I worked on marine diesel engines for over 35 years. I operated them and rebuilt them. I’m old and bedridden now but I love to watch them run. Thank you for this.
For a ship built during WWII, the generator room looks cleaner than our kitchen! God Bless the staff who are maintaining that piece of history, Thank You.
The engineers who designed the ship were incredible people, all drawn on paper with a pencil , eraser , compass, rulers etc and the mathematicians who calculated millions of numbers
Awsome thankyou. Now this is how you bring a museum ship back to life no constraints from the navy. Honestly there is something special about hearing the slow thud (like a heartbeat) of a diesel engine maybe a generator not main engines (can I ask do you run them) and seeing smoke from the funnel/stack. Its a shame the navy doesn't let other museum ships start there generators and give the ships there heartbeat back. Great job everyone on the uss slater and a hello from the uk.
@@terrilstout8076 the generator is more than enough any engine sound from within the ship and smoke from the stack is epic enough. I hope to get over to the US in next couple of years and visit as many museum ships as possible. uss slater is one of top ships to visit. You guys do an amazing job thankyou for keeping navy history alive literally 👍
@terril Stout it echos the same on this side of the pond. You have to have a safety meeting and a risk assessment on a "broom" before you can use it. Your all doing a fantastic job thankyou
I just found this site. My Dad served on the USS Fessenden 142 during WWII. Back around 2006 I found a USS Fessenden reunion group and contacted them. through that group I was able to contact the USS Slater Destroyer Escort Museum and sent my Dad's uniform to you and you sent me a picture back of it on display for a short time spread out on a cot. I was always wanting to visit the Slater to get an idea of my Dad's ship. Unfortunately I was never able to do so. But now through this channel I can. Thank you all so much. And God Bless for the Time and Energy you all put in on keeping the Slater in ship shape condition!
The Slater is sister ship of USS Atherton DE-169 named for my uncle. Glad to see the Slater doing so well. Last saw her on a road trip from Louisville in 2006 but tour did not include engineering spaces. The video made me nostalgic for when I was propulsion officer on the USS Guam LPH-9 in the '60s.
Love seeing old machinery being bought back to life and given another go!. Glad there are still the skills and knowledge to do so!. Great informative video!. Nuff said! Maddog, Melbourne Aus.
Our Emergency Generator works as well. That is able to start on batteries instead of the compressed air in the event we lose all electricity and need to run pumps.
I really wish I could visit such a living museum like this. (circumstances stop that) I'm not ex-forces but I am fascinated by the workings behind the scenes of such 'floating cities'. Sure they have guns and move on the sea but there's a whole new world to what makes all of that happen. Top work folks. Hopefully some are inspired to keep the museum functioning.
That was areal trip down memory lane! I served on the USS Littlehales (AGSC 15) in the early '60's. She was powered by 2 GM 8-268A engines for two shaft propulsion. Light off procedure was nearly identical except our air compressors (2) were located in the engine room. We were limited to 450 RPM (idle) for 1/3 speed, 600 RPM for 2/3 speed and 890 RPM for full speed (10 knots). That was 60 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday!
If you are ever interested in volunteering in the engine rooms, we would love to have you! We have weekly volunteers but also host spring and fall work weeks when volunteers from across the country come aboard for a few days and help out. Can find all that info on our website.
Some years ago, I didn't know about SLATER, but saw it on my travels north. Of course, immediately turned around to toor the ship. This is a fantastic artifact! Blessings to all who care for her.
My wife and I were in Albany and had a deck tour s few years ago. It was Sunday, but a gentleman who happened to be there took us on board. We couldn't go inside, and this video shows us some of what we missed. Thank you.
As a former submarine mechanic, our HP air compressors made 4500 psi! Have you beat there LOL. We had LP air for the service air system and for other pressures it got reduced into those systems from the HP one. It took a lot of maintenance to keep those things running! Lots of late nights on duty swapping in new pistons and check valves I remember!
