dtmackay wrote:...of the two main Cooper diesels driving generators for our the main electric motor (diesel-electric) we only had one operational diesel. If I remember correctly, the massive inline 6cyl Coopers were about 1,000hp each and spun at a max of 400RPM.
DT - Thanks for the story. I particularly enjoyed the insights into the Cooper engines. I've made the assumption that the Coopers you refer to were followed by the Cooper Bessemer line on which I received some excellent training in 1971. Our engines were in a fixed power plant and fired by natural gas with diesel pilot fuel. We had six engines turning 3 megawatt generators each. The were governed at 180 RPM although designed to run at 360 RPM. Cooling was via a six cell cedar cooling tower. During my year at the plant we never changed lubricating oil although the oil was sampled and tested frequently. Out of curiosity we used fiber optics to examine the combustion chambers on the first engine to log 4000 hours of operation. All we could see was a very small grey ash deposit atop the pistons. With four stroke engines running at 180 RPM you can hear each cylinder when it fires. That was the best designed diesel power plant I've seen.