The Bill Elmer visited New Orleans for the 1984
Work - Boat Show.
"Repowering the M/V Bill
Elmer with these Krupp heavy
fuel engines didn't happen
overnight," recalls Butch
Barras of ACBL. "We studied
this move for a long time; seri-
ous study for 2Vz years, and
dyno testing for close to a year
before putting a heavy fuel
engine in the boat.
"All through that, Gulf was a
constant source of information
and advice. Gulf helped deter-
mine power requirements and
fuel mixtures, and provided a
lot of information on the kind of
lubricants we'd need to keep
things running burning 1500
Redwood fuel with its high
vanadium and carbon
deposits."
With 1320 hours on the engines, the rings remain
clean and free, and piston skirts show minimal
scuffing.
One of three Krupp MaK 453 inline 6 cylinder
engines now powering the MIV Bill Elmer. ACBL
repowered the vessel after studies showed the
probability of significant fuel savings from heavy
fuel engines.
Barras continues, "It's no ex-
aggeration to say we wouldn't
be where we are on this with-
out Gulf. They work hard to
help, and their Harmarville
lab is an excellent research
facility.
"Along with the advice and
information, Gulf provides ex-
cellent lubricants. Gulftow
Select 40 is our main engine
oil, and look at these engine
parts. We were planning to
pull the heads and check all
the valves at 2,500 hours. After
looking at one cylinder here
in New Orleans during the
Work-Boat Show, with 1320
hours on the engines, we'll
Gulf representatives Warren Eise and Sam Ross
with Butch Barras, ACBL Assistant Super-
intendent of Boat Maintenance, in the Bill Elmer
pilot house.
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