If the Slater ends up needing compressors capable of overcoming the exterior pressure "at depth", she has bigger problems than how well they work... Thanks for your service. It takes a special kind to serve on subs. I did my sea time on a Replenishment Oiler...What I believe that you referred to as a "High Priority Target"?
This reminded me of railway engines from when I took a mechanics course at the Federal Railway Network school in Brazil. I'm passionate about machines, and this one reminded me of the old EMD, Caterpilllar and GE motors.
Gus was a huge contributor to getting this engine running 15 years ago. If you Google his name and USS Slater, you can read all our publications in which he is mentioned.
But a 3516 how big bore spacing for a an air box and buillet aluminum water jacks for a 2 stroke conversion, D99's some have been converted to 2 stroke!
I grew up going in the USS Texas and the USS Lexington. I already could imagine that old metal and oil smell that I really love. I also love hearing that constant humming of the electricity going. Wish I was there with y’all to witness this beauty come to life. Cheers yall.
@@regal105those old mothballs can still run with the best of ‘em. Mothball ships can still unlimber hell fire and destruction. I’d have no problem with them boats
The Mothball ships of this century are ships built in the last 25-30 years tgat have been taken out of service. How ‘viable’ they are I’m not sure though.
I was on a Newport class LST in the 80s with Alco 251C mains and 251E generator engines and this reminds me of that. We also had 600psi compressors for starting air that was stepped down to around 150psi to give the starters the volume they needed. At that time 600 was considered medium pressure, and I think 1200 was high pressure. We had 150psi LP compressors for the engine controls, clutch packs and various other stuff compressed air is needed for. This engine room is cavernous by comparison and me being 6'4" I had to duck a lot going through WTD all the time. Thanks for showing all of this!!
My father served on the DE-36 and made contributions to the Slater over the years and I started to do the same. Great to hear it fire up. I visited about 4 years ago. Want to go back again soon
4:30 I like the name "bayonet gauge". Old drop of oil to the new drop: "They expose you to intense heat, then poke you with a sharp stick to see what happens".
If any of you guys are ever in Brisbane, take the time to visit HMAS Diamantina at the Queensland Maritime Museum. As a River class Frigate she has a great deal in common with a DE like Slater, but some other things couldn't be more different. Big contrast between the diesels seen here and Diamantina's steam plant with triple expansion reciprocating engines! Diamantina is permanently dry-docked so her hull remains in good condition, unlike the museum's other steamship ST Forceful which sadly will soon be scrapped as they cannot afford to keep her afloat and nobody is willing to give a place for her to stay out of the water. Having done volunteer work for QMM, I can't really say I'm surprised that she was allowed to get so bad...
Awesome! Learned a little something. I knew about the big EMD Division and medium duty Detroit Division diesels of GM but thanks do this video I discovered the Cleveland division. Which.. from the wiki, looks like their 2-stroke varieties may have become the big EMD locomotive diesels. Anyways GREAT job getting this thing up and running. The boat seems to be in really good shape! I always love hearing these big old diesel engines run. Whether prime movers, auxiliary generators, etc.
Cleveland Diesel Division was considered to be a separate entity until 1962 I believe, when General Motors folded it into EMD. Most people have always considered these engines to be EMD regardless. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Diesel_Engine_Division
On the USS Littlehales (AGSC 15), our main propulsion diesels were (2) of these rock crushers. Idle setting was 450 (one third), 600 was 2/3, and full speed was 890 RPM. All ahead full speed was 10 knots. Some fun in 1962!!
Several years ago, I provided this site (Really before it was so well developed.) some information on some of Slater's anti-sub equipment including the T-MK-6 torpedo decoy system on the fantail. I'm a retired LT who did 16 years as a sonar tech to Chief then warrant and LDO. I served in eight ships in 28 years including one carrier, one LKA and six tin cans. I'm glad to see you guys are doing such a great job bringing Slater back to life. Bravo Zulu!
Yeah that big 38 8 1/8th OP 2 stroke, like to try klotz techniplate 2 stroke oil in here! I got my 8v92 2 stroke on 6 gallons of XD-100 BRP 2 stroke oil from walmart.
