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They are a good engine. We are still running some and they very dependable.

Out of Painted Post?. We occasionally use Dresser hands.

@@williamrogers9301 yes, I am out of painted post. Worked there almost 30 years

That is one of the sickest 2 strokes i have seen!

It is. How long did you work there and who was there then?

We use them to compress natural gas on a pipeline.

I think this one is in Kansas. I have worked on a lot of engines but I never worked on the Horizontals. Some of my coworkers have and have some interesting stories to tell. Some of the folks who started on the hors went on to become excellent engine men. I believe there are a few still running on Northern Natural Gas system. Most of the other pipelines have shut them down. I understand Exline is still making the parts for them. If you can’t find something you need, let me know, I may be able to help. They are definitely an engineering work of art. You won’t find industrial engines being made today that will still be running in a hundred years.

I checked out roughandtumble. Cool stuff. Maybe some day I can get up there and see the engine.

When a engine is taken out of service there are used parts dealers who will buy the engine and store it until someone needs a part, much like automotive junkyards. Your are right no one has poured any frames since the 90s. Although Cooper talks about building a W-330 again. I don't think they have started on it yet.

That's true. I think they shut down the foundry in the 1990s. Sadly there are enough of these engines retired from service that we can usually find what we need. In fact we had our pick of several frames when this one failed. Copper says they might start building the W330 again. We will see.

Excellent question! The answer is complex. We run several varieties of horsepower from high speed recips to turbines and electrics. However there are problems with environmental permitting when adding or replacing horsepower. Even when you put that aside the "Powers That Be" like to run the old slow speed recips. They are very fuel efficient! There are advantages to alternative horsepower, such as the electrics are almost trouble free but the cost for electricity often makes them the last resort. High speeds like caterpillars are comparative easy to install but don't hold up like the slow speeds. We have one slow speed engine fixing to turn over 400,000 hours and is still going strong. There are some excellent turbines out there such as Solar. Here again expensive to run and maintain. We see a lot of old engines being shut down in small power generation plants up north where it is no longer feasible to run them. We also see some of the old engines that have been shut down on pipelines being brought back to life. So, to answer your question, the future is uncertain for these old engines, but they have had a long run.

Yes, of course. There are all kinds of options, electric drives, turbines, high speeds to name a few. And we do use them. But the old slow speeds hold up longer and are very fuel efficient. Getting the environmental permits to replace them is difficult. This particular engine is 6o years old and is a better engine today than when it was first set. We are constantly improving them with better automation, power valve and seat material , grout and alignment just to name a few improvements. With proper maintenance they still have a long life in front of them.

Yes and a WHOLE LOTTA work to rebuild one! We have another one we are changing the crank in this fall.

Check out my channel and be patient. I am working on more videos.

I have a 1958 Cooper LS that lacks 2400 hours before it will turn over 400,000 hours. Probably some time in March. We are planning a cookout and inviting the old timers when it turns over. I am working on a video story of that engine.I have some vintage pictures of the factory where it was made and collected other photos I think it will be pretty cool!

Your exactly right Rainking1261. We have an engine that will turn over 400,000 hours some time early next year. It was set in 1958 and with modern improvements is a better engine today then it was 60 years ago. But it all started with excellent engineering and workmanship. Keep watching there is more to come.

I am not familiar with BMI, although they may still be around. So many companies have been bought and sold and had their names changed there is no telling. The GMV is a good engine. Cooper made a lot of them.

William Rogers The name was actually Blue Water Inc. It changed names a couple years after I got laid off. That was mid 1976. I just retired from Mustang Cat after 40 years. Engines are cool but I enjoy hydraulics and electronic diagnostics.

We run a few Cats. 399 and 3600s There are pretty tough.

Sadly they closed down the foundry in PA where they were made so you can't by a new one. Cooper has available some rebuilt W-330,s with all the latest bells and whistles. My guess they would run several million dollars. This sounds like a lot but would be a good investment. We have an LS that will turn over 400,000 hours sometime this winter and we have several more engines not far behind it. I am working on a video of this engine showing how it was built , transported and installed I will post it once it hits 400,000 hours.

Thanks.

Andrew, I'm not sure if it is a 24 or a 26. I will try and find out and let you know. I think some were still running on Panhandle a few years ago but they have shut them down. Northern may still be running a few. You are right it would be nice to see some rescued for a museum.

I don't have a video of the saddle repair. We send them to Reynolds French to be repaired. They typical clip the caps and bore the engine.It would be a good topic for a future video.

No mist detectors. Something to look into though. We did install a second thermocouple on the mains. You can't have too much protection.

This unit went down on high main bearing temperature. We monitor the bearing temperature and have alarms and shut downs when the temperature gets too high. We check the clearance on the bearings at least once a year. We also have metal particle detectors in the oil that will shut us down. This particular failure happened on the opposite side of the bearing from the sensor. The oil groove in the bearing insulated the heat from the sensor which delayed the shut down and caused the damage. Normally we can catch it before we damage the crankshaft. This type of failure happens fast. If not shut down quickly it can result in a crankcase explosion. Not good.

Yes we try to keep a good supply of parts, including a spare crankshaft. Many parts such as heads are still available new. The spare crank we have on hand now is from a cannibalized engine. If we were to have a crankshaft made it would cost at least $500, 000

Yes, Cooper Bessemer made about 330 of the LS eights and most were for power generation or boat engines. We run twenty four of them. They also made a abut 300 of them in a V configuration. A lot of them are in pipeline service.

+SmallEngineMechanic Be careful what you ask for. It's hot, hard work and everything on these big engines is heavy. The "Powers That Be" Can put a lot of pressure on you when one goes down. With that said it's a good feeling to see them come together.

no sir this field doesnt pay enough its got more bad than good im looking for somewhere else