How Did They Heat and Cool the Titanic?

The RMS Titanic and its sister ship Olympic made use of what was, in 1912, cutting-edge technology to bring new comforts to passengers. One way these ships stood head and shoulders above contemporaries was in the way passengers were kept at a comfortable temperature, not an easy task when it could be freezing outside and your ship is made mainly of steel!
Titanic profile plan by Bruce Beveridge
www.amazon.com.au/Titanic-Shi...
Oceanliner Designs explores the design, construction, engineering and operation of history’s greatest vessels- from Titanic to Queen Mary and from the Empress of Ireland to the Lusitania. Join maritime researcher and illustrator Michael Brady as he tells the stories behind some of history's most famous ocean liners and machines!
#titanic #engineering #history #ships #oceanlinerdesigns
0:00 Titanic's Design Challenges
3:17 Cowl Vents
4:30 Sirocco Fans
7:35 Portholes
8:19 Engine and Boiler Rooms
12:00 Heating
14:11 Insulation

[@marathonrunner2590]

Please don't describe your videos as "old fashioned, no frills." It would be MUCH more accurate to refer to them as "highly professional, well-researched, and exceptional quality."

[@towgod7985]

Well said!

[@cleverusername9369]

Agreed and well said. Not every video needs to be a flashy deep-dive with amazing graphics (although I do love those as well, his recent video about HMS Hood was simply spectacular). I'm very happy with our friend Mike providing us with these wonderful videos. Learning something new about Titanic's shipboard infrastructure on a cold, gloomy Sunday with a hot cup of tea and a "magic cigarette" or two is time very well spent, IMHO. If it's old fashioned with no frills, I'm here for it.

[@badwolf2331]

Agreed, my man

[@rosssavage3172]

Great job

[@DementatDeus]

Hear, hear!

[@patrickryan6065]

It’s almost impossible to imagine the miles and miles of wiring, trunking and ducting all having to be perfectly in Place before any other fittings happened within the ship. Quite amazing.

[@dday881]

And all for nothing

[@houghwhite411]

Before CAD

[@negativeindustrial]

@@houghwhite411 Yeah, but you can see they limited themselves to regular geometric shapes and lots of box framing. 3D CAD allows for much more complex designs.

[@ano_nym]

@@dday881 all for the most famous ship in history. The only thing rivaling it would perhaps be the Ark.

[@SethMethCS]

@@negativeindustrial exactly. Simple designs with low tolerances.

[@blah7956]

Love this kind of video, explaining about the boat, rather than just the sinking.

[@fargenvonwitbier]

*ship

[@cleverusername9369]

​@@fargenvonwitbier you just reminded me of the scene in "Titanic" where the little girl corrects her dad. A real Georgian era Karen.

[@wenthulk8439]

Huh Georgian era Karen?

[@blah7956]

@@fargenvonwitbier I'm an airman, they're all big floaty things to me ;)

[@fargenvonwitbier]

@@cleverusername9369 lol if you really want to get technical, it wasn't even the actual Georgian Era. It was just after the Edwardian. Second, there's a huge difference between ships and boats.

[@kellyrjohnson7693]

These "squirrel cage" fans are remarkably efficient for their size. If anyone here has a forced-air furnace or has ever run the blower in a car is already familiar with them, even if they didn't know they were there. I'd seen those in various pieces of Titanic artwork since I was young, and I honestly didn't know what they were either. I assumed they were some type of venting system but I didn't realize they were giant cage fans.

[@ano_nym]

It's funny all you can remember. I built a model of the Titanic with my dad as a young kid, can remember some different things in the build from this video. Like the windows down to the engine room.

[@UQRXD]

I called them squirrel cage and the guy trashed me for it that put the video up.

[@Blade-420]

@@UQRXD that's what most people in the know in the US call them.. . being British, he must not have been familiar with our name for them.

[@ZGryphon]

Fun fact: They're also how most WWII/Cold War-era air raid sirens work! A lot of the most popular designs had what amounted to two Sirocco-style impellers with the outer housings perforated to produce harmonizing pitches when the blades inside were turned at high RPM.

