"New" scope on the way

[X15]

Take a look at Chapter 4 of the Submarine Electrical Installations book of the Fleet Type Submarine Training Manual for details on the electrical auxiliary equipment.

http://www.hnsa.org/doc/fleetsub/elect/chap4.htm

But suffice to say, you will need a 250 Volt Direct Current rectifier to energize the appropriate switch boards.


As for the hydraulic system, when we got Hornet and started work on restoring the aircraft elevators we quickly found out that the hydraulic fluid already in the system was rather caustic stuff. That fluid was likely from the 1960's, I believe the fluid used in WWII was probably more dangerous, as well as being fairly flammable. Please use appropriate caution.

[M. Sarsfield]

...you will need a 250 Volt Direct Current rectifier to energize the appropriate switch boards.

X15, Chapter 4 is for the switch boards in the maneuvering room. According to the I.C. / Alarms Chapter, high voltage alternating current was supplied to A/C Bus #1 from the main generators or to A/C Bus #2 from the back-up generator. Both A/C busses are located in the I.C. Switch Board, which is located in the control room (con). The I.C. switch board then converts the power to 120 VAC 60Hz and also I think 45Hz, depending on the application. From what I have read, the 1MC needs 120 VAC/60 Hz to operate. Same with the radio gear in the radio shack. Lights, alarms, engine telegraphs and many other con room equipment ran on 120 VAC and were powered through the I.C. switch board.

A long time ago, the museum decided to disconnect the lighting from the I.C. panel and wire it directly to shore power. Very little conversion was required, since it used the same voltage and current as house power. Some day we might switch it back to the way it was.

You are correct that other parts of the boat use oddball voltages and current and if we ever decide to get the ice cream maker going, for example, then we'll have to rig up some electronics to convert the power for those applications. I'm assuming that the hydraulic pump located under the control room (pump room) also uses the 120 VAC from the I.C. board, since it's an 18hp motor, but it could be directly taking its power from the maneuvering room. I haven't studied the hydraulic system enough to figure that out.

I'll ask the museum if any of the original hydraulic fluid is still in the system. They said that they used pressure from fire hoses to get the periscopes up to their present position. That tells me that some or all of the system was bled before pumping water into the lines.

[X15]

Mark,

I'm unclear as what you're referring to when you mention high voltage AC, the main and auxiliary generators produce Direct Current, in order to charge the batteries and run the main motors without the need for any conversion.

The pumps should be supplied from the Forward Auxiliary Switchboard, the Pampanito virtual tour has this to say about the board:

Forward Auxiliary Switchboard: Located forward of the I.C. Switchboard on the starboard side [of the con]. This supplies 250 VDC to the many auxiliary motors in the forward half of the submarine. The auxiliary motors operate compressors, pumps, heaters, blowers and other high power equipment. It is supplied by the forward battery, auxiliary engine, or through a bus tie from the after battery.

[M. Sarsfield]

I meant high voltage direct current. My bad.

Yeah, after talking with the USS Torsk electrical guru, he said that he thought the hydraulic pump needed 250 VDC. I think the auxiliary switch board also runs the gryo compasses. He said that they were still waiting for the City of Baltimore to hook up their 240 lines.

So, it looks like we'll have to run 120 VAC and converted 240 VDC power to the con to get a lot of this stuff running, again.

[X15]

Ok, I'm glad we're on the same page.

I know from following Razorbacks progress that they put a 250 VDC rectifier in one of their battery compartments, and I believe that Pampanito is setup the same way.

[M. Sarsfield]

We'll have to do the same, then. We'll probably put it down in the pump room, since we plan on converting the aft battery into a work shop and possibly the forward battery into a rec. room for youth groups.

I've started picking the Torsk crew's brain for how they specifically have things hooked up. No sense in reinventing the wheel.

[M. Sarsfield]

Do you know roughly the size, weight, and cost of the rectifiers that Pampanito and Razorback used? I visited several websites of suppliers and some of those cabinets are pretty big. I would think that stepping up the voltage from 220 to 250 and converting it from AC to DC wouldn't require a large piece of equipment, but I'm not an electronics guru. I know enough to be dangerous.