Maxims and Instructions for the Boiler Room / Useful to Engineers, Firemen & Mechanics; Relating to Steam Generators, Pumps, Appliances, Steam Heating, Practical Plumbing, etc.

by N. Hawkins

USE OF PETROLEUM OIL IN BOILERS.

The use of crude (unrefined) mineral oil in steam boilers is attended by risks caused by impurities and foreign substances mixed with it. These are likely to combine with the earthy matter in the water and tend to form instead of preventing scale; the tar and wax contained in crude petroleum combine with the sediment in steam boilers, and the paste prevents the water from reaching and protecting the plates. This is true particularly in shell boilers which have flat surfaces over the fire. Refined mineral oil has none of these disadvantages.

Kerosene oil has all the advantages to be derived from the use of crude petroleum and the above objections quite removed.

In one system of the application of steam the use of kerosene and petroleum cannot be recommended: that is when live steam is used for cooking purposes, the odor from the oil will impregnate the meat and other products designed for food consumption.