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.

by John B. Rathbun

The removal of the tar and ash from a gas is called SCRUBBING, and is performed by a device much resembling a filter. Anthracite coal and coke are low in volatiles or hydrocarbons, and therefore do not cause trouble with tar deposits.

A high percentage of volatile matter also causes trouble by the tar cementing the particles of fuel together. This interferes with the proper action of the producer.

Fuels having a high percentage of ash call for perfect filtering or “scrubbing” as such fuels will fill the gas passages with dust. Dust should be kept out of the engine at all costs, for the dust even in a quantity will cause wear in the cylinder.

Depending on the quality of the fuel, bituminous coal will produce about 4½ pounds of ammonia and 12 gallons of tar with about 5% of sulphur.

Anthracite coal will produce approximately six pounds of tar, and two pounds of ammonia with traces of sulphur.

Loose Anthracite coal requires approximately 40 cubic feet of storage space per ton of 2240 pounds and weighs about 56 pounds per cubic foot (market sizes).

Loose Bituminous coal requires approximately 45 cubic feet of storage space per ton of 2240 pounds, and weighs about 52 pounds per cubic foot in market sizes.

Dry coke requires approximately 85 cubic feet of storage space per ton of 2240 pounds, and weighs about 26 pounds per cubic foot.

(17) Fuel Oils.

Crude oil, a natural product, is the base of the fuels most commonly used in internal combustion engines, especially in the smaller sizes. From this compound the following derivatives are obtained by the process of distillation, a separation possible because of the different boiling points of the various oils. As each derivative or DISTILLATE has a different boiling point, the temperature of the crude oil is maintained at the boiling point of that product that is desired, and the resulting vapor is condensed. The following list is not anywhere near complete for there are several hundred distinctly different distillates, but it contains those that are of the most interest to the engine man.