Exhaust Perfume

[petrol smoker]

Most of the old engines used to run on kerosene. Now that kerosene is not available any longer, everyone was forced to switch over to petrol (gasoline). I believe that for shows where engines just sit and idle all day long, kero is in any case not a good fuel to use, because the engines never really get warm enough to burn the fuel properly.

My question is how to replicate the smell of the exhaust fumes of a kerosene burning engine? I done some searching and found some info of guys mixing lamp oil and petrol, as well as petrol and jet a1 among other stuff.

Has anyone here done some mixing? I will try some mixing myself, but if I can get a guideline as in what direction to move, it could save me some time (and money). That is after all what makes the forum as good as it is!!!!

[Motormowers]

Couldnt you cut the gas with a small amount of diesel?

[KeithW]

I've run my Hercules 1 3/4 XK, start on petrol run on kero engine on straight JetA. It smokes white as I'm sure the JetA is a little heavy. Don't know if you can get "white gas" or Coleman camp fuel but that works well also. It's basically gasoline with no lead or other additives that would clog up stoves and lanterns. The octane rating is about 60, plenty enough for these old engines. It has much less smell than petrol and keeps much longer without getting stale. Lamp oil should be good quality kero. Cheap kero will have light hydrocarbons that make it a bit dangerous for lamps. After all that rambling I would think that a mix of lamp oil and Coleman fuel would pretty much give you what you want. Here you can get lamp oil with various scents added, things like lavender, bayberry, and such. That would be fun at a show.

keithw

[wegotallama]

Coleman fuel is naphtha, not unadulterated gasoline.

[Ron Weber]

I mix 1 gallon Diesel fuel with 2 gallons of gas. Smells like McDonalds French fries......and still starts pretty easy. In my Farmall Regulars I start them on gas and then run them on old heating oil. They do not like to idel down, but boy do they sure put out the power on a buzz saw or plow! I also like the nice blue smoke too!

[KeithW]

Originally Posted by wegotallama

Coleman fuel is naphtha, not unadulterated gasoline.

It would quite likely be more accurate to say that gasoline is adulterated naphtha. Gasoline is a cocktail of a number of hydrocarbons and additives blended to meet the current requirements. There is no telling exactly what is in it from batch to batch.

To be more accurate I should have said that Coleman fuel is a light, fairly volatile, liquid fuel with an octane rating of about 60, well suited to low compression internal combustion engines of the type commonly discussed on this forum. The lack of additives commonly used in automobile fuel creates a more pleasant sensory experience and extends its storage life.

keithw

[Richard Sturdy]

Firstly, I cannot understand why you cannot buy kerosene in your area. Just ask for 28 second heating oil - that's kerosene, pure and simple!. I think you are confusing kerosene with what you guys in the States call "tractor fuel" (in England, we call it TVO, short for tractor vaporising oil). This obsolete fuel had an octane number of 55-65 and was manufactured by adding back the aromatics extracted from kerosene during the refining of lamp oil, to ordinary kerosene. These aromatics have a very high octane number but are smokey when burned in a lamp - hence they are taken out of lamp oil, which burns cleanly in a lamp, but has an octane number of almost nil and should NEVER be used in an engine. Now, having obtained your 28 second kerosene, you will need to raise the octane somewhat - do this by adding about 15% of the highest octane gasoline which you can buy and there you have it - a kerosene-based fuel which has sufficient octane to avoid pinging under load in most old engines and that rich exhaust scent as a bonus. Incidently, do not add diesel or oil to the mixture, as these only serve to lower the octane which the gasoline has added to your mix.

Tricky Dickie

[Forrest A]

Yes, you can buy Kerosene here in the states but as stated above has been de-smoked. Other than the smell I can't find any reason to run Kerosene. It burns dirtier and is expensive. I do believe though it does give that authentic touch to an untouched, barn fresh tractor in it's original working clothes. One note, you can buy octane booster at most gas stations. I actually find running old and stale no-lead (smells like paint thiner) and lead additive works great in my D John Deere. The only change I have to make is to open the load needle a little more when pulling a load.

[Richard Sturdy]

I am truly amazed that ordinary unstripped kerosene is not available in the USA. However, if you really can't buy straight kerosene (I'm still not convinced), try to obtain some jetA1 fuel from one of the companies which supplies the airlines - this is straight kerosene with some antifreezing additive and nothing else. Add a little petrol (gas) to boost the octane and off you go, smell and all!

Tricky Dickie