New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-30
NEW TESTS FOR PETROLEUM
ABELS APPARATUS BETTER THAN THE
OPEN CUP.
GREATER UNIFORMITY AND ACCURACY - THE
FLASH POINT OF OILS.

London n few DAYS ago that bill had been IN
troduced into Parliament regulating the storage
of petroleum. and classifying the same so that
a. flash point Of 73 degrees should be required
in one case and 50 degrees in another To per
sons familiar with the older methods or testing
oils in this country. and with standards preva-
lent here these figures look rather low. But
little Investigation shows that the English are
not much more lax, if at all. than Americans In
their legal safeguards against harm from ignit-
Ing oil and naphtha-
Paul Babcock, jr, OF the Standard Oil Com
pany to whom the matter was presented by
Tribune reporter last week. impaired some in
teresting information in regard to it.
In the first place" said he. 1T is necessary
10 distinguish between what is called the flash
test and the burning test In the former
blazing match is held near the surface of
specimen of oil in vessel to which heat has
been applied externally. and when a certain
temperature has been reached the vapor given
off by tie oil gntes, but Immediately goes out
The blaze is instantaneous and momentary.
The oil itself does not take fire. The burning
test is a somewhat similar performance, but 1t
REQUIRES a much higher temperature. In this
case the oil does ignite and continues to burn
The point at which oil will burn is from ~ to %
degrees above the point at which a flash can
be produced. 1t is important then. to keep the
two kinds of test distinct in ones mind.
1T should also be borne III mind that the old
tests were conducted with the Tagliabue open
cup whereas the modern tests are made with
closed vessel invent ID by the English chemist
Abel. Now, the results obtained with the open
cup were not altogether trustworthy They de-
pended to some extent upon the skill and preju-
dice of the operator
VARIATIONS IN CLASH POINTS"
For instance one man would move his burn
Ing match horizontally over the open cup at a
height of two inches and another would hOll
it down within half an inch. One would move
his hand across two or three times quickly
as another. And the size Of the blaze employed
might also differ according to circumstances
An inspector who favored the seller. and wanted
to get a high flash point would carry his
match well up and move it quickly One who
favored the buyer woulG hold his hand lower
and move il more slowly Thus it would be pos
sible to find difference of two or three de-
grees between the fash point found
and that obta'' ed by the other
THE Abel apparatus permits no such d.
versity. Its indications are much more pre-
else. The vessel is tightly closed, and all vapor
generated by the slowly increasing warmth is
confined. The distance above the oil at which
the vapor is ignited remains uniform in all
tests, because the mechanism keeps the fire in
one place. The vapor is ignited by electric
spark and the size and intensity of this can
also be kept uniform. The conditions of the
test, therefore insure greater precision. The
Abel device, in consequence is displacing the old
open cup. And. it ascertains the flash
point rather than the burning point Of the
garded as a more reliable than the fire test
"The - degree test. mentioned in the proceed
ngs Of Parliament, is made with the Abel in
strument, and corresponds to a burning point
Of 100 degrees Fahrenheit with the old OPEN
cup fire test The 81 degree flash test with
the Abel apparatus is equivalent to burning
test with the open cups in which the oil takes
fire at 135 degrees And flash point of 30 or
100 with Abc's closed "essel corresponds to
$50 degrees in the open-cup fire test
I'm America there is no National standard for
illuminating oils. The various States have their
own laws on this subject, and they differ great
ly among themselves as to what constitutes
safety. In one place the standard is 80 de-
grees fire test In another it is only 125. A
third State allows oil to be sold and stored
which ignites at 100 degrees and fourth has
a still lower requirement OF course, every
community gets what ii wants: but the oils that
will pass a high test cost more than those which
pass a low Consequently the people pay
extra for their fancied security where their
standard is high.
Il do not this expression unadvisedy.
The security obtained is. in my judgment,
imaginary. There is very little to be-
lieve that petroleum is an explosive substance
i have investigated no end Of stories Of lamp
explosions, and never yet found genuine in
stance Of that sort
LAMP EXPLOSIONS ARE RARE