Re: Starting in Reverse?
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 6:16 pm
The biggest two strokes are crosshead marine diesels which run up to twelve cylinders of a metre in diameter producing over 100,000 hp to drive the largest container ships. They are always started using compressed air, and as Journeyman says you stop them, change the fuel settings over and then start them the other way.
The Doxford engine was the main British competitor in the field until they were taken over by Burmeister and Wain in the early 1980s. They were single acting opposed piston engines famous for their perfect primary and secondary balancing, and the makers used to use an advertisement showing a pencil stood on end on a 25,000hp engine running at 115rpm, sitting on the test bed and not bolted down!
The downside was that it was extremely easy to start the engine backwards ie not in the direction that you intended be that ahead or astern and piers and wharves around the world showed signs of assault by Doxford engined ships!
The Doxford engine was the main British competitor in the field until they were taken over by Burmeister and Wain in the early 1980s. They were single acting opposed piston engines famous for their perfect primary and secondary balancing, and the makers used to use an advertisement showing a pencil stood on end on a 25,000hp engine running at 115rpm, sitting on the test bed and not bolted down!
The downside was that it was extremely easy to start the engine backwards ie not in the direction that you intended be that ahead or astern and piers and wharves around the world showed signs of assault by Doxford engined ships!