The most unusual job

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Merlyn
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The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

What's the most unusual job ever carried out by anyone out there? Not the normal run of the mill jobs but anywhere on the ship? Something different.
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The Dieselduck
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by The Dieselduck »

When I was with Disney Cruise Lines, I had to clean out the sewage treatment plants every three months, four of them. Of course the bubbler sets up a current and some stringy items start clinging together, over time, forming a sizeable ball probably 50-60 lbs, which has to be broken up and fished out with a pitchfork thingy, then taken to the incinerator for disposal.

Not really poking at it to investigate, at first I thought it was threads from a mop, at east that's what it looked like to me - and I was thinking that was allot of cleaning being done. Then one of the seconds explained to me that it was just a huge ball of remnants from condoms.

Them's were the "luxury cruise" ship days.
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Merlyn
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Probably the driving bands Martin!
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by JK »

taking all of the fuel vent screens off in the Arctic, because at -30 to -40*C tempereratures, the mesh was freezing closed from the fuel vapours.
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Bet you daren't sign onto a ship Carribean bound , I reckon you would jump ship, postcards to the wife, all that stuff. All that heat would draw you further than gun powder could ever blow you. Only ice from now on in the gin glass. The bigger the gin the bigger the waves jobby methinks?
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by JK »

Thats gross, Martin, bad enough to do it on a ship with 30 people, but with 3-6000 people! I had to get a pass on going to sea because a medication I was on made my blood a little wonky. The Dr said to me, I can't see how it makes a difference...then I described fixing a sewage problem. LOL

The GOM was way too warm for my fat, little body. The Mediteranean wasn't too bad. Ice is nice, the ship sits still.

You know I really can't think of one offhand. Some of the work was probably unusual but usual for that ship at that time. I have heard and seen some unusual stuff though as we all have.
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

What about this one then, ship trapped in solid ice, can't get out for months, supplies low, wife's nagging again, eventually thaw starts to set in but all compressors down and can't be repaired without shoreside help. How can you start the mains with no outside air available from the ships compressors? Ps bottles empty
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Just done an injection pump change on one of the ships lifeboats. The lift pump is a vacuum pump built into the injection pump. Can't bleed the system, flattened battery after battery, no go. Quick way over this?
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Re: The most unusual job

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Merlyn wrote:What about this one then, ship trapped in solid ice, can't get out for months, supplies low, wife's nagging again, eventually thaw starts to set in but all compressors down and can't be repaired without shoreside help. How can you start the mains with no outside air available from the ships compressors? Ps bottles empty
An interesting situation
If the vessel is a dead ship with no power and not even an emergency air compressor or generator you can try charging the emergency air receiver with the air from a SCBA Bottle. It should provide enough air pressure, along with a little either, to start a cold generator.
If there is some power (Emergency Generator) and it has enough power run turning gear on the main engine. After connecting lines with check valves from the indicator cocks on the main engine to the air receiver. Using the turning gear to turn the engine, air compressed by the moving piston through the compression stroke will recharge the air receiver.
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by D Winsor »

Merlyn wrote:Just done an injection pump change on one of the ships lifeboats. The lift pump is a vacuum pump built into the injection pump. Can't bleed the system, flattened battery after battery, no go. Quick way over this?
Check to insure the key switch to the electric fuel valve (if fitted) is turned on
Check to insure any safety shutdowns if fitted to the engine have been reset
Check and verify the pump timing
Check the fuel tank is full of fuel
Check the insure fuel tank valve is open
Check the seals on the fuel filter for air leakage and check to insure the filter is full of fuel
Check for some sort of priming connection on the filter that you can use to supply fuel to the pump from some sort of portable container or hand pump
Check the cam follower is not stuck in the guide
Check the linkage to vacuum pump is not damaged or broken
Check the diaphragm in the vacuum pump to insure it is not damaged or broken
Check the valves in the vacuum pump
Check to see if there is some kind of priming lever or wrench connection to the linkage in the cam box for moving the pump. (Lister Engines have them) Working the lever should draw fuel up into the pump
Check the throttle and fuel rack linkage
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Merlyn
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Very good comprehensive answer, but alas not the answer I am looking for? ( much more quicker way ) No primer arrangement at all fitted, you are of course assuming this is not a common rail engine whereby ECU controls the injection timing.
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Merlyn
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Re the no air problem I have used diving bottles for a similar problem in the past but you really need a portable compressor as although it's about 3'000 p.s.i. It takes several goes to fill the emergency tank on its own I found. I was thinking of a different approach? Bit of a brain racket methinks this one.
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Merlyn
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Ships tender is ashore about 4 miles from the ship. Coxswain radios in engine won't start. Have a go Jo reports fuel system completely blocked solid, stuff in tank like half a tennis ball de laminating and packed stack pipe solid ( some wag lost fuel cap and in the tennis ball went ) Ship only has one tender, coxswain has hired a pedalo to get out to ship to collect you. Ship waiting to sail, quick, easy way over this required, no time to strip out tank etc? Ps stewardess waiting?
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Big Pete »

Lister lifeboat engines, happy memories of ship visiting at anchor and changing Walports Films with other ship's!

Some of them have a little Brass knob on the forward end of the engine that you have to pull out to give extra fuel for starting, they also used to have a little pot on the air inlet manifold that you could fill with L.O. or fuel and L.O. mix, so that it was drawn into the cylinder on the compression stroke, and helped the piston rings seal and also, by coating the piston crown, and filling the space between the piston and liner reduced the volume, increasing the compression ratio, so that a higher temperature was achieved on the compression stroke.
For Arctic starting they used to suggest diluting the normal L.O. with 50% Gas Oil to reduce viscous drag to a manageable level.

If there is fuel in the tank and both the cartridge filter in line and the mesh inside the fuel lift pump are clean and the tank full of fuel, it is not drawing air into the suction piping and the lift pump is in good order it is just a matter of cranking the engine, decompressed, and on full throttle until you hear the injectors squirting.


With the main engine starting, I have heard of the CO2 Fire Fighting bottles being connected to the starting air system, in extremis.
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Re: The most unusual job

Post by Merlyn »

Remember the Listers and their running mate the Petter engines well. Taking the bumper clearances, those shims, decompression levers on both cylinders on a twin, must have been 22-1 comp. ratio. Unless you had the knack on the hand start ones they would bring you up solid like turning over a brick wall. Air cooled a lot of them, noisy diesel knock jobbies. But they seemed to go on for ever, never ever put your thumb over that ratchet arrangement of a starting handle or else it could well break your thumb. Lots of sore wrists on this fellas. Really loud sqeek from the injectors,, still got a twin I made up on a bed with alternator mounted on a frame I made up when the miners strike was on approx 1973 ish But alas not the answer?
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