[@busterdee8228]

I enjoy the 'mechanics' of making a people box go and not smell like a barn full of smoking animals. You do a great job. As a young man, I was a mechanic in an auto dealership. It was winter, so the 'bay' doors were all closed. Above the rear door was a 'squirrel cage' fan that pulled on the hoses we used to evacuate car exhaust. One day, we were all lethargic. Someone announced "I just can't get rid of this headache." Silence, then all of us rushed to open the bay doors, as we were all experiencing headaches. The squirrel cage had become impacted with dust and was no longer evacuating car exhaust.

[@purcascade]

Well, that's... a little scary. 😶

[@jefferyindorf699]

D Been there, done that. I once worked for a nationwide auto service company. We had that happen one January, and reported it to OSHA who finally showed up in May, and naturally found nothing wrong.

[@nintendonerdjoseph]

I've never thought about the heating and cooling components of older ships before. Thank you for the details!

[@josephgaviota]

💯 Agree !!

[@thog9501]

When I was 7 years old I had an autistic hyperfixation on the titanic. Unfortunately, there weren't a lot of easily accessible resources for me back then so I was forced to absorb only really the surface level information about the titanic. If you were around back then, my head would have exploded. Thanks for doing this content, it's reignited that interest, and has extended it to other ocean liners. Cheers

[@CoreyChambersLA]

While the Titanic had no cold air conditioning system for passenger compartments, it did have giant refrigerators and freezers for food, plus a system running throughout the entire ship that supplied chilled drinking water, and cooling for chilled refrigerators at each bar throughout the ship.

[@nonsensicalnauticalramblin3994]

Nice to see these types of videos making a return. I’ve become familiar with the heaters, since i’m building a digital model of an ocean liner, though the cooling systems are something i’m not as familiar with. Thanks for a unique video Mike!

[@Cafe6969]

With what program?

[@ano_nym]

@@Cafe6969 Paint3D

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Another great and very instructive video from you Mike! This one really makes you stop and think of everything that goes into building a passenger liner, things most people aren't even aware of. A liner's a LOT more than a hull, engines, and steering gear! And I really shouldn't be at this point but I'm still amazed at the sophistication that went into an Olympic Class ship, especially 110 years ago. It's amazing how far shipbuilding came in the last 50 years of the 19th Century. Thanks!

[@patrickryan6065]

I’ll agree whole heartedly with you on this Wayne. Literally tens of thousands of items to do and check off when putting a ship like this together. This is why Harland & Wolff were one of the very best.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@patrickryan6065 Thanks! And it's easily understandable why so many hearts in Belfast were broken when Titanic sank, considering all the hard work Harland & Wolff personnel put into her.

[@patrickryan6065]

@@wayneantoniazzi2706 absolutely Wayne.

[@dacomazielsdorf7618]

I've been volunteering on a ww2 ship for 2 years now and it was considered disposable (if it made one trip over seas and sank it was ok) . It still amazes me walking around it and looking at all the design considerations and workmanship. Especially since everything was slide rule and paper

[@thunderjeep08]

As an HVAC engineer in NYC I still run into a lot of fans and motors from the early 20th century. It's crazy how much smaller the motors are now due to the advances in tech. It's also amazing how in 2023 so many buildings still have virtually no heating controls. I bet those lower decks were unbearably hot even with no insulation.

[@nthgth]

My takeaway from that is Wow, those machines still work after 100 years? How much of today's smaller more advanced stuff will still work in 2123? I bet much less of it

[@Delicious_J]

​@@nthgth Motors are simple machines, more than what most laypeople might believe, and the less complicated a machine is the far less likely it will suffer malfunction as there are less things which could go wrong.

[@nthgth]

@@Delicious_J yeah I know, that makes sense. I just kinda lament that nothing today is so simple, it's all gotta have frail electronic controls with planned obsolescence so isn't nearly as robust

[@Delicious_J]

@@nthgth Believe you me I find this aspect of modern life rubbish too, I'm a big steam power enthusiast and used to help maintain a huge Corliss twin steam engine, in an old cotton mill in town. Now this one is a thing of beauty; the largest flywheel you'll ever see on a steam engine at 26' feet with 64 separate ropes to drive the belt shafts, which powered the cotton machinery on all 7 floors of the mill, 2600HP - if the moon ever goes out of orbit give us a call and a very large harpoon gun and we'll get on with it. But yeah, even as an electrician I sort of hate modern technology, electricity is all abstract and sciency, almost like magic, I only understand how electricity works because I understand and know the maths, trigonometry, calculus and various laws and theorems behind it, while steam is unmistakable and easily understandable. Watch an electrical junction box work and you'll learn nothing, watch a steam engine work and within a few minutes you could understand more or less what the engine does.

