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Last week’s team effort on USS Monitor’s main engine

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The whole conservation team was busy doing some maintenance work on the USS Monitor main steam engine last week. It involved the following:
• draining the 20,000 gallons of solution, removing the stainless steel anodes and the reference electrodes
• performing a detailed conservation assessment of the engine
• thorough photo documentation of the current state of the artifact, and using these pictures to produce a 3D model of the engine
• cleaning the anodes and prepping new reference electrodes
• putting everything back in place and covering it all with a fresh caustic solution
We also were able to bring Museum staff members for a close-up view of this large object while the tank was drained. The perks of the job!
Below are a few pictures of the process for those of you who did not have a chance to check out our webcams or to come see us work live!

Engine front. Remember, the engine is upside-down, so on top of the piston chamber lay the engine bed!
Lesley, Laurie and I performing a detailed assessment.
Copper alloy oil cups with concretions located on the piston trunk.
Will giving a tour to TMMP staff members.
Stainless steel anode sheets are back around the object.
Laurie and Lesley thoroughly cleaning the tank.
Will using two cranes and his invention (the “Hydroxide-O-Matic 3000”) to help pour the 3000lbs of caustic chemical needed for the engine’s treatment.
The mandatory geared up selfie. Mission accomplished!

Now power is back on in the tank. The reference electrodes judiciously located around the engine will allow us to monitor the electrolytic reduction process in live time and to adjust the current if need be.

There is a Civil War Lecture this Saturday at 2pm: “Conserving Civil War Shipwreck: Research and Innovation”. It is free with museum admission. Come hear more about what we do behind the scenes!

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