Doesn't the system stop without any crew action once a certain amount is dumped?

Yes, as is implied by the post that you quoted.

But if the "certain amount dumped" was intended to get down to MLW, it's hard to see that being achieved by dumping for only 15 minutes.

No it defaults to what ever fuel it takes to equal the MLW without crew action, BUT the crew can modify this number.

So there was not enough time orbiting over the ocean to dump the amount of fuel down to MLW? When did the dumping stop?

See link in post #210 for Delta's statement.

Don't know as I wasn't there on the flight deck.

OK once again the incident report would make an interesting reading.

Don't believe the FAA or anyone else for that matter publishes that information for public consumption. What with all the crap going on in aviation and the world I simply cannot figure out why this was made into such a big without knowing ALL the facts.

Almost 4 years on, did we ever understand why this Delta aircraft ended up dumping fuel in the manner it did? (Telling ATC they didnt need to, then doing it anyway over a built up area in busy airspace).

There were only 181 pax onboard. They weren’t even half full.

You could have waited a couple of weeks and then answered the question on the 4th anniversary of its asking. :O

EL-AL once dumped fuel at Schiphol immediately after take-off after losing 2 engines on a 747. Unfortunately they didn't make it.

Severely damaged aircraft with flight control issues. Different scenario

Correct, and if you think about it; dumping fuel on a 747 would reduce your aircraft weight by about 2 tons per minute provided there is fuel in the centre tank. (without centre tank fuel that rate will be a lot less). So you would lose only a bit more than 1% of weight per minute on a MTOW 747. Aerodynamically not much will happen unless you have plenty of time to dump and lose at least, let's say 10% of your aircraft weight...

So, good ole' fashioned American cronyism and corruption means we are never likely to get to the bottom of this?

Nearly sixty years ago, whilst gliding at RAF Swanton Morley (UK), a Handley-Page Victor dumped fuel all over the gliding circuit traffic on approach to (probably) Coningsby. Six gliders in the air, two crew per hull, open cockpit. Dozen more cadets and RAF personnel on the ground.
Our uniforms reeked of kerosene and our eyes stung a bit, but the CO of the RAF gliding school went apesh*t because, apparently, Jet A1 is an excellent solvent for the glue holding the fabric of our gliders (Slingsby T31, IIRC) together.
Pretty sure the Officer Commanding RAF Coningsby would have heard him from circuit height, across the Wash.
Anyway, I have never had any health issues as a result of that one-off dousing, and don't know of anyone who was there that day that did. So probably not the end of the world for the kiddies that caught a whiff of the good stuff that reached the ground. It's not like it's an everyday occurrence.