The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-07-15
MARIPOSA BURNS OIL
SHE HAD A SUCCESSFUL TRIAL
TRIP.
VIII Take the San Franciscan Tahiti
Run-Her Oil Burning Fittings-Rec-
ord of Her Trial.

SAN FRANCISCO. July 6-The
Oceanic Steamship Company's steamer
Mariposa made her first trial trip with
the new machinery fitted for oil as fuel
yesterday. She left her berth at PaCi-
fic-street wharf at 1890 a. m. steamed
outside the Heads, around the Faral-
lones and beyond them, returning to
the dock at $50 p. m. 1t was the first
trial, and proved eminently satsfac-
tory, proving that oil as fuel has many
advantages. The trip was made under
the command of Captain Fl. u. Howard
who was assisted by Captain Rennie
of the Mariposa
Captain Howard is the original COM
mander of the Mariposa He went 70
Philadelphia nineteen years ago to SUI
perintend her construction, command
ed her on her maiden trip from Phila-
delphia around Cape Horn to San
Francisco and for several years after
that on her trips between San Fran
cisco and the Hawaiian islands This
was the engineers trial trip conducted
by the RisdOn Iron Works, which fitted
her with the new triple expansion en-
gines of $500 horsepower, steam being
supplied by two dOuble-ended boilers,
six furnaces in each, and one single
ended boiler with three furnaces, and
a single ended donkey boiler with two
furnaces. The main boilers are built
for a steam pressure of 1870 pounds to
the square inch, and the donkey boiler
for a steam pressure of $50 pounds per
square inch A large duplex air conn
pressor supplies the air atOmizing the
fuel oil at the burners.
The air is furnished at a pressure of
twenty pounds per square inch. All
the furnaces of the main boilers are
equipped with the Grundell and Tucker
oil-burning system, the air for atom
izing being super-heated in cast-irOn
retorts, which are fitted into the old
coal-burning furnace fronts in place
of the fire doors, which have been re-
moved, the ashpan hampers being re-
tanned, to regulate the supply of nat
ural air for combustion The CRATE
bars and bridge walls have been re-
moved so as to allow the heat from
the burners TO be evenly distributed
over the whole internal surface Of the
furnaces
rhe Mariposa mas been especially
fitted up to ply between San Fran
cisco and Tahiti and return a dis
lance of 1916 nautical miles. As there
is no fuel oil at present at Tahiti, 1t
Is necessary to carry $500 barrels for
fuel supply for the round trip, This
oil is carried in six compartments, in
very strongly braced steel bulkheads
which extend right across the ship,
a fore-and-aft bulkhead dividing them
amidships. At each end of the fuel
oil tanks a Water-tight Golfer dam of
two frame spaces has been fitted, so
as to obviate any possible risk of oil
leaking into the ships bilges or freight
spaces. An expansion trunk has been
fitted to each compartment, so as 10
allow for any increase in bulk of the
OIL due to the variation of temperature
III
tropics. a very efficient system Of
ventilation has been fitted to every
compartment where oil is carried, and
no one aboard could detect the OdOr
of oil in any part of the ship. The
trial trip demonstrated that the
substitution of oil for coal as fuel will
result in a great saving not only in the
cost of fuel, but in the labor en-
| plOyed.
Admiral Melville, chief of the Bureau
| of Steam Engineering of the United
| States Navy, appointed Commander II.
! n Stevenson as his representative,
| with two assistants, to watch the trial
| trip. They took careful notes and eX-
pressed themselves as highly pleased
with the application of oil as fuel for
! large ocean steamers. The Oceanic
| Steamship Company was represented
| by f. S. Stevenson, assistant to Presi-
dent Spreckes; Secretary Thomas
Captain II. u. Howard experimenting
| Engineer Edward T. Morris, Captain l
r. Thayer and e. S. Hough, represent
ing the Bureau Veritas; w. II. Stewart
of the Lloyds Registry and of the I'm
derwriters; Captain MatsOn, president
of the Matson Navigation Company
| Captains Bodies and Bulger, United
States inspectors of vessels and boilers
Captain Mckenzie of the Southern Pa
| cihc Company, j. w. Walker of the
Santa Fe COMPANY and representatives
Of the Standard, Union, Associated and
other oil companies and the Oregon