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Please note that actual viscosity of No. 6 fuel oil depends on the actual blend of products and the product specifications of the fuel oil. Fuel oils are usually classified by viscosity and sulfur. In particular more stringent sulfur specifications require more light products (light cycle oil (LCO) or unconverted oil (UCO)) to be blended into No. 6 fuel oil. This results in a less viscous fuel oil. There is no universal standard specification for No. 6 fuel oil.
Let's start with understanding viscosity. Your owner's manual may tell you to use SAE 5W-30 engine oil. What does this mean? SAE stands for the Society of Automotive Engineers. They have created a standard for identifying the viscosity characteristics of engine oil. The 5W-30 part of the symbol is actually just a name. The W part of the name is an indicator of low temperature viscosity properties while the 30 part of the name is an indicator of the high temperature or operating viscosity properties. The numbers are just relative indicators to help the consumer. In other words, a 5W oil does not have a viscosity of 5, nor does a 30 weight oil have a viscosity of 30. What the numbers do mean is that the viscosity characteristics of a 5W oil are lower than that of a 10W oil. As well, a 30 weight oil has lower viscosity properties than a 40 weight oil. Its all very confusing, isn't it? The best thing to do is use the appropriate viscosity for your engine and climate as recommended by the manufacturer. In general, newer vehicles will specify lower viscosity oils such as 5W-30 while older vehicles will specify higher viscosity oils such as 20W-50. This is because today's engines are built with tighter bearing clearances to take advantage of the fuel economy benefits of lower viscosity oils. It is not really a good idea to use thicker oil in one of these engines because it will disrupt the oil flow characteristics of the engine and may create excessively high oil pressure. In an older engine that was designed with larger bearing clearances, it is appropriate and recommended to use a thicker oil to maintain proper oil pressure and provide adequate bearing film thickness. This is also true for engines that have a lot of miles on them and the oil pressure is starting to drop off. By using higher viscosity oil, you can boost the oil pressure back to normal levels and increase bearing film strength.
Many ships use MDO or Marine Diesel Oil, sometimes also known as #2 Diesel. Ships can also use HFO or Heavy Fuel Oil or Bunker C. These are crude oil derivatives that are largely unrefined. They are very thick and need to be heated by steam in order to reduce its viscosity to allow them to flow.
As low as 126 degrees Fahrenheit, diesel fuel could potentially catch on fire. This is known as the temperature of ignition.
DOE refers to DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY The heating capacity should be obvious. Here a link to a Heating Fuel Comparison Chart. May give you some insight. http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/experts/heatcalc.xls
The Air flow meter/sensor measures the volume of air entering the engine. It normally also incorporates an air temperature sensor. If it does not there is usually one fitted somewhere else. Knowing the volume of air, and it's temperature, enable the fuel injection system to avoid "over fuelling" the engine, as this is not only is a waste of (Very expense) fuel, but also gives rise to excessive levels of pollutants in the exhaust gasses. It also enables the system to accurately judge when to inject the fuel to get maximum fuel economy. If you have ever seen a diesel fuelled vehicle giving off clouds of smelly black fumes, this is what the system is trying to avoid.
"Viscosity" is basically a resistance to flow. Viscosity is inversly proportional to Temperature. For example, high viscous heavy fuel is heated to right temperature to lower its viscosity for proper combustion in diesel engines or boiler.
The viscosity of diesel fuel is directly dependent upon the temperature at which it's kept. At 100 degrees, the viscosity may be as much as 140 SSU. The higher the temperature, the lower SSU, so at 130 degrees the viscosity may only be 70 SSU.
It would be between 2 to 3.5 cP at room temperature. See ref.
You can go to fueleconomy.gov and it has a chart with every year on there and all you do is find the year you want and there you go its easy as one two three.
The difference in the viscosity of gasoline a, gasoline b and gasoline c is so small that I would not expect it to affect a fuel pump at all.
The US Department of Energy offers a very enlightening fuel economy chart for all the cars in the USA and the ones being imported and you can visit their website for information as well.
The viscosity depends on the chemical composition of materials.
The viscosity of HFO (heavy fuel oil) varies depending on its grade and temperature. Generally, HFO has higher viscosity than other fuels, such as diesel or gasoline. It has a thick, sticky consistency that makes it more challenging to flow and pump through pipelines and engines, especially at lower temperatures.
IFO 380 - Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 380 CentistokesIFO 180 - Intermediate fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 180 Centistokes
Some fuel oils are too viscous to flow easily to the burner unless heated first. The bunker grade fuel oil used in many ships is close to the viscosity of warm sticky asphalt when at room temperature and is usually heated to several hundred Fahrenheit to get it to flow and then it is aerosolized in the burner with a jet of live steam.
The viscosity of Diesel 2 at 37.8 degrees Centigrade is 2 to 6 centistokes. This is equivalent to 32.6 to 45.5 SSU.
This situation presents an direct relationship between the oil viscosity and the work of the pump. The thicker the oil the more the pump most work to move it.