And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Thursday, May 26, 2022
The open crankcase and crankshaft of a Wärtsilä-Sulzer 12 cylinder marine diesel
My Dad had Chief Engineer's licenses in both diesel and steam (yes, long ago) and told me about engines he worked on that had cylinders big enough that a man could stand in them. That engine has cylinders big enough that a man could LIVE in them!
Or maybe 2 1/2" or better. Those hard lines look to be much larger than a #24 hydraulic hose, which is 1 1/2" inside diameter. Whatever they are, they're pumping a lot of that evil oil. It's a beautiful thing.
I wonder if there is any place left in the US that could make something like this? When I was a kid, I saw Bethlehem Steel Works. It's gone. I worked at Carrier, where they had a factory that made gigantic air conditioning chillers for skyscrapers. Now it's an empty field. .
I don't think they're there yet. This looks like the bottom end, early in construction. The engine will mostly be in front and above you, once completed. I'd like to see the part where the lift this engine into/onto the keel. It's a monster.
i worked in the nassco shipyard in san diego in the 80's. at the time there was a cable layer ship with a 5 cylinder main engine that was supposed to be the largest in the us if not the world. all i know is that it was huge.
I wonder if they assemble it offsite first and run it on a test stand before tearing it apart and install it in the gut of the ship. I have seen more than one very large engine fail after an overhaul. Being inside of a ship would be exponentially worse to have a failure on start up
My Dad had Chief Engineer's licenses in both diesel and steam (yes, long ago) and told me about engines he worked on that had cylinders big enough that a man could stand in them. That engine has cylinders big enough that a man could LIVE in them!
ReplyDeleteAppears to be finely machined, too. I wonder what kind of tolerances were allowed on it?
ReplyDeleteWhat’s that like 2” pluming bringing oil to those crank bearings?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll bet that's one of those new ones that take eight quarts.
DeleteOr maybe 2 1/2" or better. Those hard lines look to be much larger than a #24 hydraulic hose, which is 1 1/2" inside diameter.
DeleteWhatever they are, they're pumping a lot of that evil oil. It's a beautiful thing.
Beautiful machinery
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is any place left in the US that could make something like this? When I was a kid, I saw Bethlehem Steel Works. It's gone. I worked at Carrier, where they had a factory that made gigantic air conditioning chillers for skyscrapers. Now it's an empty field. .
ReplyDeleteWeird, I don't see any caps on the connecting rods.....Brother Tucker.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're there yet. This looks like the bottom end, early in construction. The engine will mostly be in front and above you, once completed. I'd like to see the part where the lift this engine into/onto the keel.
DeleteIt's a monster.
They build it IN the ship. Look to the side of the photo, that angled plate area in grey IS the ship's hull.
Deletei worked in the nassco shipyard in san diego in the 80's. at the time there was a cable layer ship with a 5 cylinder main engine that was supposed to be the largest in the us if not the world. all i know is that it was huge.
ReplyDeleteNo visible seams in that block. How in the world do they cast something that big?
ReplyDeleteDrop that motor in a Vega.
ReplyDelete-Snakepit
Fairbanks-Morse (Wisconsin Company) still makes the huge Pielstick marine engines - https://www.fairbanksmorse.com/engine
ReplyDeleteThe aggravation you must feel when you drop your 10cm socket and it rolls to dead center in the bilge under the engine block…
ReplyDeleteWartsila RTA96-C, search that and be educated.
ReplyDeleteAlberto
I wonder if they assemble it offsite first and run it on a test stand before tearing it apart and install it in the gut of the ship. I have seen more than one very large engine fail after an overhaul. Being inside of a ship would be exponentially worse to have a failure on start up
ReplyDeleteNatural gas compressor stations use engines of a similar size. At Ulysses we had 2 16 cylinder Clarks at least that large. 7500hp at 330 rpm.
ReplyDelete