fuel for waverly paddle ship

[djt]

hi, hope this is not daft ? but what fuel do they use for waverley, am i right in thnking it runs on diesel like many of the old narrow gauge railways

[Bob Golder]

Hi DJT
Sorry to break your illusion  but WAVERLEY's triple expansion steam engines are supplied by an oil fired boiler, the grade of oil I'm not sure but not diesel - heaven forbid 

[tonyh]

Looking on the internet it would appear she burns heavy grade fuel oil. If this is correct, the oil used to be supplied at a viscosity of 3500 secs (redwood). I am not sure of the viscosity that the oil companies supply at now. The Internet also provides the information that she has rotary cup burners as against pressure jet, which would again indicate she burns heavy oil.
To burn this grade of fuel oil, it must be pre-heated before it will 'spin off the burner cup'. Pre-heat is usually provided in a heat exchanger by the steam from the boiler, with electrical heaters for start up.

[djt]

hi, hope this is not daft ? but what fuel do they use for waverley, am i right in thinking it runs on diesel like many of the old narrow gauge railways

thanks for replys i just assumed wrongly, that is what they ran on, i suspect this is what is costing them a fortune to run her. as the saying goes you learn every day of your life something new which is why i asked

djt

[steamboatmodel]

I don't know what the costs are now, but in Canada in the 70s Bunker C was cheapest of all the fuels. It was next to coal though in being the dirtiest to work with.
Regards,
Gerald.

[john s]

Sadly theres not a thing as cheap fuel. Unless you count Solar or
Wind power. Bunker oil is about the cheapest oil and easy to get.
coal would be nice but has more problems, Cost Handling Etc. John.

[sandystrone]

I think the previous WAVERLEY boiler used SAAKE spinning cup burners, but I haven't seen the equipment on these new ones.
Whilst FFO (furnace fuel oil) is the cheapest fuel. it is not so readily available now as it used to be, with fewer steam plants in operation.
She has diesel powered generators as well.

Sandy

[djt]

hi, it is quite interesting to see all types of fuel used, l didnt realise there was that many types. thanks for information

djt