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Liberty warship boilers

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J_man
J_man Member Posts: 8
edited March 2017 in Strictly Steam
This month I came across two Liberty boilers at a northern California nursery . They hadn't run in 6 years, but apparently had recently operated, I believe on natural gas, for emergency heating. These appear to be Dead Men boilers. "Equipped With Babcock & Wilcox Oil Burners".

I am generally curious if anyone has experience running this type of boiler. I also am unsure how to calculate their hp from psi and area, below. (I am unable to back calc the boiler hp from the engine hp, below, without a lot more info and variables.) My internet research is having trouble locating boiler-specific info, separate from the engine info.

Boiler Manual for Foster Wheeler. Coal fired.
http://navy.memorieshop.com/Cargo-Ships/Fire-Room/Boiler-Training.pdf
These appear to have higher pressures than below. I can't figure if there are differences between the Babcock & Wilcox burner-equipped boilers and other Liberty ship boilers. I understand there were a few, if not many, variations of this design. (The Liberty ship design was the most produced ship in US history.) From the Foster Wheeler manual: Normal: 29,500 #/hr; Maximum: 44,000 #/hr...at 500 psi.

My work scope includes documenting equipment, size, efficiency, and operating and energy efficiency recommendations. Any specifics or resources to pursue would be helpful and appreciated.
Thank you.
Jason Jepsen
jason@commercialenergyconsulting.com

From:
http://ww2.eagle.org/content/dam/eagle/publications/2013/WorkhorseOfTheFleet.pdf
The engine was of the vertical, inverted, direct acting, condensing, three-cylinder, triple-expansion
type having a high-pressure cylinder diameter of 24.5 inches, a medium-pressure cylinder diameter
of 37 inches, a low-pressure cylinder diameter of 70 inches and a stroke of 48 inches. It weighed
135 tons and was designed to operate on a steam pressure of 220 pounds per square inch with
a maximum steam temperature of 450 degrees F; with 26 inches of vacuum, it developed 2,500
indicated horsepower at 76 revolutions per minute.
...and...
The boilers operated at 220 psi with a superheat temperature of 450 degrees F. The heating surface of
both boilers was 10,234 sq ft. At 11 knots fuel rate was 30 tons per day.

Nice engine room pic (where's my cot?), and other cool images:
http://navy.memorieshop.com/Cargo-Ships/Fire-Room/index.html

Comments

  • KC_Jones
    KC_Jones Member Posts: 5,739
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    It might be worth contacting these people. They are still running the ship with original equipment including the boilers. They might be able to lend a hand with resources? One is in California and one is in Baltimore

    https://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/
    http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/
    2014 Weil Mclain EG-40
    EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Boiler Control
    Boiler pictures updated 2/21/15
  • J_man
    J_man Member Posts: 8
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    Thank you!
  • ColinFarquhar
    ColinFarquhar Member Posts: 16
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    Thanks for the pictures! The O'Brien and the Brown (as indicated) would be your best bets for info. Boiler HP can be roughly calculated back based on steam generating capacity if know, as 1hp=34.5 lbs/hour from and at 212F.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,843
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    What burners are on them now?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • J_man
    J_man Member Posts: 8
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    There's no meters or sense of flow - rarely used. It's ok. Just wanted some ballparks.
    "Equipped With Babcock & Wilcox Oil Burners".
  • Jean-David Beyer
    Jean-David Beyer Member Posts: 2,666
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    I took a Liberty Ship from New York City to Le Havre (in France) in about 1950. I had not graduated from 8th grade yet. I think it had two piston engines. Perhaps they ran at about 50 rpm. Each cycle it made a big bang. The boiler(s) burned fuel oil of some kind and made lots of smoke. It had a crew, a cat that boarded at Valparaiso, and 12 paying passengers.
  • J_man
    J_man Member Posts: 8
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    forgot to add this! (thanks KC)

    Mr. Jepsen,

    To the best of my knowledge, the O’Brien’s boilers were fabbed by Foster Wheeler to a B&W design. Oil fired, 220 PSI, 450 degree superheat. Off the top I do not remember how many #’s of steam per hour. We have more detailed info aboard (and I’m not aboard until next Thursday) where I w=could provide more info if desired.

    Note as general rule of thumb more BTU’s (available energy) are generally found in heavier fuel so to get the same output w/natural gas as one would w/HFO, one would burn a heck of a lot more gas. To find coal info one would need to tap into Great Lakes steamer data for tons/HP generated I would think, but there’s enough obscure info on the web, maybe something would turn up.


    Regards,

    Dave Winter
    Port Engineer
    S.S> Jeremiah O’Brien

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