Paraffin

[kenf48]

Been following this and in the serendipitous way these things happen on one of the Facebook threads someone posted a picture of a Primus stove.  One of the respondents claimed to have put petrol rather than paraffin in the stove as there was no paraffin available. He said he was thrown fifteen feet in the air, burned down half a dozen tents and was hospitalised with severe burns. That was in the open, in a more enclosed space such an explosion would have been even more devastating.

Allowing for social media hyperbole and speculative it struck me as another possible scenario.

 

[squirrel]

Seen someone do something similar, lighting a primus stove and then attempting to top it up while lit. In the open so the only damage was to the stove, lost dinner and burns for the unfortunate individual. He had asked how to operate it and had the safety aspects explained only a short time before.

[Matlock1418]

Given that Primus stoves and Tilley lanterns [and similar other brands] work on the burning of vapourised paraffin fuel fed under pressure from the fuel tank both require pre-heating of the fuel vapourisation tubes through which the fuel passes on its way to the burner jet nozzle.

Usually lit methylated spirits would be used in the cup below the burner nozzle jet / lantern jet & gauze element but at a pinch petrol could potentially be used for pre-heating [petrol certainly might seem more availalble than meths on a battlefield - likely solid fuel hexiblock used these days for pre-heating]

Having petrol in the vicinity in similar shaped cans, possibly in the dark, is a highly possible reason for a lighting or refuelling mistake with potentially catastrophic consequences.

M

Edited 17 March , 2022 by Matlock1418

[Great War Truck]

This can might shed some light on the original question. A BP can dated April 1917 but with a plate sweated on to the tin saying Kerosene for food production only. So, i am told this is for a kerosene burning cooker (anyone have a photo of one?). This would of course only slightly reduce the chance of mixing it up for a petrol tin - especially in the dark.