Kerosene

Oil and Duty/VAT :-))

Not quite that simple!

Kerosene and Paraffin are two different things, although often lumped together as one.

Kerosene is close to what is used in jet engines and gas turbines, but as they have separate lubrication systems for the engine parts that handle the fuel, the fuel doesn't need oil to be added.

Diesel engines in general, especially those with rotary DPA pumps rely on the added oil in the diesel to lubricate the pump bearings. Multi-fuel diesels usually have in-line pumps with camboxes that are lubricated from the engine. Bedford and Horstmann ( ne: Coventry Climax H30) both supplied engines with in-line pumps to the MOD for this reason.

I think the derivation of the fuel is different as well, kero is a crude oil product, paraffin is lower down the chain IIRC and may have additives from coal tar products. Paraffin absorbs water, while kero does not, another reason why it is not favoured as a fuel.

See also: TVO

Why do you ask?

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

Surely diesel is also heavier than paraffin and kerosene,structurally not weight :-))

Yep, diesel, gas oil etc is 35sec. kerosene parrafin is 28sec.

"sec" being the number of seconds a given quantity of the oil takes to flow through a specified hole in a specified container.

Mr Forbes description of kero v parrafin is interesting, particulary the hydroscopic nature of parrafin, that is something I've not heard before. Is there a reference for that anywhere?

"Dave Liquorice" wrote (snip):-

If it's the reason parts washed down with parrafin seem to rust quickly, then yes.

Nick H

That would explain something that's puzzled me for a few years. When I was VERY young, I painted my push bike. The paint was too thick but I found parrafin thinned it OK. The resultant mixture took ages to dry and the bike went rusty as it did so.

John

There's a good deal of free water in paraffin. I always use petrol to wash down things (electric motor parts for instance) that I can't subsequently wash in detergent and finally plain water.

regards,

Kim Siddorn