The three supporting systems
- Fuel: the tanks, transfer, filtration and water separation; keeping the fuel clean and the filters serviced, and bleeding the system.
- Lubrication: the oil types and grades, oil pressure, filtration and the oil cooler; monitoring the oil for contamination.
- Cooling: the raw-water and fresh-water circuits, the pumps, heat exchangers, thermostats, impellers and anodes.
- Routine maintenance and record-keeping for each system on a schedule.
These three systems are what keep the engine alive: fuel to burn, oil to lubricate and cool the internals, and water to carry away the heat of combustion. The operator services them on schedule — filters, impellers, oil and anodes — and monitors them in service, because a fault in any one quickly damages the engine. The raw-water side is protected from corrosion by sacrificial anodes, which are checked and renewed before they are consumed.
WARNING — Loss of oil pressure — stop the engine A sudden loss of lubricating-oil pressure risks severe and rapid engine damage. Investigate at once, and if pressure cannot be restored, stop the engine — a seized engine is far worse than an interrupted passage.
NOTE — Anodes are consumed to protect the engine Sacrificial anodes in the raw-water system corrode in place of the heat exchanger and engine castings. They are checked and renewed before they are used up, or the protection stops and the metal they guarded starts to go.