Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm G
But in the war movies, when water comes spurting out of some hidden orifice the crew know exactly which valve will stop it, instantly and without hesitation.
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Good men! They have done, with due diligence, the "below plates survey"! Every Eng.Officer worth his wage will do it on a new vessel!
As the old adage goes, when things go wrong, you don't have time to trace pipes and mark valves.
I was once passing over oily waste to the "slop tank", prior to arrival in port and safe discharge. The bluddy level never went down! I asked the 2/E and Chief for advice. They suggested that maybe the pig tail pump was knackered. Okay, pump out, strip down, all okay. Replaced the bearings and seals while I was at it "std. Blue Flue procedure". Pump back in, started pumping over the tank, same same!
I decided to go under the plates - Known as "bilge diving", although we had spotless, clean bilges (painted white). There, buried behind a mass of pipes, was a diverter circuit and the "smoking gun" valve. Turns out it was returning the oily waste directly back, instead of over to the slop tank! The C/E was worried that the previous trip 4/E was dumping over the wall and he didn't want problems. Duly marked for posterity and noted in the log. We got down to checking the oily waste logbook just to make sure, while the tank pumped over.
Seeing how I had wasted my entire watch, I decided to stay on and get the job done before we arrived to port. The oily water was at it's limit. I did get a free beer off the 2/E though.........
Rgds.
Dave