The Blue Book of Oil Burning and Burners (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1920 edition. Excerpt: ... BLUE BOOK OF Oil Burning and Burners HEAT AND COMBUSTION When we speak of fuel oil we generally mean the oil which is burned in the furnaces of steam boilers. The best engineer is the one who can make the most steam with the least fuel. Heat may be produced in many ways, but for the purpose of the marine engineer it is only necessary to consider the heat generated in the furnace by burning fuel oil and coal. The degree or intensity of heat can be measured by a thermometer or pyrometer. The quantity of heat necessary to produce a certain temperature is measured in heat units. The British Thermal Unit (B.T.U.) is 1/180 of the amount of heat necessary to raise one pound of water from a temperature of 320 F to 2120 F. Roughly one B.T.U. will raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree. Above 2120, water is changed into steam, by the addition of heat and the above definition is not true of steam. The best fuels contain the most B.T.U.'s per 1 pound. The average good steaming coals contain between 11,000 and 14500 B.T.U.'s per pound, while fuel oils contain as high as 20,000 B.T.U.'s per pound. Unfortunately, there is no quick practical method by which the engineer can judge of the quality of his fuel. The number of heat units per pound must be determined in a laboratory with an instrument called a calorimeter, and to be of any value the test must be very carefully 'and accurately made. Consequently the engineer must judge of the quality of his fuel by its actual performance in his furnace. But a knowledge of the fundamental principles of heat and combustion cannot fail to help in saving at the fuel pile. Heat is generated by combustion, or the burning of coal or oil in the furnace. Coal and fuel oil consist principally of carbon, ...