[russellward]

Thanks for sharing, Greg. Highlights the fact that stoking is/was a skilled job. Not just shovelling heaps of the black stuff in to fester and grumble away and put heaps of smoke up the funnel until it catches.
Got any more hints and tips.

[uisdean mor]

Originally Posted by Stephen J. Card

Well, one of them 2-furnace boilers is still in service... the last German coal burner! Little tug WOLTMAN.

Stephen

Here is a wee snap of an oil fired installation - oil because it was part of the refuelling tank farm for RN within Invergordon (last known mutiny I believe).
The tank farm and associated equipment is causing some concern as it ages - RN have simply walked away. See - https://librarylink.highland.gov.uk/...ull_223545.jpg

There are several web sites with info which should be easily accessed and if you are up this way you can walk into the site if it is of interest.
So Scotch boilers - oil fired - but not significantly different from coal fired except for the stokeholds. Hope it is of interest.

Main web link - https://her.highland.gov.uk/Monument/MHG36549

[kewl dude]

July, August, September 1973 an original T2 USNS Pecos hauled old bunker oil out of tanks that were leaking in Invergordon. Why we, a US Naval Ship, had this task none of us knew? We were tied up right downtown at the City Dock. When coasters with grain cargoes destined for a distillery came in, we had to shift to an anchorage until they were gone.

The oil was gravitated and as such we received cargo only at lower tides. When the tide raised us up loading ceased. We were able to load about a half cargo using this method. We discharged at an oil refinery a little ways up the Thames.

We had plenty of opportunity to explore around the area using local inter-city buses. I took a bus outside of Invergordon to a Croft that raised sheep, sheared the sheep, spun the wool and knit really nice relatively inexpensive sweaters. C/E Chic Sellers and 1 A/E me spent an afternoon at a restaurant/bar overlooking Loch Ness, Nessie never showed.

Attached: T2-USNSPecos.jpg (53.2 KB) I took this Polaroid picture at Gitmo.

Greg Hayden

[spongebob]

For many years now the scotch marine style boilers and their modern three pass wet back versions have been of single furnace tube design for steaming capacities up to 35,000 to 40,000 lbs/hr evaporation .
Twin or triple furnace design is unnecessary due to no need to burn down fire beds and remove ash while maintaining steaming rates and the fact that the removal of the furnace grate , fire bars, or stoker appliance allows the entire diameter of the furnace tube to act as a primary heating surface instead of only about 50% availability when firing solid fuels .
I know of only one installation in NZ that was new built as a twin furnace oil fired unit and that was about 1959 at NZ Lion Breweries in Khyber Pass Auckland and that was because the chief engineer feared a further world war that would deny him oil fuel.

Bob

[Stephen J. Card]

Originally Posted by uisdean mor

Here is a wee snap of an oil fired installation - oil because it was part of the refuelling tank farm for RN within Invergordon (last known mutiny I believe).


Hope it is of interest.

]

Yes. My sister-in law' father, John Moffatt, was at the mutiny.

[russellward]

Getting in there and chipping scale etc. Remember to have a rope on one of the studs on the top manholes when boxing her up. I had to dive down in one of the boilers on the pensioned off Auckland tug William C Daldy to get a manhole cover that had jiggled its way down tote bottom of the smoke tubes after they'd filled her. idiot that I was (but I did check that there was no tannin in there and that the dogs and nuts were topside.) I dived in and she took a lot of jiggling to get her out. Bloody cold and spooky with the ship gently moving and the freesurface slopping and echoing. Needed a cup of tea after that. We didn't have time to pump her out -we had to start raising steam for the inspector.

[spongebob]

Manholes, fearful things for the claustraphbia prone like me 15"X11" too tight
16"x12" not n
Much better but the door stiffening frame depth for anything bigger prevented larger openings .
God bless the engineers thinner than me.

Bob

[russellward]

Didn't even think and just wanted to be a hero. They were talking about renting a submersible pump to take the level down a bit -would have had to pratically empty her. We had a day or two to raise steam and we needed all that because as new owner, we wanted to be gentle! Unlike the AHB who'd have steam on the gauge and the bottom of the boiler just warm. Often wondered if that was why the newer oil fired Aucklander suffered so many cracks in her boilers. All welded of course.

[russellward]

I'd add on The Stoker's Manual 1945 HMSO price one shilling to those. Tells you all about stoking as an art form. Even if it has a picture of a man stoking a Lancashire Boiler. Any way I can post the cover and some pages of interest?

[spongebob]

Originally Posted by russellward

Didn't even think and just wanted to be a hero. They were talking about renting a submersible pump to take the level down a bit -would have had to pratically empty her. We had a day or two to raise steam and we needed all that because as new owner, we wanted to be gentle! Unlike the AHB who'd have steam on the gauge and the bottom of the boiler just warm. Often wondered if that was why the newer oil fired Aucklander suffered so many cracks in her boilers. All welded of course.

Russell ,Babcock
our manual used to recommend blowing down water to waste in order to circulate the water in the boiler drum especially when coal fired and little ,if any ,real heat is being conducted to the furnace underside .
Some designers placed the furnaces higher in the main tube plate and added a tube pass below to promote a more rapid circulation but that had issues with firing access when hand fired.
The modern answer is to fit the boiler drum with suction and return nozzles connected to an external circulating pump to stir up the contents and minimise stresses during rapid steam raising.
Had a bit to do with Daldy's boiler in the 1970's I think when at Cable- Price Engineering and when we donated some Hopkinson of Huddersfield gear, water gauges and a main pressure gauge if I recall correctly .
I hope she is still strutting her stuff on the Harbour.

Bob

[russellward]

Yep, she is still doing her thing on the harbour. Taking charter trips. When we used to fire her up, when she started making a little steam, we started up one of the Weir's pumps and took water from the bottom of the boiler and fed it into the top. Discharged the exhaust to atmospheric -made a lovely noise each stroke. Bigger ships had a Hydrokineter which did it by feeding steam into a sort of injector down low in the boiler.
In February 1975, she biffed the Blue Star Line Fremantle Star at some speed. The skipper had forgotten to switch the (electric) engine room telegraphs on when he went up top. He'd started off from the wheelhouse and went up on to the upper position. He was lining her up with the ship to pull her off the wharf and no response to twidling the telegraph. The force of the collision moved the boilers in the 'Daldy about 6 inches forward on their seats. The 'Daldy was repaired while afloat by ballasting aft. The boilers could not be moved back, so new seats were built for them, and they remain in their new position to this day. Several crew injured. She was pensioned off abut '77 and we took her over.
She's still running on the harbour and in good condition. She does charters for passengers.

[Peter Hewson]

Hi

I had almost 20 years, surveying boilers and Pressure vessels In the South of England. Been in a fair few. BAC factories where among the last to have Multiple Large "Scotch" Boiler installations. Now all gone. I surveyed the last Dennis Factory one, (Guildford) for a possible Sale circa 1985(ish)

During the 1966 Strike, we cleaned and surveyed several for Ellerman Wilson of Hull. We had a near miss on Tinto, when the 5th made the mistake of knocking in the top door, after the bottom had been opened. The ensuing blast of Steam/Hot air gave him a fright! and nearly scalded the guy. Brown trouser job that. We where taught always to open the top first Then the bottom!.

[russellward]

Some lessons are easy remembered!