Lighting the Boiler on USS Bataan (LHD-5)

Sailors light the boiler in the Aft Engine Room on USS Bataan (LHD-5). September 13th, 2016.
(BTW, it gets very hot down in the engineering spaces on a ship).

[@Romijo8009]

Oh man the memories I was a Burnerman and BT Lower Level on the USS Kearsarge both fwd n aft plant!!! MM3

[@Galactis1]

Read the title as the USS Batman. Like, Hell yeah!

[@KM-uy7fu]

Ah memories. I was a Burnerman on the Anchorage, out of Long Beach in the mid 80's. Same safety gear, (leather jacket, gloves & face sheild) but I don't remember shaking the torch like that. But I do remember changing out burners & cleaning burner tips. Didn't know they still have boiler powered ships. Also, I heard they dont even have a BT rate anymore.

[@Wiegehtsgut]

They merged BT into MM in 1996

[@stefania8635]

Thanks for the upload...Brings back memories of my time on the USS Emory S. Land as a BT3 :)

[@chuckwagon5518]

Saw a chief light fires off of the glowing back wall once. The front of the boiler jumped out about 2 inches and scared the shit out of everyone! But it worked! I hear the captain didn't like it but tolerated it because it got the ship moving quicker which is good if you're under attack and you lose fire in the main boilers.

[@SSN515]

We had a Chief who blew 1 Able boiler up though the uptakes and out onto the pier doing that. He actually was promoted to Senior Chief later on.

[@rearspeaker6364]

thank you for sharing your stories.

[@johncox2284]

We had hot brick light off which caused a firebox explosion which demolished everything up to and including the steam drum. I hear it made a nice smoke ring out the stack as well.

[@cassiesavage878]

Lit fires off a hot wall in an emergency once scared the hell out of me as a topwatch. Was “indirectly ordered” by the EEOW who was our division officer. Very minimal damage to brick work, but flexed the hell out of the air casing.

[@robchandler755]

AFT engine room. I used to be a BCO section 3 and ETT. MM1 Chandler, 2000-2003.

[@sketchbook1]

Rob Chandler thanks for that! The environment you guys have to work in is INSANE.

[@timp.9582]

Toured the sister ship Kearsarge during Fleet Week in NY, ‘92 or 93. She was brand new at the time. Think the Wasp class LHD’s are the last active conventional steam vessels in the fleet. The Makin was built with GT propulsion.

[@vicfeb3]

We never shook it, but I did spin it just for show. Still got my old zippo too. Lit fires many times. Off the back wall a time or two while in restricted maneuvering too. 80-84 and 87-91

[@dub803]

Thanks bring back memories I was MM Lower Level and MM Upper Level on USS Wasp fwd plant!!! MM3(MP-2 div)

[@brittanybrown4377]

HT here.. was a aft pit burnerman 2011-2012!

[@newbyek]

Brings back memories, I was in Aft pit 1999-2003.

[@chuckT479]

Did you happen to deploy to Puerto Rico in 1999? I was a Marine on this ship.

[@newbyek]

@@chuckT479 Yep, still have tons of pictures from that port call. I was 19 years old.

[@chuckT479]

@@newbyek small world. I was 18. We also took the same ship off the coast of Pakistan after September 11th when we deployed to Afghanistan. I was on the Bataan and the Shreveport.

[@xochiconan]

AWESOME. Love the way you guys worked as a Team…….SKOL

[@timking1420]

been down there plenty of times on the Bataan and Iwo Jima, must have been a newbie with the trainer (ETT) assisting.

[@haulem]

I was on the US Guam LPH-9

[@johncox2284]

That looks like a walk through with ETT and ATG evaluating the evolution.

[@Woody615]

What was with all the shaking? Why did he have to shake it up and down so much?

[@Romijo8009]

Get the excess fuel off!

[@chuppa1chups]

Such chaotic personality types... I don't understand the purpose of the added commotion compare to watching, say, the S.S. Shieldhall being lit by volunteers.

[@dcrahn]

I guess different times. On my ship (1971-1972) we neither had or used safety gear, not even gloves when lighting off a boiler, and usually just two of us (BTFN) to do it.

[@user-bx3hz6wl5m]

Well la de fucking da! Good for you.Guess what asshat? Policies and procedures change. Usually because cunts like YOU fuck up.

[@helmfire7843]

Good fire-up man

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

The faint, warm scent of cigarette smoke from my neighbor's added to the ambiance of watching this video.

[@sterrissar]

it used to take the POMEM and 2 Stokers to flash the 2 boilers per boiler room 4 in total on Ark Royal and only used to take a couple of minutes without all the palaver there and where was the Lucas Igniter ? no need for face protection or anything else

[@markreiman571]

I think “the pit” was hottest when we were in Cartagena Colombia. At the time, we are working 12 on 12 off because we were doing fire sides and tubes In the Ford fire room. While my friend and I were out on the “” Beach” we came back to find out that the guys in the after fire room and drop the load. My friend and I went down in our civies to pull out the guys who are overcome by the heat while they were trying to relight the boiler. We didn’t have any short steam and my partner and I as well as two others real at the boilers and everybody was safe and steam and power were re-connected. Cartagena was about 110° and naturally down in the fire room it was much hotter than that.