I used to be in charge of maintenance on an old Lightship. I relied on volunteers to help. They were usually retired gentleman who did a great job. But as they got older and more infirm the numbers dwindled until non were left. It was too much for me as the ship was big and a forgotten screwdriver left in the engine room could mean a climb down 3 deck levels and back up. It was a shame when the charity that run the ship ran out of money but also a relief.
I have to say, I'd never heard of a Cleveland diesel until now. 1200 rpm. Sounds like it's doing more than that, but I guess it's firing twice as fast as a 4-cycle...
The 6-71 was the first true 'Detroit Diesel General Motors' designed Diesel, the engine shown in this video is a Cleveland Diesel, a division of GM. Cleveland were absorbed into GM and design features from the Cleveland went on to be used in the 567 EMD diesel, made by Electo Motive Division of GM. It's amazing to think that Charles Kettering and his team at GM designed the 71 series in the mid 1930's and it went into production until the mid 1990's virtually unchanged, it finally being the EPA that killed the range of GM 2 stroke engines. If that name Kettering looks familiar, think ignition systems, Delco starters and generators and other brands that escape me, he was a brilliant engineer and team leader, his biography is well worth reading.
@@GeekBoyMN we also had small GM's in each ER, 3-71's if I recall and our "small" compared to the 6-71's. Seldom used except when the mess section was baking and that was in exchange for fresh bread right out of the oven! They ( the small) were prone to running away on start but the OS trip always caught them.
@@raygale4198 General Motors always owned Cleveland Diesel Division. In 1962 Cleveland Diesel was folded into EMD which was the locomotive manufacturing division.
@@williamjones4483 You are correct prior 1932 it was Winton Engine works. GM bought them out in 32 and changed the name to Cleveland Diesel Division in 38. So Cleveland Diesel was always owned by GM. Design features of the Cleveland engine went on to become the EMD
If memory serves me right, the main engines of the Slater is a GM-EMD engine, a 567 if memory serves me right. These were the engines that power the EMD E-unit and FT diesel-electric locomotives. The War Production Board diverted production of these engines to the Navy to power DEs like Slater as well as subs, subchasers and LSTs, to the dismay of railroads, especially in the west, who wanted to get rid of their expensive-to-operate steam locomotives.
1:28 I was doing something else at this moment, and I mistakenly heard him say "Dead Boob" 😂😂 Imagine him saying that: "We're not gonna let this day get spoiled by a dead boob." 🤣🤣🤣
@@user2C47 The diesels wouldn't care a bit. However, I believe that she has a diesel/electric drive, which opens up a whole new can of worms...and a few generator and motor windings.
@@kevincrosby1760 Everything inside the engine room is basically in a heavy walled faraday cage, plus partially below the waterline. It's the computers up top like GPS, radios and radar units on the bridge that will get fried. Need to have paper charts in the chartroom, and hopefully someone that knows how to do dead reckoning and the ship will still be able to navigate under her own power most likely
@@brnmcc01 True, but everything that runs on AC power all connects back down to the Ship's Service Switchboard. Electricity does funny things, especially with the Isolated Ground system used on ships. Unless there is a fault, there is no direct path to ground in the electrical system. If you have a high enough induced voltage, hard to tell where it will go. As far as navigation goes, when I separated in 1990 they plotted the course on paper charts and verified position with the GPS. The Gyrocompass may not make it, but there was an old-fashioned magnetic compass right in front of the helm. I seem to remember a group of midshipmen out on a bridge wing trying to figure out a sextant, so celestial navigation is apparently still a thing.
@03:48 designed to leak a little reminds me of my dad old Ford Model A the water pump shaft bearing is actually cloth its bacially braided flexible acrylic yarn packing and requires a sweet spot if its too tight it will bind and if its too loose it'll leak coolent
Do they happen to pronounce this ship's name as USS Later? It is obvious that these guys know what they are doing, following memorized shecklists and procedures. Very nice to watch.