MARINE FUELS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2954, 14 December 1916, Page 5

MARINE FUELS

WOOD IN PLACE OF COAL. ; . In shipping circles during tho last couple of days tho suggestion has been made, say 6 the Sydney "Sun," that some of the tied-up vessels of smaller tonnage should utilise wood fuel. This, it is stated, although inconvenient, would, enable a number of 6mall coast,ers to make their usual runs. The suggestion, is practicable, though with. bigger ships it is altogether out of the question. Critics have raised the; objection that modern marine engines are constructed on a coal consumption basis,' and that to use wood would mean the ruin of the boilers. In some ships enormous inconvenience would be experienced from the residue remaining in tho fire-boxes, which would be four or five times the amount of that left by coal. To keep the boxes clean, th& principal essential of, raising steam and maintaining the pressure, extra hands would be required in tie stokehold,, and the continual.opening and closing". of furnace doors would not assist in preserving a uniform rate of speed. In at least ono of the small coastal vessels which ply between South Coast ports and Sydney the experiment has been made, with an' uncertain degree of success. As yet her owners are un- . decided as to they will adopt the idea for the duration of the strike or tie the 6teamor up. Certainly, however, tho trial.was more encouraging than was the case with the 6000-ton vessel which left Melbourne for Sydney last week burning wood fuel and with her holds empty. The run took her nearly 70 hours, and she consumed an enormous quantity of wood.^ Owing to the width between the bars in the fire-box the wood would have to be sawn into the required lengths. Thus, if the fire-bars on one steamer were 6ft.-apart the lengths would hare to be less than 6ft. This would mean practically that fuel which one ship could use would be useless on another vessel. Where small coastal steamers are concerned, this would not be so important a factor. . The majority of them could use the wood in its ordinary size, and, moreover, owing to tha short distance from the stokehold to the side there would not_ be experienced tho trouble iu dumping the ashes that there would be in larger vessels, even those fitted with the latest of ashhoists.