Help with Flathead vapor lock

Originally posted by rob love
We use white kerosene, which we use in things lke torpedo heaters. It is a cleaner version of diesel fuel. Not exactly cheap either, it was priced a bit higher than gasoline. I haven't bought any in a few years, but have to get a gallon today when I get to town to run the reddy heater.
FIrst I heard of the cylinder washing problem. We used to use a light grade of diesel while fogging the engine to preserve gasoline velicles for long term storage. Hard to believe the kerosene, which is a lighter grade of diesel, could cause problems.
We use the term Naptha on this side of the pond when talking about campstove fuel, and mineral spirits when talking about the solvent you use to was parts in. I guess we shoud pull out our NATO STANAG conversion charts and talk in mil-spec codes so we can all be in the same language.

Yup, we're where I thought we'd be!!!

You have many forms of "lamp oil" we don't have plus the Coleman fluid, white gasoline and stuff which we don't understand.

Diesel is certainly a good inhibitor and penetrating oil, red stuff is cheap too, but not on a par, certainly for cost (!) with Howe's Oil.

Our paraffin is much lighter than diesel, and a bit lighter than AVTUR, AVJET; these still have an oily characteristic which ("our") paraffin doesn't. It has their propensity of making a definite odour though which seems to permeate clothing and is difficult to be rid of and it does have a definite smell when used in a wicked lamp, heater or pre-heated pressure device.

The nearest I can get is this:
a group of high molecular weight alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is greater than about 20. Its flash point is about 177ºC

When used for de-greasing parts it seems to remove the oil or grease and after blowing off with an airline there seems to be absolutely no lubricant or anything left, bearings washed in it that were previously apparently smooth with a hint of very light grade lube oil, become decidedly dry, gritty and slack. Its this ability to scour oil that makes it undesirable as a fuel additive unless wholly vapourised.

Surely someone here knows definitively what our domestic paraffin is to the rest of the world, or do I have to mail my tame fuel chemist!!

R.