[@ravenel2]

I grew up in a 150-year-old house. Things were designed for air circulation, with lots of windows and transoms and built on the highest hills. It was delightful in all but a week or two in the summer. I almost never turn on my A/C in my house because I hate the refrigeration of the modern home and workplace. It’s necessary and comfortable because there are no windows, but summer doesn’t exist.

[@DannyDraws1912]

Titanic was a beautiful ship

[@JShips46]

Agreed

[@simonbaker2501]

Titanic was a good ship it didn't deserve to sink rip titanic and rip to all the people who died on the titanic and the titanic doesn't deserve to be at the bottom of the atlantic ocean it deserves to be on the atlantic ocean surface

[@CRAIGKMSBISMARCKTIRPITZ533]

Disagree

[@simonbaker2501]

@@CRAIGKMSBISMARCKTIRPITZ533 why

[@cleverusername9369]

​​​@@simonbaker2501look at that username. He very clearly has a thing for Nazi ships. Bismark, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, those are all Nazi vessels. Methinks "Craig" likes Nazis.

[@mikedicenso2778]

I'm a bit surprised that you never once mentioned the role that the fourth "dummy" funnel played in all of this, except that bit about the 1st class smoking room's fireplace flue being run up through it. But not only did it supply air down the their turbine engine rooms, and vent smoke from the galleys, it also served with the help of fans to circulate air to other parts of the ship as well. It's one of the big reasons there weren't far more of the smaller vents crowding up the top of the Olympic-class decks than there were.

[@Dallas_K]

Precisely. I also like to dispell the notion that #4 did not smoke. As someone was always cooking and baking in the galleys there was frequently smoke from #4, albeit a smaller plume.

[@mikedicenso2778]

@@Dallas_K This is definitely true and there are plenty of photos taken during Olympic's long career where smoke can be seen coming from the 4th funnel. It was also apparently a popular place for engineers and firemen to take a break at the top of since a ladder that ran up the inside allowed access. There's even some really great photos of this and photographers took scenic photos from it as well.

[@kathiahn]

I think he does so in another video, I just can‘t remember which one. He mentioned that fact as a benefit compared to the Queen Mary, as the Titanic had more deck space, I think

[@AtomicBuffalo]

I’d like to see a video just about the fourth funnel. You learn as a kid that “it’s fake” but of course there’s more to it than wasted space for aesthetics.

[@ceejay960]

@@mikedicenso2778 Yes, I've climbed up that ladder for a spectacular view out the top...in Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time :)

[@toolsteel8482]

I’ve always wondered about the bell-mouthed funnels on ship decks. Thanks for explanation of heating and ventilation. I figured the forward movement forced air in . Was surprised at the electric powered forced ventilation on Titanic . You went in detail about concealment of duct work and insulation, things the average person may not consider. I really enjoyed this, thanks!

[@canuckprogressive.3435]

Titanic used electricity for a lot of things. Heat, ventilation, light, refrigeration, elevators, deck cranes, and of course the Marconi wireless telegraph. It had four three cylinder steam engines for the main generators and two more emergency generators putting out 100 volts direct current.

[@penderkev]

The rotary cowl vents work in both directions in that if the cowl is facing down wind, the wind going by causes a vacuum in the pipe. the old tug i worked on had two cowl vents and one of them had a pipe that went to the floor of the engine room. One cowl vent was pointed into the wind and the other pointed down wind, creating a ventilation loop.

[@johnjdevlin2610]

As usual, Mr. Brady's commentaries were insightful and fascinating. How else could he keep me focused for the entire 17 minutes while talking about ducts and fans? I learn so much from his explanations. He manages to be both informative and entertaining at the same time. Well done!

[@fishlikelong]

I genuinely had no idea the cowl vents could be rotated! Of my 25 years of researching the ship, this little bit of info has somehow passed over my head.

