Palmtree dreamer writes:
"I wonder if anyone knows that
WHOLE WEEK to fire up the engines on a ship that uses heavy fuel oil!
Fist you get the pony generator up, then you get the main generator up
when the pony is warm enough, then you get the steam fired up that
flows down the pipes and heats the heavy fuel oil. Finally, after about
a week, the oil is thin enough to run through the pipes to get to the
cylinders".

???

Not on any steam ship I've ever been on. The ships that still burn
bunker oil (a minority, since the low price of it is more than offset by
increased boiler maintenance) fire up a "donkey boiler" first to provide
steam to heat the ready service tank (can take a few hours but always
less than 6 AFAIK), then fire up the main boilers and bring them on line
(can take an hour or two).

Most steam ships burn a variant of higher grade fuel very similar to
marine diesel. In fact, US Navy steam ships *do* burn marine diesel fuel.



Meye5 wrote:
Nearly all navy surface combat ships use General Electric LM2500 gas
turbine engines for main propulsion and the VAST majority of naval
ships use similar gas turnbine engines

You know what? That doesn't include the MSC ships (pre-positioned
supplies) nor the hospital ships, all of which have steam plants.

In short, you're both stupid clowns who don't know half as much as you
think you know.

Good bye.

Doug King, ex-BT1(SW)
that means steam engineer