The first availability, with respect to our LPD-17 MSMO contract, is in full swing. The MESA VERDE is pier side here at Earl for a CNO availability through 10 January of 2011 and we have started a very complex extensive piping repairs and lube oil flushes to main engine repairs and pump overhauls, EARL has again been given the opportunity of helping develop and support the Navy’s new LPD-17 Class maintenance plan.Break her down to parade rest and fix the failures of others.
Now, if you only has accountability reviews for important things too ....
I pounded out some thoughts on the Navy's shipbuilding issues last night. Your wonderful readership may be interested.
ReplyDeleteAt least someone understands the problem and what it takes to fix it. Lets hope this Gordian Knot can be untied...
ReplyDeleteThe next brand spanking new LPD being completed is USS SAN DIEGO LPD 22. It was launched almost a year ago and should be getting close to lighting off all her diesels onboard.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope that Ingalls Northrup Grumman has learned lessons from Avondale Northrup Grumman about lube oil inside monstrous Fairbanks Morse engines. Can we old taxpayers expect that our $ 1.5 billion dollars to be spent constructing LPD 22, will be wisely spent by the Navy ?
I'm keeping my eye on the Northrup Grumman shipyard web site for the SeaTrials when USS SAN DIEGO actually goes to sea maybe in less than a year or so. Since the SupShip Gulf Coast commanding officer is the former Navy Captain program manager from Washington DC Navsea LPD program office, we can keep our fingers crossed that LPD-22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 will all be built without any lube oil contamination to damage the diesel engines.
You know, I can understand and accept the utter fustercluck that Avondale made of the installation...what baffles me is the complete clueless-ness of NAVSEA to nail down the problem and fix it right. It isn't rocket science; it isn't hard, it's just making the hard decision (three years later) to just plain do it.
ReplyDeletelube oil problems are endemic with engine rooms. usn has lost engines both diesel, steam turbine..... for damn near a hundred years because of problems with it.
ReplyDeletein the fifties one of the biggies (either GE or Westinghouse) conducted extensive testing trying to get a handle on the amount of time it takes to flush a lube oil system and had very little results. it seems to be the only thing that cannot be scheduled with any degree of certainty.
one thing they did find out was that it is absolutely necessary to have a separate supply and return line to the lube oil bunkers and the purifier. otherwise the dirty oil simply drops the dirt in the pipe on the way to the purifier and picks it back up again going back to the engine, sump, sstg, dsstg........ all of the sumps have to be HAND CLEANED periodically (about every six months) and the purifier bowel cleaned once a watch.
if you use a hose to fill lube oil sumps (as with forced draft blowers on 1200# plants) CLEAN THAT M#$%@#$%^&ER.
keep in mind NEW OIL FROM THE REFINERY IS NOT NECESSARILY CLEAN. I took delivery of about 1500 gal of 2190tep once in five gallon cans and it turned out that the cans were dirty before they put the oil in them.
all you can do is run the purifier continously, clean it once a watch. install supply and return piping between the bunkers and purifier and machinery and bag, bag, bag on the duplex strainer or whatever they use now. also it doesn't hurt to go around tapping the pipes with a ball peen hammer about every fifteen minutes.
if you dribble some on your thumb and it feels gritty ITS NOT CLEAN.
you will never get the dark color out of used oil. in the late seventies an outfit in san diego was trying to sell oil reclamation equipment and try as they might they could not get the dark color out of used oil.
i know that this seems a bit neanderathalic but 50 years ago dedication to this routine kept the chengs from losing very many numbers.
C
and further more:
ReplyDeleteif the installing yard buys "pickled" pipe/tube for g%d's sake put caps on it so it doesn't get recontaminated sitting on the material racks in the yard. and when its installed put caps or blank flanges on it while waiting for installation of the pump, valve, whatever.
i once had the great joy to dig a rag that had been blown 23feet down a lube oil line when the electric drive lube oil pump was installed without checking for debris in the discharge line.
C