[@Dallas_K]

When Captain Rostron was pushing for speed to get to the sinking Titanic he had heating shut off in passenger cabins to keep steam exclusively fir the engines. To get the boiler fires hotter crew would have been turning cowl vents directly ahead into the wind. This enabled the Carpathia to achieve higher speed than ever expected of her.

[@canuckprogressive.3435]

Me too.

[@canuckprogressive.3435]

@@Dallas_K I saw a video about how Titanic's officer got the position wrong. As a result it was not as far from Carpathia to Titanic as they thought. That contributed to the legend of that ship reaching speeds it really was not capable of. But yes, Rostron pushed it as hard as he could.

[@jimmyhuesandthehouserocker1069]

As an electrician/mechanic for 21 years in a cardboard box plant, I frequently had to work on those same blower systems what were the trim collector machinery up on the roof. Damn things would get clogged up, usually in the coldest of freezing weather and we had to dismantle sections of pipe ducts, hell of a job. Never knew they were called Sirocco fans. You had to be careful around those fans, they were powerful enough to suck a man into them. Company needed to update/replace old worn-out system but would never spend the money

[@SurnaturalM]

I understand, I did the same job as you did in a fiberglass tank manufacturer. That job wasn't for everyone because the dust was incredibly hitchy and irritating. Many left the job after a week. But I did as my grandfather told me, he lived the great depression, and told me if I find a good paying job that nobody wants to do, just keep it, and you will never be out of work, and it's exactly what I did. I never was out of work since 1992.

[@SteelTwilight]

I've read Titanic's refrigerators used a brine system. Pretty cool

[@hankthepatriot3733]

I have learned more about the Titanic from this channel in the last 2 weeks than I had known in my nearly 5 decades in this world! FASCINATING and well researched!

[@wingmanjim6]

Another beautifully executed presentation - I can 't begin to express how much I appreciate the hard work you put into these. Your "old fashioned" videos are, in my humble estimation, among the very finest on KZbin or anywhere else, for that matter. They are a true pleasure to watch and to learn from. Many, many thanks !

[@cleverusername9369]

I've watched a kabillion documentaries about Titanic and studied it and built all the model kits, I consider myself something of an aficionado, but I never knew the cowl vents could be rotated! Thanks Mike! You learn something new every day. Love your content.

[@csmatthew]

just a question about the cowlings; could they be rotated from within the ship or only on deck? [edit] I suppose the wind direction wasn't too likely to change at rapid notice on the seas, so an interior control isn't so necessary

[@cleverusername9369]

​​@@csmatthew it's a good question. Having just learned they could be rotated I have no idea, but I would ASSUME they could only be rotated from above decks. Can't feel which way the wind is coming from below decks and it's not exactly what we'd call sophisticated equipment.

[@courtesy2336]

I've been fascinated with Titanic since before it was found. Read books, watched documentaries--but I always, always learn something new and interesting from you Mike! Keep up the great work! Thanks!

[@gr8oone007]

There is literally no detail about Titanic that I'd consider too mundane to learn about. Love this channel.

[@Wildcat_Media]

Mike, you do a wonderful job of explaining how these systems work on a ship. I never really think of these things when I think about historical ships - the basic, everyday realities of traveling on an ocean liner. It’s fascinating to hear about something as mundane as what amounts to a ship’s HVAC system. I take it for granted in my house or at my work that the heating and cooling will make things comfortable. But on a ship in the middle of the ocean? It’s remarkable to really look at the way they made this work.

[@brodriguez11000]

Toilets.

[@monsieurcommissaire1628]

What I find mind-boggling are the early passenger ships that crossed the savage North Atlantic in the first decades of the Transatlantic service. Around 300' long, with sails and side paddlewheels topping out at not much more than 10-12 knots. Those who sailed on them had to be pretty brave. If 1000' + ships still get tossed about, think what being in a 300-footer in really heavy seas would be like...

[@ChickVicious237]

Incredible how something so simple (to us moderns) as temperature control needed to be that well thought out and intricately implemented. Too hot here, too cold there, bring heat over there but keep it there, and don't allow it over here or this room will get too warm and the other will get too cool. But don't let any of it get stuffy, while you're at it... I love the way people learned to solve these complicated issues, it's what fascinates me the most about the history of engineering.

[@Dallas_K]

These Victorians and Edwardians were the geniuses inventing everything we know today. They were a smart bunch.

