[holmsey]

Joe,
One of the things that made me leave SMT was the time I was called into the Works Managers office, a 700kg brass bush went missing over the weekend previously when I was in carrying out repairs to a machine. They were asking me because I had a means of transport, I told them that my 90cc Honda step-through wasn't very well suited to doing wheelies along the Broomielaw.

It was discovered later that the part had actually been lifted 2 weeks earlier and taken away for machining.

 

[averheijden]

L.S.

The real LAST DOXFORD which is still in service after almost 60 years is the Drill Ship "ABAN ICE, operating in the Arabian Sea.

This ship is the Ex"JEAN SCHNEIDER , built in France in 1959

Here an Air blow before departure

BTW: I have still regular contact with the Technical Department of this Company

Regards Alfons

http://users.telenet.be/doxford-matters

 

[averheijden]

L.S,

I HAVE REMOVED ABOVE VIDEO AND MADE A NEW ONE FROM ENGINE ROOM PICTURES AND A SMALL VIDEO RECEIVED FROM THE TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE “ABAN ICE”

(for a greater movie push on the small square right under)

https://youtu.be/sQ-1nV6cE7k

REGARDS
ALFONS

 

[Iain Taylor]

What were the advantages/disadvantages of the opposed piston marine diesel engines? I never sailed on a ship with one.

Frank

Not sure about efficiency. Main differences : no cylinder head; no big camshaft driving exhaust valves. Uniflow exhaust without an exhaust valve, although it could be argued that the top piston was effectively an exhaust valve. Easy to access cylinder for inspection /cleaning by 2 nuts on top piston. Drawback was a crankcase like a jungle with all the extra bearings.

 

[Tim Gibbs]

What were the advantages/disadvantages of the opposed piston marine diesel engines? I never sailed on a ship with one.

Frank

Mechanically, the Doxford LB design was complex; a four cylinder engine had one or two scavenge pumps, two camshafts, eight pistons, eight mechanically operated fuel injectors and 41 bearings, 17 of which were in spherical housings and 12 were steel on steel. However, being virtually vibration free, uniflow scavenging and common rail fuel system giving good fuel consumption and its fabricated steel construction resulting in a relatively light weigh , for a time it became the most popular engine with shipowners around the world

 

[Frank P]

Mechanically, the Doxford LB design was complex; a four cylinder engine had one or two scavenge pumps, two camshafts, eight pistons, eight mechanically operated fuel injectors and 41 bearings, 17 of which were in spherical housings and 12 were steel on steel. However, being virtually vibration free, uniflow scavenging and common rail fuel system giving good fuel consumption and its fabricated steel construction resulting in a relatively light weigh , for a time it became the most popular engine with shipowners around the world

Thanks,

 

[Tim Gibbs]

There's a nice little model of Taikoo made 4-legger in the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
Only sailed on one Doxford, built under licence by Commonwealth Engine Works, Port Melbourne. No trouble with it at all, ran like a top. However, two other ships with CEW-built engines, Mount Kembla & Mount Keira, had no end of trouble with main and bottom ends. As an apprentice at State Dockyard, Newcastle, had regular overtime scraping and fitting new bearings. The cause of the trouble was never identified, to the best of my knowledge, but there was a strong suggestion that it was somehow a result of insufficient scantlings around the ER......

Those bearing problems could well have been cause by "locked " spherical bearings. If the ship was flexing together with the flexing of the crankshaft, the sphericals had to work hard to keep the bearing and pin surfaces aligned.

 

[Tim Gibbs]

Those bearing problems could well have been cause by "locked " spherical bearings. If the ship was flexing together with the flexing of the crankshaft, the sphericals had to work hard to keep the bearing and pin surfaces aligned.

Those bearing problems could well have been cause by "locked " spherical bearings. If the ship was flexing together with the flexing of the crankshaft, the sphericals had to work hard to keep the bearing and pin surfaces aligned.

Have just remembered a "spherical" story from > 50 years ago;
A 20 year old 67LB6 had been running without any problems when the company decided! to check the alignment. It was horrible! So they rechocked the engine and on the following voyage we had lots of bearing failures.. The problem was that the bearing sphericals had, over time, slowly settled into their required positions but with the realignment they were being forced into positions where ridges has formed so preventing the sphericals moving to positions to allow the bearing surfaces to run parallel. Many (un)happy hours were spent removing the bearings and grinding the ridges down.