Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-03-07
SCIENTIFIC.

Hon TO Test Kerosene :OI.-The fol-
4 following is simple but infallible test
to ascertain exactly the quality and ex-
! plosive points of any sample of kero-
sene Oil--nO matter by what fancy, at
tractive name it may be designated in
/ specious advertisements. Take q COM
mon tin paniof water. or any ordinary
/ tin pail, say seven inches deep; fill the
/ the vessel with water and place it on
the stove or over a lamp, so as TO heat
very gradually; put an ordinary ther-
mOmeter upright IN the water, TO lndl-
cate the gradual rise of temperature.
I Take a little pan, sucn as Is used to
| bake small patties, sold for a cent each.
I In the patty pan put tablespoonful OF
/ kerosene and let il float on the surface
of the gradually heating water. When
I you see the thermometer begin to lndl-
/ cate seventy, seventy five or eighty,
apply blazing match To the kerosene
( in the little pan. II the oil is safe no
! flash will ensue, but il nc Is impure,
and therefore dangerous, a flash like
I Ignition of gas will appear. In case a
: flash occurs while the thermometer in
dicates temperature below 100 degrees
il is safe to assume that the oil il highly
dangerous and utterly unfit for use.
as we have said before, it is more dan
gerous than guDpowder, which cannot
be ignited bv flame at such a tenn
peratnre. No oil should be purchased
whose flashing or igniting point is at
all below 100 degrees, and it should be
remembered that the greater the heat
il will endure above that temperature,
the greater is the proportional increase
in It's safety for burning III lamps.
Z Y I. . r.
test, ii does not guarantee indiscrimin
ate or reckless handling. Even with
the best brands of oil lamp shOuid
near one that Ia lighted. As the oil
burns down in the lamp highly in
tlamma6le gas gathers over the surface
increasing as the oil decreases, and not
iufrequeDtly forcing its way to the
flame at the edge of the wick, and
threatening an explosion.
There are various tricks current
among dealers in kerosene to prove
seventy degrees. The usual test is to
hold lighted match over an open yes
sci containing il. But let a small por-
tion be put III 4 can and shake up, and
a light introduced, when an explosion
instantly occurs, showing that the in-
fiammaLle stuff fbecomesexplOsiveu upon
mixing with the oxygen of the atmOs-
phere. Indeed it may be safely said that
every lamp in the land, when burning
in room, steamboat cabin, or other
apartment whose temperature is 20 or
60 degrees, is liable to explosion, even
If Burning the standard kerosene of
10 degrees flashing point. Many sci
eutitic men have been led into the fall
lacy that tEehash point of kerosene at
10 degrees is the point of safety; but
it has recently been demonstrated by
an eminent chemist that 81 degrees be-
low the igniting point, oil, after burn
ing twenty minutes or half an hour,
viii generate an explosive gas. Ii has
also been demonstrated by the same
authority that oil with an iguitiDg or
flashing point OF $50 degrees is in an
explosive condition when burned in
closed in lanterns on shipboard and
railway cars. IL is claimed that until
oil shall stand a test of 300 degrees
there viii be no guarantee against the
dreadful loss of lite and property which
its use regularly entails.