[@Retfie719]

I don't see why designing and implementing the temperature control of a larger ship would be much simpler today. Do you care to englighten us?

[@Retfie719]

​@@Dallas_Kyeah, invented child labour, oppressed sexuality, class system, capitalism 😅

[@ChickVicious237]

@@Retfie719 sorry, no. Capitalism began to pave the way toward (en aggregate) the prosperity needed in order to be able to actually migrate away from child labor, oppression of victimized groups, and toward the slow irradication of absolute poverty (living on less than 1.00 per day in 2019 USD, which was the norm worldwide up until recently decades). It has its flaws, but go back into the before times and identify a better time for any groups. Just because it was prior to the industrial revolution doesn't mean young kids didn't work every day of their short miserable lives, in all parts of the world, destined to follow a strict predetermined marrital pathway that adhered to their class, race and gender.

[@ChickVicious237]

@@Retfie719 I'm far from any kind of engineer so I may be wrong, it just seems simpler to build heating units and AC units with the ability to climate control independently from one another (comparatively speaking), rather than have what Mike described.

[@Nexuhss]

These “no frills” videos are actually my favorite.

[@Shipwright1918]

Problem with a lot of these liners that were designed for North Atlantic service was that when they went to hotter climates they were ill-suited for them, many a trooper during ww1 and ww2 had stories about how hot they got. Of note was the old Aquitania, served during both world wars and she was fairly notorious as a hot one when she went to warm waters like the Pacific. "She just stank with the heat, worst lot of 'em all was the black gang. Down in the stokeholds they were practically naked, and had to be guzzling water constantly, even so lot of 'em passed out."

[@JoshuaTootell]

That isn't an old issue, even now they still design ships to operate in certain areas. Over building heating systems for ships that will operate as a ferry near the equator would be a waste of money, and also over designing the engine cooling system for ships operating in the Great Lakes is also a waste of money.

[@nathanbond8165]

What I learned from this video how many ways and openings there were for water to enter the ships Hull it really explains why the sinking so accelerated once water got up to the superstructure level and the deck there was just a thousand different ways for water to get inside of the hull at that point through various open portholes and all of these ventilation shafts it truly explains why the rate of sinking accelerated greatly right at the very end the ship's Hull was simply completely inundated with water.

[@RCarpeDiem83]

Thanks for all your well-researched Titanic content! I’ve been binging on your channel since re-watching the 1997 epic in the theater, and it hasn’t disappointed!

[@AtomicBuffalo]

I appreciate when you don’t just tell us about Titanic but put the question in context of the period or the industry over time.

[@fastfiddler1625]

I absolutely love this type of analysis on more intricate details on Titanic and other ships. I always thought it interesting that despite being from just a few years earlier, Lusitania was markedly way more covered in those cowl vents than Titanic.

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

One way to keep your passengers comfortable is not to hit icebergs. Kidding aside, this was an extremely interesting look at the "HVAC" of Titanic. Considering how new electricity was at the time, the wiring alone was akin to today's computer systems. Thank-you for producing this.

[@Toltec77]

I love these videos they are so detailed and amazing

[@jimbeaux89]

I’ve been a commercial HVAC technician for a long while, and know all about the process of moving, removing, cooling and heating air. The solutions the engineers of the titanic thought up are nothing short of ingenious. Absolutely incredible.

[@FluxKitten]

I thought the siroccos let the air out of the ship when I saw them the first time. I didn't even know that's what they were called. Lots of great information.

[@brendanmatelan2129]

Mike, this was a great video. Was honestly wondering about this this type of thing ever since you did a video on Titanic's "Big Piece" where you said the ship used cork as insulation and both state rooms featured electric heaters. Thanks for this.

[@pedenharley6266]

Mike, fascinating video! Thank you for it. Hearing you speak about all of the powered fans and electric heaters made me wonder about the ship’s electrical system - and if Olympic needed more or larger dynamos as her systems were upgraded over the years. I really enjoyed this “old fashioned” video.

[@Truecrimeresearcher224]

Definitely would need upgrades over time especially with the times

[@johnrichards3666]

The hot air comment made me laugh out loud. I backed up and watched it several times. Well done. Thanks for that.

