ulation is difficult at best, and in many
instances is unfortunately not even attempted.

Efficiency with Oil--As pointed out in enumerating the advantages of oil
fuel over coal, higher efficiencies are obtainable with the former. With
boilers of approximately 500 horse power equipped with properly designed
furnaces and burners, an efficiency of 83 per cent is possible or making
an allowance of 2 per cent for steam used by burners, a net efficiency
of 81 per cent. The conditions under which such efficiencies are to be
secured are distinctly test conditions in which careful operation is a
prime requisite. With furnace conditions that are not conductive to the
best combustion, this figure may be decreased by from 5 to 10 per cent.
In large properly designed plants, however, the first named efficiency
may be approached for uniform running conditions, the nearness to which
it is reached depending on the intelligence of the operating crew. It
must be remembered that the use of oil fuel presents to the careless
operator possibilities for wastefulness much greater than in plants
where coal is fired, and it therefore pays to go carefully into this
feature.

Table 48 gives some representative tests with oil fuel.

TABLE 48

TESTS OF BABCOCK AND WILCOX BOILERS WITH OIL FUEL

_______________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
| |Pacific Light|Pacific Light|Miami Copper |
| | and Power | and Power | Company |
| Plant | Company | Company | |
| |Los Angeles, | | Miami, |
| | Cal. |Redondo, Cal.| Arizona |
|_____________________________|_____________|_____________|_____________|
| | | | | |
| Rated Capacity | Horse | | | |
| of Boiler | Power | 467 | 604 | 600 |
|__________________|__________|_____________|_____________|_____________|
| | | | | | | | |
| Duration of Test | Hours | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 |
| | | | | | | | |
| Steam Pressure