The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-09-23
NO. 153.
OIL AS FUEL FOR SHIPS.
Benefits and Drawbacks in the Substi-
tuition Of Petroleum for Coal.

| DIduQ IN using petroleum lot lne gen
Grafton Of steam during period of
three days, on recent voyage to Phila-
delphia, affords another illustration Of
the adaptability Of liquid fuel for
navigation 1t is rather curious that
two classes of vessels in which these
Experiments have been made, and
often with success, are those in which
the general use Of oil as fuel would be
most Objectionable One class is that
of the vessels employed, like the James
Brand, in carrying oil in bulk, since
the great quantity of infammable ma.
terial in the cargo might naturally cause
anxiety among the underwriters, and so
raise the rates of insurance, or in some
cases make them prohibitory Another
class is the war vessels, which in battle
would run the risk of the explosion OF
their stores of petroleum by the fire of
the enemy. Nevertheless, the great
advantages Of this fuel for some kinds
of war vessels, particularly torpedo
boats, has caused experiments TO be
conducted with it, and some very favor
able reports have been made as to its
practicability. 1t is shown that the
liability to explosion has been greatly
diminished in various ways, particularly
by using residuum, which is non.
inhammable up to very high tempera-
ture, aud by carefully constructing the
apparatus. Besides, it is possible to
carry the fuel some distance beneath
the water line.
But, apart from the question of its
use on war ships, the possibility of
using petroleum safely on mercantile
vessels carrying general cargoes seems
to be more and more clearly shown,
and the matter even now has been
largely, though perhaps not wholly, re.
duced to the consideration Of expense.
1t is true that there would also, probab-
ly, be some opposition among travellers
TO its employment, as an unnecessary
risk, and taking this prejudice together
with the extra cost passenger steamers
do not now generally resort to it. But
after all, steam is also an explosive un-
der certain conditions, while war ships
carry powder magazines which could
blow them to atoms, and yet which are
subjected to such safe guards that an
explosion through negligence in time
of peace is Of the rsrest occurrence.
Again, the use of petroleum for
stationary boilers in manufactures is
most familiar, and it is only an extern
sion of the principle which would ap-
| ply it to locomotive and marine boilers.
Indeed, it has made its way even into
households, thousands Of oil stoves
being used; and very likely this fact
would be found to have gone far to-
ward removing popular objections to
employing liquid fuel on passenger
steamers, should this be undertaken.
Two very famous sets of experiments
are those of the locomotives on the
Oroya Railroad of Peru and those of
the London and Pacific Company's
steamship, Ewo, running on the Pacific
coast of South America. The latter
had made eight and half knots, with
seven tons of coal per day, but reached
nine knots on less than four tons of oil
residuals. The evaporative power Of
oil is about as seven TO four, but as
coal occupies rather more space than
the same weight of oil, the effective
power is really about double in ships
supply. Captain Carmichael, the COM
mander of the Ewo, used ressduum,
which was noninhammable until heated
to $50 degrees, and was therefore safe
to carry. He also found that the oil
did not volatiize perceptibly, nor lose
its power in the tanks, and that it had
no disagreeable smell. A great ad
vantage was that the state of the
weather made no difference in the
ability to get up steam, and that the
pressure on the boilers was constant:
and another was that very few fremen
and tenders were needed. The tubes
on the Ewo only needed to be cleaned
once in six months, and were not found
dirty then.
On the Oroya railroad two competi-
tive locomotives exactly alike, except
that one used oil and the other coal,
were run for a period of five months
, over the same tracks, alternately pulling
equal trains. 1t was found that while
the consumption of coal per mile was a
little over seventy-nine pounds, that Of
oil was only about thirty-eight and a
E half pounds. The result was the regu'
ar use Of oil as fuel, and another rail
d road in that neighborhood adopted it
1t is said that an Argentine railroad
has all its engines adapted for this pur
pose, and, in fact, the South American
5 steamships and railroad lines furnish
abundant and valuable data on thi'
- subject.
Italy has also contributed much tC
the question Of employing oil for marin'
boilers. She used mixed fuel Of Goa
and petroleum on the war ship Messag
gieros, thereby adding two knots to tn
l. speed, but with some damage to tn
D. boilers. Next, Italy experimental will
Is the Ancona and the CasteifidATdo, get