What do YOU use kerosene for?

[Al Palmer]

[Robert Bonomi]

Technically, kerosene is a "light petroleum distillate".

As such, it will: (1) function as a solvent for most hydro-carbon-based "goop" -- be it tree-sap, coal-tar, Vasoline, asphalt, or whatever. (2) combust readily -- much less volatile than 'gasoline', so you don't have (at least not to anywhere nearly the same degree) evaporation problem from unsealed containers. Well suited for lamps, etc. with at least 'semi-open' fuel reservoir. Also for 'smudge pots', used in fruit orchards, etc. to prevent frost damage. (3) function as a lubricant. It _is_ an oil -- it *does* have lubricating properties.

In *small* quantities, it is also used as a substitute for "medicinal" castor oil,

It is a "volatile" hydro-carbon. Given time, it _does_ 'evaporate', except for any impurities that may have been in it. This makes it useful for various kinds of 'cleaning' functions.

[Joe_Stein]

Years ago, working for the highway dept. we used it to start brush fires. Poured it in a used tire with some rags then lit it. At times when the fire was sluggish, dumped it right on. Oh, those were tha days. Joe

Bob > I have used kerosene in the past to remove rust from tools. It is also

[Ba r r y]

Kerosene is a petroleum product very similar to jet fuel, diesel fuel, and home heating oil.

I use it to remove cosmoline, heat the shop, degrease bicycle chains and machine parts, lubricate burnishing tools on scrapers, and many other things.

At work, we power our huge emergency diesel generators with it, as it's cleaner burning than diesel. Kerosene produces slightly less power than diesel fuel, and the engines need to be retuned (once) to burn it, but it keeps the EPA and neighbors happy.

I buy it 5 gallons at a time at local gas stations, and at the end of the heating season, I dump the remainder in my home fuel oil tank, a practice endorsed by both my independent burner service dude and my oil provider. Kerosene can go stale in time, making burning it a bit stinky. Fresh fuel burns much cleaner with very little smell.

Water white K1 kerosene is much cleaner burning in stoves and lamps than the dyed version.

Barry

[Dave Hinz]

Works well in a bale of straw as well, and doesn't piss off the EPA and neighbors.

[Guess who]

Hydrocarbon products are poisonous and carcinogenic. If you make a statement like that, you need to supply the source. Otherwise it's unconscionable, and please define "small dose" in the event that anyone who takes you at your word decides to give it a try on their mother in law or little brother.

[Dave Hinz]

That's quite an overgeneralization. Vegetable oil is, after all, _a_ hydrocarbon.

Ironic to see that posted by someone calling themselves "guess who".

[Vic Baron]

IIRC, DiMethyl Mercaptan - lovingly called "essence of skunk". Used for many years in the rocketfuel industry to odorize dangerous chemicals. There was one, called a boron hydride that you couldn't smell until it got to around 20 parts per million. Problem was that it was fatal at 10ppm. Used Pyridine to odorize it.

Ah lots of fond memories about pranks using pyridine and $100K worth of special glass filters used just to make coffee in the lab.

God bless the Polaris missile - paid for a lot of toys.

[Dave Balderstone]

So is castor oil.

[J. Clarke]

Are you thinking of stoves that run only on kerosene or of the multifuel stoves that run on just about anything that will flow through a pipe and burn?

[habbi]

When my grandmother was a kid she used to work summers peeling bark from spruce trees destined for pulp mills. Anyway they used to mix kerosene with bacon fat/grease and rub it on themselves as a mosquitoes/ blackfly repellent.

[Andy Dingley]

Here in the UK pyridine is used to make denatured alcohol smell too bad to drink. This is a real drawback when working with shellac!

[J. Clarke]

You mean hydrocarbon products like estrogen and testosterone? A "hydrocarbon" is any substance composed of hydrogen and carbon--there are many hydrocarbons which are produced naturally in the human body. Some are toxic, some are pretty much inert, some have very specific effects necessary to life.

[Gerald Ross]

My woodcarving instructor used half kerosene and half motor oil on his stones.

[Guess who]

No it's not. It's a carbohydrate. That indicates further that you don't know what you're talking about, and that people should be cautious about your advice. Kerosene is a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds.

I don't want you in my email. That has nothing to do with the fact that you make false statements here and don't defend them [I asked for a reference to support your claim], but try to twist it into another topic about preference for privacy.

Once more ...Do you have any reference to your claim about using it instead of castor oil [which is a carbohydrate]? If not, you still need to change your reply to avoid giving people dangerous advice. I'll admit that if they take your advice they're not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but you'd still be culpable. What you offer is dangerous advice. Also, even "small enough amounts" add to large amounts if taken over a period of time,as is done with castor oil. Which reminds me, again, how small is "small enough" without getting philosphical about it?

[Gerald Ross]

Back in the old days on the farm they used it on cuts. You would think it would sting but it really has a soothing warm feel. A couple drops on a spoonful of sugar was used for croup.

[Silvan]

One nobody else mentioned. Trumpet valve oil. The clear type. Works, and it's cheap. One big whateversize container of UltraPure is enough to keep the valves on three trumpets humming for years.

[Fly-by-Night CC]

A true fire-breather. Sounds like a fine woman.

[DJ Delorie]

No, it's a triglyceride, a bonding of one glycerol and three fatty acids (two of oleic acid and one of palmitic acid, for olive oil for example). Carbohydrates are things like sugars and starches.

Note that vegetable oils *do* become slightly carcinogenic when heated beyond their "smoke point".

Fatty acids and gasoline have remarkably similar chemical formulas:

Fatty Acid:

H H H O | | | | H-C-C-...-C-C-OH | | | H H H

Gasoline:

H H H H | | | | H-C-C-...-C-C-H | | | | H H H H

[Phisherman]

I too use kerosene for removing light rust. With a rag lightly dampened with kerosene you can wipe all your tools to keep them from rusting. Kerosene has many uses. It is effective in removing tar from vehicle finishes, without harming the paint. I've used it to remove paint/finish from my hands. Best of all, kerosene is has very low toxicity.