[@fenrir2482]

Your timing was perfect I just started working on the Lego titanic when you released the video

[@dynamicmediacurations]

You always provide such great content Mike

[@nozyspy4967]

This is EXACTLY the kind of video on the Titanic i have wanted to see. How the ship was heated and cooled was one of the things that i have always wondered about!

[@samthemultimediaman]

It would be interesting to hear about Olympics oil conversion in detail.

[@richiesrestorations4883]

They ship was so over the top for it's time. The sculpted woodworking and scrolling, the metal brass and copper work on a ship, not to mention marble is just incredible. Plus the details, plumbing, electrical, ducting that had to be incorporated as it was being built and the steps of assembly had to be in the right order. A monumental task I'm sure back then. But really, even today it would be a huge project. There were a lot of young me that learned skills, became craftsman, and were incredibly proud of their work and the project. Today though, I don't think you'd see young men with the same thirst to learn the skills let alone take pride in their work. I doubt a ship that luxurious would be built today anyway just due to the cost. Thanks for making all these videos, they're so fascinating.

[@ctg6734]

Wonderful vid! I really enjoy the nuts and bolts material of the more mundane systems on these ships.

[@debbiejarus1723]

Another fascinating video! It always makes my day when I see you have released a new one on your channel. Best channel on KZbin IMO!!

[@98xjdriver]

I think the cork also helped with bulkheads and walls from "sweating" with condensation due to the temperature difference between he air and steel.

[@robstammers7149]

I've been a Titanic history follower for years, the fascination with the Olympic Class liners is their technology and the skill of the ship builders and the numerous fitters needed to produce something way ahead of the rest. This video is an excellent insight for those interested in the history of the Titanic. Many thanks.

[@owellafehr5191]

These videos are insanely helpful. As a hobby, I'm working on designing my own Edwardian-era ship, and as someone who's always been interested in the Titanic but never really knew anything about its inner workings/layout/engineering, I find your channel to be a godsend. I love how simply and clearly you explain everything!

[@owellafehr5191]

@Casimir V Just seeing this now, but yes it's been going very well! I actually have the plans all finished but I haven't inked them yet. And I'm making a 'sinking' story to go along with it.

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

Sometimes the Scirocco impeller was also called a squirrel cage fan.

[@Hammerandhearth]

I was about to say the same. It is a fancy exotic name for a squirrel cage blower.

[@csmatthew]

what a cute name, I guess hamsters weren't so popular till later in the century. Oddly enough, I recognised the impeller design immediately as I disassembled a rotary air fryer and it has the same system

[@Hammerandhearth]

Satunnainen Katselija it’s older than that. I’ve seen them used as forge blowers as early as the 1870s and locomotive blowers going back to the 1830s.

[@j887276]

Interesting video, I mainly watched because my 1932 home has no insulation and is very cold. Oil furnace is broke and we just use 4 1500w electric space heaters to get us through the winter on the east US coast. The house gets down to around 40 degrees but it's not horrible as long as you dress accordingly and sleep with blankets 😁

[@TangoBravoAlerts]

I've been fascinated by the Titanic since I was eight years old, and have consumed almost all the Titanic books and movies I could. And you are among the best videos I've seen, teaching me new things I never knew before. Thank you!

[@nooneinparticular9837]

Excellent question I didn't know I needed answered

[@TheModelBoatGuy]

Good vid as always Mike! I’ve had so many people asking me about those bloody vents on the poop deck! Thanks for squaring that. As with everything on ships of the time the complexity is just so much more than the casual observer could ever know. A lot of push and pull. Many areas that naturally run too hot, and many that naturally run too cold, and how you balance these things is quite a challenge, especially as you say with the spectrum of weather conditions that could be happening outside the ship! Keep at it! Always nice when a vid pops up, Robbie

[@BamBamBigelow.]

This is exactly the kind of info I enjoy about ships, not the usual amentities everyone always concentrates on

[@zesty2023]

I'm in HVAC and I'm a Titanic fanatic, so this was highly entertaining for me. Both in learning about old fashion heating and air techniques, but also just learning what every little electric vent piece on deck did. Thanks OD!

[@huntercurts9998]

Amazing video! I wished we had Olympic as a museum ship it would have been awesome!

[@britannicman9995]

Another great video thank you Very informative

[@mikeokeeffe4692]

Man, I'd love to date this man. It's actually distracting when that flicker of a smile comes from talking about something he finds interesting and enjoyable to describe. The channel is terrific, Mike. Your work is as impeccable as can be and I truly love the content.

