Page 33: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2004)

The Workboat Annual

USCG Invests in Low Engine Exhaust Temps

Confronted with high exhaust temperatures and emissions on the Alco engines of its Polar Class ice- breakers, the U.S. Coast Guard turned to ABB for a solution.

The answer was quickly found: In a similar case the year before, retrofitting a tug's engines with

ABB turbochargers had reduced the exhaust tem- peratures by 20 percent.

On January 3, 2001, ABB Turbocharger Co. in

Tacoma, Wash., received a call from Kent

Halvorsen of Boyer Towing in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Boyer's tug, the Billie H, was experiencing high exhaust temperatures on its two Alco V8 main propulsion engines.

This problem had existed since delivery of the vessel, and all options and fixes had been tried.

Kent was ready for new turbochargers.

The tug's full-load operating data was sent to ABB

Turbocharger Company's application engineering department in North Brunswick, NJ. A look at the requirements showed that the high efficiency of

ABB turbochargers would enable the exhaust tem- peratures to be reduced and the flow of air through the engine to be increased. Either a type VTR or

VTC would do the job. After further consideration, a VTC254-13 was chosen. This size was able to supply the air that would be required and also fitted the installation best.

Boyer Towing engaged Dave Stith, a long term

Above Left: Boyer Towings's tug Billie H. Above Right: Alco V8 with the new VTC.

Below: The Polar Sea on the ice. Smart Electronic Level Switch with

No Moving Parts

The Sea Switch Two was designed and patented for all tank applications. The Sea Switch Two offers a reliable solution for liquid level detection and control for cargo, ballast, and storage tanks, without any moving parts.

The Sea Switch Two uses a fully static system that is based on the propagation of an acoustic wave into a metallic rod. A piezo-electric sensing element produces a wave along the rod. As the liquid reaches the sensing element the oscilla- tion stops and the alarm is activated.

The Sea Switch Two sensor detects high, high- high, or low level in any liquid with an alarm output given by a dry contact or current loop change 6-18 mA. • Easy installation • Self-test built-in • Fully static system - no moving parts s

ELECTRONIC MARINE

SYSTEMS, INC. 800 Ferndale Place

Rahway. NJ 07065 ^ Call today for more information/ 732.382.4344 732.388.5111 fax [email protected] e-mail http://www.emsmarcon.com

Circle 273 on Reader Service Card

November 2004 33