WHX?? 48,815 #26 Posted January 29, 2022 1 hour ago, wh500special said: I don’t imagine they rope start that thing. Most likely compressed air. The big 12-cylinder Fairbanks on submarines are started with air. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #27 Posted January 29, 2022 15 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: ^^^ That's me. I beg to differ..... 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,156 #28 Posted January 29, 2022 36 minutes ago, WHX?? said: The big 12-cylinder Fairbanks on submarines are started with air. Care to elaborate on this Jim. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 67,449 #29 Posted January 29, 2022 48 minutes ago, WHX?? said: I beg to differ..... Sorry buddy sometimes I get confused. 😂 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snoopy11 5,714 #30 Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) 57 minutes ago, WHX?? said: I beg to differ..... Well... maybe not... @ebinmaine Don Edited January 29, 2022 by Snoopy11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adsm08 2,048 #31 Posted January 29, 2022 58 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said: Care to elaborate on this Jim. Air starters look a lot like the magnetic gear reduction drive units we are all familiar with from automobiles, but when you split them open the guts look more like a pneumatic impact gun. They were actually pretty popular on big rigs in the 60s and 70s. https://www.otsautoelectric.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-air-starter/ I had a roommate in college who was a diesel nut. The closest thing he had to a hobby was on weekends he would watch 70s trucker movies and tell everyone which trucks had air start and which were electric based off the sound of the engine cranking. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,156 #32 Posted January 29, 2022 I'm assuming the large submarine engines Jim is refering to actually inject the compressed air into individual cylinders in timed sequence to get the engine turning. Then inject the fuel to start the engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adsm08 2,048 #33 Posted January 29, 2022 2 minutes ago, Ed Kennell said: I'm assuming the large submarine engines Jim is refering to actually inject the compressed air into individual cylinders in timed sequence to get the engine turning. Then inject the fuel to start the engine. Yes, the submarine engines likely use the air injection, but I'm not a sub driver. I'm more of a sub eater. 1 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #34 Posted January 29, 2022 Exactly Ed... Subs have wicked air systems. Huge sauage shaped tanks inside the ballast tanks held 4500 psi air that was regulated back down for various ships use. Big electric oil pumps were started and once heated oil was up to pressure air valves were opened to get the garbage can sized pistons moving. Once the crank was rolling to 50% of governed speed air injection was shut down to select jugs and the fuel valves opened starting fires in those jugs. That kept her rolling until the cylinder temps in the other jugs were up then air shut down and fuel opened and she would really take off. Older WWII diesel boats were tricky and each engine liked to be started a little different. A good engineman knew exactly how to do it as all the valves were operated manually and the guy moved like a monkey across the twenty ft length of it opening and closing valves. Engine rooms were very hot & noisy. Modern day nuclear boats its all done by computer with automatic valves & the push of a bottom from a climate controlled sound proof room. Still need a watchstander in the engine room tho in case something goes wrong. Wished we had cameras and could have taken pics in the day. 1 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 25,547 #35 Posted January 29, 2022 (edited) Very interesting information!!! Now are you gonna have a drone following you all over place seeing if you divulged information… Edited January 29, 2022 by SylvanLakeWH 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,815 #36 Posted January 30, 2022 Lol ... I don't think so Sylvia .... any top secret information I could divulge is as old as the crust in yer shorts and prolly on you tube. We were just entering into the digital age and even solid state back then. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,170 #37 Posted January 30, 2022 Some of the old IH tractors - and probably others - from the 19-teens had compressed air starters too that drove the pistons back and forth to get things going. I think it was fairly common technology for big engines and, of course, before electrical systems were worth anything. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pullstart 62,838 #38 Posted February 8, 2022 Pretty sweet video here. I can’t believe it stays hot that long! https://youtu.be/AgpGXSAS7Cs 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,156 #39 Posted February 8, 2022 On 1/29/2022 at 3:16 PM, WHX?? said: Page 2 of 2 Most likely compressed air. The big 12-cylinder Fairbanks on submarines are started with air. Compressed air is also used to start our large (100,000+ HP) vertical shaft pumps. Compressed air is used to push the water down below the pump impeller. The generator/motor would never have enough torque for a start up in water, but is able to bring it up to speed in air. Then the air is vented allowing the water to rise and prime the running pump. The size of these large (2-300ton) turbines created some interesting shipping challanges. The Aswan High Dam runner was built in York and trucked to Pittsburg where the entire rig drove onto a barge and was tugged across the pond and up the Nile River to the dam site. TVAs Raccoon Mt. reversable pump/turbine on its way to the Tennessee River in Chattanooga. I spent a lot od days documenting the shape of the old existing Raccoon runner so I could build an exact duplicate model to generate a baseline test to start the developement of the new replacement runners. We upgraded nearly all the TVA hydro plants. Also model tested and supplied upgrades to most of the hydro plants on the Columbia River. Chief Joe,Wells, Wanapum,Priest Rapids, and the largest 1,000,000 + HP Grand Coulee. A shot inside the GC spiral case. Through model testing, we developed new runners for the Robert Moses plant at Niagra Falls, NY. I usually polished and mounted the model runners for display in the power house visitor centers. Most of the hydro on our local Susquehanna River , Conowingo,Muddy Run, Holtwood, Safe Harbor, and York Haven was biult by S Morgan Smith, Allis Chalmers, and Voith in York. Inspecting the Muddy Run penstock. The Ohio River hydro development was the last large project I model tested before retiring. When the locks and dams were built for navigation, the engineers and politicians had enough foresight to build in "holes" for future installation of hydro turbines. The development of these horizontal shaft low head bulb type turbines was done in the laboratory. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wallfish 16,994 #40 Posted February 8, 2022 Whew! Thought Ed may have accidentally posted here instead of his Tinder account. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 38,156 #41 Posted July 24, 2022 On 1/28/2022 at 11:20 PM, 8ntruck said: The mill operator was walking around on the bed of the mill with an air hose blowing the chips off of the work piece. We had a fatal accident as an operator was walking the bed of our 40 foot mill. He became hypnotize, stopped walking, and was rotated into the tool. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
