Use of Kerosene

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7105, 14 March 1933, Page 4

Use of Kerosene

AN ENGINEER’S WARNING. Motorists who have been contemplating using power kerosene as fuel, or using keroseno mixed with petrol, aro warned against making Ihe change of fuel. That advice is given to motorists by Mr J. H. Pennington, a lubricating engineer, of Dunedin. To get maximum power out of fuel, vaporisation of the whole of the fuel was necessary, said Mr Pennington. Power kerosene was refined for tractors, in which the temperature of the engine and induction pipe was kept at a higher level, making the engiiuo capable of (handling the fuel with a higher cud-point or distillation temperature than ordinary petrol. If power kerosene were used in a. motor-car or truck the whole of the fuel would not be vaporised, and tlio unburnt portions would remain in the cylinders, thinning tho lubrication oil on the cylinder walls and then pass down to the crankcase, causing crankcase dilution. Further, heavy kerosene ends would form carbon deposits, necessitating the engine being taken down moro often for decarbonising purposes.

"Definitely it is inadvisable to use power kerosene, because the fuel is not refined for tho ear or truck typo of engine,’’ said .Mr Pennington. No power kerosene has been used in cars in the Otago district until recently, although its use was common in hot climates. A message from the North had reported more frequent usage of kerosene as fuel.

In the past kerosene had been used where special provision was made and where expert mechanics had supervised its use, and then only to a limited extent.

Kerosene had been cheaper in the past only because it had not carried the tax of 101-d a gallon imposed in petrol. Tho taxing by the Government of power keroseno to the limit of petrol would make it as costly to use. The placing of a mileage tax on crude oil and electrically-driven vehicles would have a. serious effect on the growth of the popularity of Diesel vehicles.