With manual starting in cold weather you have plugs in the air manifold to pour oil in to improve sealing of the piston rings, and the oil also reduces the clearance volume, both increase compression ratio hence compression pressure and temperature. A lot of engines also have a lever to put on extra...

I don't think the tappet clearances would have much effect. I have sailed with engines where the maker sent out a service bulletin to increase the valve clearances by 50 % because it made the engine run quieter. If you had too little valve clearance the valves wdould not close and you would have low...

I would say if they are asking about the cycle of operation they mean the normal Suck squeeze Bang Blow 4 stroke operating cycle.
I don't think it is any more complex than that, sometimes we can look into much deeper meaning in exam questions than was ever intended,
Peter

If they have indicator cocks and individual fuel pumps it is easy, just hold the fuel pump up so it doesn't pump. If they have indicator cocks but not individual fuel pumps, disconnect the fuel pipe from each injector in turn and let it squirt into a plastic hose draining into a bucket while you che...

Rather than modifying an injector to put air pressure into the cylinder, it would be easier and cheaper to make a connection to the Indicator cock, that is what I have done in the past.

BP

A lot of noise can be eliminated by good design, it is always too high, I don't think that there is an acceptably high level of noise, it all causes long term damage to your hearing. Reducing structural transmission of noise/vibration helps, such as with Diesel Electric ships where the generator set...

Hi Zodiac, I guess you are putting a mixture of oil and water into the sludge/ waste oil tank and then heating to evaporate the water. You will then be left with a concentrated mixture of oil and solid waste which you have to pump ashore. If you heat oil too much it will carbonise and thicken the oi...

Hi the Sun, Interesting questions, I joined my first ship in 1973, she was a fairly standard refrigerated Cargo ship built in 1953, to a 1936 design, oil fired steam turbine Engines with a service speed of 15.5 knots, max 17kts equivalent to 372/ 408 Nautical Miles per day. We steamed from New Zeala...

I just saw this article, about an alternative to Sea Water Distillation or Reverse Osmosis Plants, I wonder when it will appear on ships?


https://engineering.columbia.edu/press- ... salination


BP

If the sludge production has increased suddenly: - 1) Has the quality of the fuel changed? i.e. have you started using a new batch of Bunkers, or maybe your new Bunkers are not compatible with the previous Bunkers and the reaction between them is creating this sludge. 2) Is the purifier actually dis...

Safety is an attitude of mind, learning lots of "Factoids" to answer multiple choice questions, marked by machine, does not test understanding or attitudes to safety.
Big Pete

A very sad truth.
I think it is solid evidence that despite the introduction of STCW etc the standard of Seafarer training is declining rather than improving.
B.P.

I agree that it has to be something to do with the overhaul and it very much sounds as if exhaust gas is blowing into the cooling water. You say that the water level goes up when you start the engine, does it go down again when you stop it? This is what you would expect if Gas was leaking in. If the...

The temperatures are far too cold, you could have cracked the castings running them that cold and you may be getting gas blow from the cylinders into the water. I had cracked heads on one ship with MaK Medium speeds, we didn't lose any water, but when the power came up (and the cylinder pressures) e...

When I was a Junior Engineer, back in the 70's, I joined a ship called the Strathleven, (ex Middlesex, ex Jellunga) that had been built in 1953 with twin RSG Sulzers. Before I joined, the Third on watch had heard a knocking noise from one cylinder and gone to get a screwdriver to use as a stethoscop...