[@uptoolate2793]

"Hot air"? Mike, I could listen to your voice and wonderful accent for hours. No joke.

[@Miakel]

Cunard line seemed to use cowl vents far more than White star Line, if you look at photos of the RMS Mauretania you see the vents are a main deck feature.

[@jefferyindorf699]

I think she was built 5 years before Titanic, and much smaller as well.

[@cak316]

I love the videos on titanic!!

[@Xamry]

This helped me realise how many components observed on deck are there for ambiance, for comfort, not necessarily for the mechanical integrity or performance of the ship. Never would've considered it.

[@ayanghosh7597]

The level of detailing in the internal design of Titanic is mind-boggling, given so many of the things were at an early stage of development and were mostly analogue.

[@dennymambo]

Makes sense to use steam to heat the incoming air as they had an abundance of it from the boilers. It's interesting they didn't use some sort of slider valve to regulate the volume of steam going into second and third class heating. I guess they figured hotter is better than colder. And it's one less thing that could jam, break or leak. Always fascinating to learn about the engineering of the great ocean liners of last century. Thanks for the awesome video :)

[@mightybrazilsempire5316]

i'm not used to big videos sir, but i have to tell you: You have a natural hability to entertain. usually my problem with longer videos in genereal is because they get boring over time. But you are an exception! If you consider your videos to be a ship, there's entertainment from the bow to astern, from port to starboard! You are really good at making content, those 17 minutes we're really fun and i didn't skiped any part of it. Always love to watch your videos, keep it in that way please :)

[@csmatthew]

Very thorough and well explained. I thought this would be a short video along the lines of 'furnace makes heat, ocean makes cold', but it is a great deal more complex and I have learned a lot. Thanks!

[@mikeyfrederick1232]

That "hot air" comment made me laugh no lie lol.. I've never really liked looked into the history of ships but I find all your content just so fascinating..you and your channel kinda spured a bigger intrest in every thing nautical in my head... you seriously deserve major credit for all these videos sir..a lot of work goes into these and it shows..

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Love the content, especially the Olympic class ships.

[@NeedtoSpeak]

Fantastic production. As a long time student of Titanic, I have to say this episode provide information that I never considered!

[@Dallas_K]

Great never-before-seen photos too!

[@paulhudson8321]

Always something new to learn about the titanic. You must be a fan of titanic honour and glory. Their new demos are out. Incredible it’s like actually being on the ship.

[@williamwest2169]

I greatly agree with the comments below. This video is very well researched. You are providing a window to the past. This is an articulate and accurate description of how an electrical system worked in it's infancy. We take for granted in modern times that we will have heat, air conditioning, and of course, lighting. In my own family history, relatives in my family tree did not even have electric lighting until the 1920s. In the United States, if you resided in a distant rural location, there was no power early on. Large cities of course, but not in every small place. Water came from a well, not a faucet. Your commentary involves a listener that may not understand electric use in that era. You do an incredible job of making the history of Titanic relative to a modern day person. Thank you for providing quality history lessons. It's so nice to see your videos. Keep up the good work! Many happy returns!!

[@Ranjitzu]

Very interesting video, never actually thought of this detail regarding the Titanic - just seen the famous vents and didn't think much more about it! 😊 Thank you and well done Brady!

[@jamestcallahanphotographer]

You’re an amazing young man, Mike! Thanks for all the great Titanic videos!

[@markthomas2487]

I’m 64 and have been an ocean liner enthusiast since I was 8. I discovered this channel within the last year and I am enormously impressed with the quality of the content and Mr. Brady’s wide ranging knowledge. I’d resigned myself years ago to a waning in the broader culture of interest in the era of the great liners, and that soon there would only be a few of us left. I’m happy to say that Oceanliner Designs has caused me to rethink that assumption!

[@johnbroadway4196]

Fascinating ! Considering that the Engine Room kept the Titanic afloat for as long as it Did. Yet that story shows how Brave those Gentlemen we're.

