Practical Hand Book of Gas, Oil and Steam Engines: Stationary, Marine, Traction; Gas Burners, Oil Burners, Etc.; Farm, Traction, Automobile, Locomotive; A simple, practical and comprehensive book on the construction, operation and repair of all kinds of engines. Dealing with the various parts in detail and the various types of engines and also the use of different kinds of fuel.Rathbun, John B.
Science
Practical Hand Book of Gas, Oil and Steam Engines: Stationary, Marine, Traction; Gas Burners, Oil Burners, Etc.; Farm, Traction, Automobile, Locomotive; A simple, practical and comprehensive book on the construction, operation and repair of all kinds of engines. Dealing with the various parts in detail and the various types of engines and also the use of different kinds of fuel.
Rathbun, John B.
Internal combustion engines; Traction-engines
Kerosene is a fractional distillate of crude oil which has a
considerably higher vaporizing temperature than gasoline. It does not
form an inflammable mixture with the air at ordinary temperatures, but
is vaporized in practice by spraying it into a chamber heated to above
200°F. Kerosene forms a greater percentage of crude oil than gasoline
and as there has been less demand for it up to the present time it is
much cheaper. Pennsylvania crude oil produces only 20 per cent of
gasoline while the kerosene contents will average nearly 42 per cent
according to figures at hand.
Kerosene has a very high calorific value per gallon, 8.5 gallons of
kerosene having the same heating effect as 10 gallons of gasoline.
Because of its high calorific value and its low cost per gallon, many
types of engines have been developed for its use during the last few
years, several of which have been very successful. Before the advent of
the modern kerosene engine much difficulty was experienced with the fuel
because of its high vaporizing temperature and its tendency to carbonize
in the cylinder, but as the price of gasoline continued to rise, the
inventive genius of the gas engine builder overcame these troubles so
that the kerosene engine is now as reliable as any form of prime mover.
[Illustration:
Kerosene Vaporizer on Fairbanks-Morse Engine. The Engine is Started on
Gasoline and When Hot, the Kerosene Feed is Turned on.
]
Any gasoline engine will run on kerosene, after a manner, if the engine
is thoroughly heated to insure the vaporization of the kerosene, and if
the fuel is heated in the carburetor. Such an arrangement is make-shift,
however, and is not productive of good results in continuous service. If
kerosene is to be used as a regular fuel, a kerosene engine should be
used to avoid vaporizing and carbonizing difficulties as well as the
sooty, offensive exhaust, and the loss of fuel represented by the soot.
Many kerosene engines are arranged to start on gasoline, and, after
becoming heated, have the running feed of kerosene admitted through a
three way valve. The gasoline feed is then stopped.
The above arrangement admits of easy starting in all weathers and
temperatures.
In the Diesel engine there is no evaporating of fuel, and no deposits of
carbon because of the high temperature of the combustion chamber. With
engines that draw the mixture of vapor and air into the cylinder there
are several methods of applying heat to the liquid, and the combustion
of the vapor thus formed is perfected by the injection of water into the
combustion chamber. It has been found by experiment that a small amount
of water vapor introduced into the cylinder of a kerosene engine makes
the engine run more smoothly and prevents a smoky exhaust and carbon
deposits in the cylinder. The water is introduced into the cylinder
through an atomizer in the form of a mist or fog, the particles of water
being in a very finely subdivided state.
[Illustration:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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