Robert King, based in Paducah Kentucky, is the manager of Ingram Support Service a wholly owned subsidiary of Ingram Barge Lines charged with managing 20 vessels that operate on the Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. These are among the smaller vessels in Ingram’s 137-vessel fleet and so operate without engineers. King’s job is to minimize down time and maximize efficient operational hours.
He expects to do just that for 87x30-foot Charles M. Everhart now that he has pulled a pair of 900 HP two-cycle engines and replaced them with a pair of Cummins KTA38 1000 HP @ 1800 RPM main engines. The
new engines are equipped with the Cummins Eliminator and Centinel options. The two systems combine to reduce operating and maintenance costs while creating an environmentally friendly operating regime. The Cummins-designed Eliminator removes all disposable lube oil filters. The Centinel Oil Management, an oil burn system, works in conjunction with the Eliminator to virtually negate the need for oil changes and costly waste oil disposal.
The new engines are mated to the same Twin Disc TD540 7:1 gears that were in the boat, although the port side gear was replaced with a rebuilt gear supplied by Great Lakes Power Products. This firm also supplied Centa R-series flex couplings between the engines and the gears. The boat’s existing 76x65-inch 4-blade stainless steel propellers were retained. The Charles M. Everhart had her generator replaced with a Cummins 6BT5.9 (D)M 80 Kw genset last year in anticipation of the overall upgrade.
The 33-year old vessel in now back in service, but other vessels are being scheduled for similar "greening" and Cummins repowers. The David K. Wilson is slated for the fall of 2004 with two more vessels planned for 2005.