[@davidsowder319]

So the burner man and messenger both have on their face shields however they were both raised high above their faces...

[@ML-lg4ky]

Make no mistake these bois are bad ass!

[@BruceMusto]

Got to love Snipes. Thank goodness it didn't blow up.

[@TimCBuilders]

Can of Copenhagen in the back pocket. Ahhh... the bad old days.😂

[@MrHulltech2]

Seen this a few times on the USS Jason AR-8.

[@davidhobson8284]

Yep but the old Type D boiler the Jason had were the same as on USS Hector AR-7 were harder to get lit. They were old ships but had agreat time on Hector 81-83 R2 Engine shop EN3

[@niels6101]

Wtf was that shaking? We light it and insert it. Job done.

[@gilbert.mendez]

Training for the new fireman obviously

[@markreiman571]

Dang, we hardly ever had the leather coat or masks.

[@sketchbook1]

(Maybe it’s because they knew we were going to be filming?)

[@wanjevi]

Which century is this

[@MrBen527]

Cool

[@blakewaterhout5051]

Was a lot easier back in the 70s Navy, lit fires in t-shirts. No face-shields, no flash gear. We always got the job done safely with none of that yelling back and forth and drama in half the time.

[@BeachsideHank]

Newport R.I. 1970; Lighting off from cold iron, U.S.S. M.C. Fox DD829 After Fire Room. We're steaming a B&W 600 P.S.I. "M" type boiler with variable controlled super heat. Shore steam= 90 p.s. i. mostly, less if nested out. Light off emergency feed pump, look for positive rise in gauge glass, secure pump to standby status. Roll over #3 fuel oil pump, cut in steam to fuel oil heaters, we're burning Bunker "C", regulate flow for 200 degrees F. Open recirc valve on the designated boiler. Messenger of the watch, check for L.P. drains set to bilges, ready 1 forced draft blower for duty. Check station manned, burnerman makes up a #42 orifice plate, loads into the mid burner station right next to the torch hole. Roll over forced draft blower, full open vanes, purge firebox. Ready torch with J.P. 5 soak, standby with Zippo, open torch port, light torch, shove in firebox, snap fuel flow handle up to max, crack air vanes for minimal flow, cut in fuel at burner and yell "FIRES LIT, #3 BOILER" messenger records time, Main Control gets a report. Close fuel oil bypass, adjust air vanes for very slight smoke (economy haze) Hard part of light off is now done, have a smoke and some coffee, took all of 15 minutes. We're Black Gang, we know our shit, officers never come down our hole-- ever. Christ it’s been almost 50 years ago, and I can still light off one of those suckers. ☺

[@Pit_Snipe]

Life before E.O.S.S. was so much better. Everyone knew their jobs and did it right, no running for your book before you did anything.

[@BadBrad119]

just light one burner off another man... only slightly increase the chance of a furnace explosion

[@58nunzi]

Indeedy. BTFN NUNZIATO USS ANCHORAGE (LSD-36) 1976-80... I lit-off many boilers in my days in.

[@josepharseneault4168]

@@58nunzi One part of the infamous Garpunk and Nutpuck team on the Anchorage LSD-36. Joseph Arseneault BT2 LSD-36 77-81!!!!

[@wayneheigl5549]

is that how you light a boiler , you stand there shaking the torch for ten minutes . put the torch in the boiler already and turn on the burner .

[@grumpyoldmanxo]

Cute little boiler. LOL

[@sterrissar]

it seems to be a lot of waffling for what should be a simple evolution

[@tonyb.4824]

Couldn't have said it better. Looked sloppy. No one watched fires when torch was removed. Left light off port cover open to long. C-

[@Mishn0]

Probably some sort of qualification exercise for an FNG. Gotta do it step by step per the checklist and shout out every step as you do it. Day to day they probably get the job done in 25% of the time with no one saying a word.

[@timp.9582]

2 man job, tips and no shouting required

[@johncox2284]

That's obviously a training evolution. You can tell by the other guys watching them and walking them through the evolution. They might be going through a training availability.

[@maq3009]

For reals 🤣

[@stevevoyles3816]

Been there done that. DDG 18.

[@Krazyvet666]

Why to wear a shield mask for protection and not use it? Where’s the chief? Remember safety first.

[@burdettward8605]

Look at all the observers. Must be REFTRA.

[@johncox2284]

Exactly. I was in ATG PAC and ATG PACNORWEST. Looks like they were doing a walk through of a light off.

[@navyav8r653]

Not sure when this was made but I remember stealing parts off the Battan in the strip ship docks at Portsmouth ship yards around 03 or 04. Last I heard she became a target ship after that in a Sink X

[@sketchbook1]

No, she's still kicking! This video was made in September 2016. She's still "The Rusty Nickel" and as far as I know, she's based in Norfolk.

