So, im going to break my O.P cherry as engineer here in a few days and wanted to know if any of you guys might have some words of wisdom to pass on, ive seen one before but thats about it. Anything i should look for ?? It not an EMD so im lost, anyway anything would be appreciated.
Wish I could be of more help but when we blew it down we had a nifty little panel that redirected the air down instead of around the engine room. Oh, and if it helps ours were white. 
Sorry buddy I’ve seen an FB once in my life. It was the emergency generator on an old steam ship i was on. We ran it once a month for drills (sometimes). I used to get sent up to thief a few gallons of diesel out of the tank every so often to clean fuel strainer baskets. That was 21 years ago. The only ones I’ve seen since were in museums.
[QUOTE=BargeMonkey;109741]. Anything i should look for ?? [/QUOTE]
Got a few jillion hours running them as D/E power (submarine) that included a couple of inplace overhauls, and again a few years ago on a ferry that had a pair of direct reversing versions.
They are about as simple an engine as exists, aside from occasional leaking cylinder relief valves they were pretty much bulletproof. One case of a slipped vertical drive, and chronically leaking crankcase doors and coffin covers that is about it. Had a low speed runaway on one once due to ring problems on upper pistons.
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These engines were the workhorses of the WWII fleet boats and smaller naval ships- interesting design. I think one or two restored museum subs have one engine they start every now and then. Thanks for your service and DBF!
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We still have a few that ate operational in our fleet. Dinosaurs, but bulletproof.
No insight mechanically speaking, other then it’s what they train the unlicensed engineers with… They can’t break them.
Have a piston on my porch. There are some YTB’s still running around with them too. They do take some expertise to get running “right” and if they do rack up the hours are labor intensive to keep clean.
I know one thing like with any 2 stroke, if you run them slow for any extended period, your decks aft of the stack are going to be black with oil…very messy engines! Not too good on fuel either
Watch the jumper lines in the air box. Always had trouble with those failing. Definitely do not let it idle for a period of time, or you’ll be experiencing what c.captain said. It’s one thing to see an EMD smoke and piss oil after long periods of idle, but man you can lay asphalt on the back deck from a Fairbanks.
Yup YTBs had 'em. All I remember is the firing order: 1, 8, 7, 3, 5, 9, 4, 2, 10, 6
[QUOTE=power230;109769]Watch the jumper lines in the air box. Always had trouble with those failing. Definitely do not let it idle for a period of time, or you’ll be experiencing what c.captain said. It’s one thing to see an EMD smoke and piss oil after long periods of idle, but man you can lay asphalt on the back deck from a Fairbanks.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, there’s something about how an OP can literally rain oil out of the exhaust when then run with no load. They NEED to be kept at a load!
[QUOTE=c.captain;109778]Yeah, there’s something about how an OP can literally rain oil out of the exhaust when then run with no load. They NEED to be kept at a load![/QUOTE]
Interesting … we used to run them at very low load for hours and hours during battery charges, used to idle them for ventilation and never had any problems.
These Fairbanks Morse engines definitely have a unique sound. I’ve heard a few locomotives with these engines. Definitely some rolling coal as they ramp up on the throttle. As for stack spitting. The new heavy fuel ATB’s like to spark and leave carbon chunks on deck after water washing economizers.
[QUOTE=Steamer;109784]Interesting … we used to run them at very low load for hours and hours during battery charges, used to idle them for ventilation and never had any problems.[/QUOTE]
Oh they’ll run at low loads ok but blow liquid oil strait up the stack or in the case of a sub right into the sea but being the Navee, they didn’t need no stinking environmental regulations!
I remember being an AB on a tug with twin OPs and cleaning the bloody decks of oil all the time… course it was with Joy soap and hosed right over the side in those old timey daze!
I agree about them loading up but once you put the coal to them they clear right up. Back when I last worked on one (1980’s) besides Oil Leaks the Air Start Valve was the biggest trouble maker. Keep up on the leaks and those engines will run forever.
Now if for whatever reason they get out of time, well then they can be a real bitch.
We had 3 on the Grayback ,the B-Girls and Darter. Had one on the 688 class. The boats are still using them today.
“The Fairbanks Morse Opposed Piston 38D, the “OP”, is on the US Navy SSN21, Los Angeles and Ohio Class Submarines, commercial / municipal applications worldwide, and also widely used in nuclear backup power. Variants of this engine have been built for over 70 years, yet development of new advanced versions of this engine are still underway – the combination of durability, simplicity, and flexibility simply do not exist elsewhere. The OP is a two stroke design with 8-1/8” bore and 10” stroke (per crankshaft). Blower scavenged, Turbo Blower, and Turbo only versions exist for diesel fuel, natural gas (spark ignition), or dual fuel.”
[QUOTE=c.captain;109806]Oh they’ll run at low loads ok but blow liquid oil strait up the stack or in the case of a sub right into the sea but being the Navee, they didn’t need no stinking environmental regulations![/QUOTE]
You must have had a bad one. The exhaust on the diesel boats went over the side about 6 feet above the waterline, just below the deck level. There was a spray ring that kept the OB exhaust valve cool and if there was any oil in the exhaust it would have been immediately evident in the calm water next to the pier when charging. I spent a lot of time messing around with those engines in subs and a ferry but never saw a slobbering stack or heard anyone complain about one until this thread. Go figure.
Saw one on the USS Blueback when I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago. My son was sitting in the ECR showin em how it’s done. I would post a pic of the engine but it was dark down there and none of them are turned out good.
In '79 we were weather bound in Kawaihae . We had gale force winds for 2 days with the OPs idling. I’d run at high idle every couple of hours. The boat had North Sea stacks with long horizontal runs. When we finally got under way, we smoked for 8 hours. A CG plane flew over and asked if we were on fire. The deckhands were not amused with the clean up.
I was on a NUC job in the early '70s at Ballast Point. There was a converted LCVP that would push a doughnut barge around that the ships woud pump their bilges into. I remember on more than one occasion, they’d pin the doughnut under the exhaust discharge of a diesel boat when they started the engines.