The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-01-23
OIL AS FUEL.
A Probability That 1t VIII Soon BE Used
in the Navy.

a Probability That 1t VIII Soon BE Used
in the Navy.
The navy department has been en-
gagged in the past two years in making
experiments with a view to discovering
some economical and feasible plan for
the use of oil as fuel for vessels. 1t be-
gins to look as If the problem were
either already solved or were very neal
solution. The problem is of especial in
terest to the navy department just now,
because of the need of torpedo boats of
o high speed. If such a speed can be
reached at all, it can be reached more
easily with the use Of oil as fuel rather
than coal, provided the transmission of
Energy can be secured simply and eco
nomically.
In an attack by torpedo boats upon a
squadron of war vessels two1of the most
important features are speed and score.
cy. Indeed, the two are almost synony-
NOUS, for the reason that it is always
advisable tC make an attack by torpedo
boats az Eight, and under such condi-
lions the more swiftly a torpedo boat
moves the greater is it's chances Of get
ting near to a feet before discovery.
The unusual rapidity Of advance also
serves to discomfort the gunners Of the
fleet, and, by reducing the time by
which the torpedo boats may be under
fire, renders the attack more likely to
be successful.
The advantages to be derived from
the use of oil as fuel are many and
noteworthy. In the first place, the
weight of the fuel itself is an important
matter, as every pound counts upon the
speed of the little torpedo boat. 1t is
also true that in case Of a long voyage
the substitution Of oil as fuel would
make a decided difference in what is
called the steaming r~adius--that is, the
length OF voyage a boat may take, using
the fuel on board until it's supply is ex-
hausted. 1t is calculated that a vessel
which may have a steaming radius Of
1000 miles with a certain bulk Of coal
would have a steaming radius Of 1000
miles with an equal bulk of petroleum.
There are also to be considered some
other important details. With the use
Of coal as fuel there exists the necessity
for the constant employment Of stokers
on board OF a war vessel, in order that
coal may be fed to the CRATES and ashes
may be removed from time to time. All
this. of course, means SO many e and
a large amount Of work constantly 60
ing on, wen in a little torpedo boat, so
long as that boat may be in use. With
the employment of oil as fuel, however,
the stoker is practically abolished, as
the fuel is fed automatically to the
CRATE by q spray and there are no ashes
to be handled.
Briefly described, the apparatus used
by the naval experts in their recent
tests consisted of an ordinary firebox
over the CRATE bars, on which were laid
grooved bricks, the oil being propelled
othese bricks by a fan shaped spray. AS
the air Is constantly passing through the
grooves of the bricks and uniting with
the burning oil on those bricks the lat
ter become themselves heated to a red
heat, and the amount Of heat directed
upon the boiler becomes reasonably con-
slant and subject to easy regulation.
Compressed air is used for purposes of
draft and for spraying the oil.
According to the report Of the naval
experts to Secretary Herbert, l pound
of oil was found to evaporate from II
to 20 pounds of water. This is about
twice as good results as could be obtain
ed from the use of coal. AS regards
speed, the experiment seems to show an
increase Of about 5Nper cent in the rate
of speed, although the conditions were
not most favorable to the use of oil, the
boat having been built for coal burning
engines. Possibly with the construction
Of a boat especially built for the use of
oil as fuel for the engines, a speed of
about two knots per hour greater than
that possible in the ordinary torpedo
boat might be secured. Boston Adver-
tiser.