[@Briggs13ful]

That man did not shut the recirc valve or set SPS smh

[@stevepovkov9259]

More fun lighting off hot brick wall

[@xomthood]

hard to do with a cold boiler

[@bustergutz231]

Things were easier on a tin can. To much drama

[@Jack-hk1cc]

What’s with all the gear…all we needed was a zippo…and it didn’t take all day either

[@adamc.sieracki4145]

This looks overly dramatic and primitive. Oil furnaces of the early twentieth century had spark ignitors, so I'm curious why military vessels used burning rags. I'm guessing to increase the overall stress levels.

[@celewign]

Maybe it has something to do with being able to light with no electricity

[@sketchbook1]

She’s still using this method in the 21st Century, so as the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” I do imagine it has to do with being able to light without electricity, as was mentioned here, but I’m not sure.

[@thomasbrower305]

2000 degrees in that furnace, no spark ignitor would survive that. Rags would leave debris, scarring the bricks.

[@spenserpayne4746]

Is this Engineman or Machinist mate someone please let me know!!

[@Briggs13ful]

machinist mates I know because I am one and do this exercise often lol

[@spenserpayne4746]

liam briggs can you give a brief description of what you do? I’m looking at MM or EN....

[@jeffreyrichardson]

BT

[@darrencarr9837]

That’s a boiler technician

[@tileking8078]

Used to be a real mans rate in the navy, it was called being a BT 💪🔥🕳SNIPE

[@JoroJugga]

Ugh... there was way too much hassle going on. Just, do it. This is just lighting a fire inside a boiler, simple task.

[@58nunzi]

It's only simple if you make it simple.

[@SteamboatWilley]

I don't get all the stick shaking and procrastination. Was he waiting for the guy with the SLR camera to finish taking photos?

[@sohailnomani]

Crude method

[@dpizzle1992]

What is burning in the boiler?

[@SteamboatWilley]

Fuel oil.

[@philippelee5720]

Diesel first to heat up FO to 150 c

[@GORT70]

I think that class of ship is now decommissioned.

[@slightslice3120]

glenn cook the Wasp class amphibious assault ship is still very much in use by the Navy. USS Makin Island (LHD8) was commissioned in 2009.

[@elgoog7830]

A little dramatic. A can of carb clean and a hand torch would do the same.

[@superancientmariner1394]

4 men to flash 1 furnace? Was this a training exercise?....and the safety gear. WTF..

[@btlnh2001]

BTOW, Burnerman, Lower Level, Saftey Observer, we would even have 2 hosemen. 2, 1200psi Foster Wheeler D types. Late 90s...

[@user-bx3hz6wl5m]

I love jackasses like you who criticize. If this guy didn't have the safety gear you would be bitching about that! All you cunts on youtube know how to do is bitch! I was in the Merchant Marine for a while as a 3rd Asst Engineer on the SS Alpena on the Great Lakes. I only WISH we had the level of safety awareness and gear in the MM that the Navy has! I wish we had the level of training that the Navy has! Before you opened your cockholster did you ever stop to think this was training and that was why so many people were around? How about if something went wrong? If only one guy is there and he gets hurt or screws up somehow then who is going to fix the problem and get help right away? You are a mouthy little twat like the rest of the mouthy little twats on this channel. Better you should put a dick in your mouth. You might actually serve a purpose then.

[@markalan6679]

How many guys it takes to light off a boiler…. 😂😂

[@user-bx3hz6wl5m]

As many as the Navy says it does for various reasons such as safety, training, etc. Maybe you should go fuck yourself. How many guys does it take to jerk you off? Apparently just 2 , You and your dad.

[@MrBigworm237]

Shake that bear.

[@foxtrot789]

Frustrating camera work...

[@sketchbook1]

Sorry, but this was on my iPhone camera, and I had another camera in my other hand, taking still photos, from which I did a painting for the Navy (I'm a combat artist). This video was taken as a bonus to aid in that if needed. Sorry for the sloppy shooting, but it worked out well. (you can see the work at www.paynesgrayandunderway.blogspot.com )

[@rodgraff1782]

There’s got to be a more modern way to light a boiler. All that smoke and jacking around. This guy doesn’t know what he’s doing.

[@sketchbook1]

Someone else in this thread pointed out that this must be a new guy being trained. Probably true. I know that they were starting the boiler for departure, and we set sail a few hours later...

[@SteamboatWilley]

Yeah. Modern boilers I've sailed with (on merchant ships) all have electric ignition. (Electric spark lights a little pilot burner, which in turn lights the main burner.) You just push a button and it starts itself. There's more to go wrong that way, though.

[@user-bx3hz6wl5m]

@@SteamboatWilley hey asshole, ALL merchant ships DO NOT have electric ignition. I served on the SS Alpena on the Great Lakes. It was built in 1942 and still is pretty much the way it was when it was built. Know what the fuck you are talking about before you open that shit hole under your nose.

[@user-bx3hz6wl5m]

@@sketchbook1 What the fuck would YOU or another "guy" know about this sailor? This is obviously the way the Navy does it. Shut the fuck up!