[@aaroncortright9860]

would love to hear your take on the Battleship IJN Yamato! I actually have a model of the IJN Yamato it was a huge ship with a huge crew, it was to naval warfare what HMS Titanic was to civilian shipping in terms of loss of life, so far while not subscribed I have watched several of your video's and have found them interesting. it's always great to hear the stories of events that happened especially when their not well known stories. I do hope Sir that you will continue posting video's like this and that you and your family are and remain safe and well.

[@NathanHassall]

it was documented that as the titanic was sinking the temps in the lower decks rose nearly 5c from the terrified passengers. This phenomenon is known as fear heat.

[@ZGryphon]

I have to wonder who was taking readings in that time and place.

[@deejay4922]

An esoteric subject to say the least. I've never run across anyone delving into this aspect of this infamous ship or others of the day. Well presented w/excellent graphics & the narrator presents with very clean, precise English that anyone could understand. Good job.

[@JDMHaze]

I love these details, Titanic gets a bad rap for sinking, But overall, it was well engineered, and they literally thought of everything especially considering the time era it was AHEAD OF ITS TIME.. The engineering on this was amazing, and the operators were well educated as well

[@melissasheppard6674]

Thanks Mike 🫡 You’ve been in Edwardian formal wear in a really warm environment? lol

[@cleverusername9369]

In every single video he's wearing a button down shirt, tie, and vest, and he lives in Australia. So yes, he's been in Edwardian formal wear in a really warm environment. That's like... his whole thing.

[@melissasheppard6674]

@@cleverusername9369 I’m pretty new here, but that makes sense. I did notice he’s dressed that way in his videos.

[@GN77340]

Cool

[@larsrons7937]

Wow. I never thought the heating/ cooling/ ventilation system of a 110 year old steamship could be so interesting. Thank you for the tour. - And I loved the background music typical of the era of these ships.

[@ryans413]

I didn’t not know those funky looking vents could be rotated. See I learned something new today.

[@robertschultz6922]

Does anyone know if the ovens on these liners were steam or electric??? It's not gallons of air it's cubic meters or feet of air in HVAC which is this exact topic.

[@Dallas_K]

Both, as well as coal fired. Titanic had it all.

[@leopardone2386]

Bear in mind as these ships of the Olympic class were primarily designed for north Atlantic weather. During WW 1 for example when Britannic and Olympic both spent time in the sunny Mediterranean. They often got a bit stuffy. Enter the open portholes on Britannic...

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

1:49 - 1:59 Wow, I've never saw that photo of Britannic's dining saloon under construction before. Neat!

[@christo-chaney]

Thank you again Mike! Some of this I knew but wasn’t sure about other things. Appreciate you! Have a good week.

[@Xamry]

I can't believe I never wondered about this before. I just always take ambience for granted. Glad you looked into it!

[@maxasaurus3008]

“Festooned” being used in a normal, unremarkable way: what more could you possibly desire in a channel? Subbed!

[@xmtryanx]

Great job once again!!! When a vent is pointed away from the direction of the wind, air is drawn out of a space, effectively clearing out stale are.... an example are the aft facing vents over the third class smoking room on the poop deck. Dont forget, most of Titanic's first class rooms had exposed piping and ventilation :)

[@CharlesTheClumsy]

It makes me sooo happy that you keep making videos about Titanic. Please don't stop! I love these videos!

[@TaterChip91]

Thanks to this guy, I've been sucked into a massive deep rabbit hole of Titanic videos for the last few weeks

[@TI4438]

You saved me a bit of a headache now that I know cowl vents are posititionable. Much appreciated.

[@DoreyPaul]

Fantastic stuff. I was a Marine Engineer in the RN for 20 years. My uncle was 2nd Engineer on the original Queen Mary and my Great Grandfather perished on the Titanic, he was an Assistant Pantryman and is buried in Fairview cemetery Halifax Nova Scotia

[@Gino_567]

I appreciate the description of the photos! It's frustrating when other videos imply you're looking at Titanic under construction when in reality, it's entirely a different ship

[@ExAnimoPortugal]

Amazing how there are so many technical details, but still the ship was so elegant

[@PeBoVision]

As always Michael, I leave your video more knowledgable than when I arrived, with answers to questions I did not know I had. Thank you.

[@Truthseeker4449]

Now this is the level of technical detail I enjoy! Fantastic video!

[@Stitchxavi]

Love the Mike titanic videos. You make even the most mundane Titanic topics fascinating.