve the quality of the air passing through it, but a clean filter can actually reduce the unit’s energy consumption by 5%.
Remember To Turn It Off
Thanks to their ability to harness the wonder of nitrogen, air conditioning units can be used all year round. The only issue with this is that they can be taken for granted, forgotten about and left on unnecessarily. To save energy, and to improve the overall longevity of your unit, always remember to turn it off when you don’t need it.
Keep the Unit Topped Up
So, if you need to obtain yourself one of our nitrogen cylinders to be able to keep your unit working efficiently, all you have to do is get in touch! You can contact us on 0800 195 4445, where one of our friendly team are always waiting to address your gas-requirement needs.
New Year Resolutions: Caring For Your BBQ
Well the New Year is officially upon us; it’s 2016! And with each New Year tends to come an influx of ‘new year, new me’ declarations. Well, just because our team here at Adams Gas are involved in the provision of welding gas, Calor gas and the like, we don’t want to be excluded from the resolutions! Our resolutions will be televised… well, at least logged in our blog.
The BBQ season may seem fairly far away, but it’ll be upon you faster than you can say, “Just the one burger thanks. Oh go on then.” As such, we would like to combine the two and offer some New Year barbecuing resolutions for you to consider to get the best out of summer’s best friend; your barbecue.
It may not be number one priority when you’re full and you have a cool beverage in your hand but, trust us, you’ll be glad you did it. It’s actually easier to clean a barbecue while it is still warm, preventing the opportunity for all that yummy fat and gristle to set solid on your BBQ. We’ve heard stories of people leaving their barbecue for days on end, even months, and this does nothing for the longevity of your barbecue. Make a promise to your barbie-buddy that you’ll give it a clean after use, and you’ll be enjoying their company long into the future.
Store It Somewhere Dry
This one’s an easy one! It may sound a little ridiculous that people don’t do this, but it happens. This includes places that have a damp environment; it has a similar effect. If you store it somewhere wet, then all the usual suspects begin to rear their head, like rust and creepy crawlies, and these don’t do your barbecue’s longevity any favours… nor the taste of your food!
Expand Your Repertoire!
Burgers and sausages are great, but what about the ol’ Scouts’ favourite, bananas and chocolate? Slice a banana lengthways, chuck in a few chunks of chocolate and close it back up by wrapping the whole thing in tin-foil. Et voila! Hint: add bits of marshmallow; you may as well ruin your health kick in style! Make your barbecues a thing of legend by blowing the socks off your guests!
4 Fun Facts About Welding
Welding is a fabrication that refers to the joining together of metals.
Here at Adams Gas, we are a leading supplier of MIG welding gas. This is used during a MIG welding process in which an electric arc forms among a consumable wire electrode and the work piece metal – which is heated. This causes them to melt and join together.
The Perfect Beers to Sup This BBQ Season
We’re on a bit of a BBQ streak with blogs recently and rightly so! BBQ season is now in full swing and we’re loving the smell of a freshly lit BBQ that is now in the air up and down the country!
Rather than focusing on the food that you can cook at a BBQ, we’ve decided to look into the perfect beers to go along with the delicious grilled grub that is served at a BBQ. Join us as we find some of the best beers to eat with all the BBQ favourites!
Ah, the old BBQ classic. They are the perfect hand food and already taste great, especially when garnished to your perfection, so it’s quite easy to assume that pairing it with a beer won’t make it taste any better than it already does.
However, we recommend choosing a bitter, dark IPA to really bring out the chargrilled flavour of the meat. Many dark IPA’s have a heavy malt flavour that compliments that unique charred taste of your burger and a bitterness that adds a bit more depth to the taste of the combo.
German Beer with Sausages
Another big BBQ favourite and one which is also quite hard to pin a beer to when it comes to finding the perfect complimentary beverage.
Sausages are generally a beer food anyway. You will find that most beers go with them, and that it might take a while to find one that really makes that taste pop. Let’s help you out a bit here and suggest that you locate a German lager.
There’s a long history of Germany being the best country to get the perfect beer and a great sausage, and the BBQ in sunny old England is no exception when you bring a little bit of Germany to your cooking. When cooked on a BBQ, sausages form an exceptional caramelized coating, and amber or brown German lagers are perfect to complement this sweetness with their bready, caramel tasting flavours.
German Beers and Chicken
Grilled chicken can often be a challenge when it comes to finding the perfect beer. Usually chicken grilled on a BBQ will be marinated beforehand to give it a more intense flavour. This added flavouring will determine what beers work well with the chicken.
If marinated with a BBQ marinade, brown or amber lagers will enhance the sweetness of the marinade without overpowering the meal. Spicy and herby chicken can benefit from blonde beers and their peppery, doughy maltiness. Alternatively for spicy chicken, you can use helles lager which offers an almost honey-like sweetness and grassy German hops to tie the beers together seamlessly with the spices of the chicken.
We hope that you’ve been inspired to get pairing your BBQ dishes with complimentary beers. If you are lucky enough to own a home bar, you can wow your guests with your new found BBQ beer knowledge. It’s important to make sure that your bar is fully stocked with tasty beer, and to pull that perfect pint you will need a good supply of beer gas.
That’s where we come in! Adams Gas are leading providers of cellar gas so that you can pull those pints perfectly every single time. If you would like to find out more on our cellar gas services, don’t hesitate to call our team on 0800 195 444 today and we will be more than happy to help you with your enquiries.