OIL HEATING, DOMESTIC, that branch of the heating of dwellings and other buildings in which the fuel burned is a min eral oil, such as shale oil or one of the heavier and less expensive grades of petroleum (q.v., see also PARAFFIN OIL). Oil has been used for fuel and for heating since the time of Moses; but the mechanical development of the oil burner dates from the middle of the 19th century, and only since 1922, in the United States particularly, has it come into widespread use. "Oil heating" refers here only to the method of generating heat, without regard to the medium (steam, hot water or air) used to carry the heat through out the building; "oil" refers here only to petroleum. Oil in its native state will burn, but not with maximum effect until it is atomized and mixed with air. The history of modern oil heating is the record of the search for simple and efficient methods of preparing heavy oils for complete combustion. In 1861 a mechanic named Werner, employed in one of the refineries of the Russian oil fields of the Caucasus, first suggested that what was then "refuse oil" be used as fuel; his burner, consisting of a series of griddles over which the oil trickled and burned was widely used though not patented until 1867. In 1862 two experimenters took out patents on an oil burner which solved the combustion problem by introducing the oil into the furnace in a gaseous state, the heavy oil first being heated and made to give off lighter oils.
In 1863 Brydges Adams introduced into America the first spray burner, and in 1866 Ayden brought out a burner using hot air to atomize the oil and Spakorsky one using super-heated steam. Spakorsky's method was later embodied in an oil burner by Thomas Urquhart, an American at that time in the employ of a Russian railway.
Public interest was attracted by the possibilities of oil burning with a very considerable increase in the oil production of Cali fornia and Texas about 1900. Small burners, suitable for heating forges, treating furnaces, drying ovens and melting furnaces were soon produced. Larger burners were designed for boilers produc ing steam for power and heat. In 1902 and 1903 the U.S. naval liquid fuel board conducted tests of all available burners to deter mine whether vessels of the U.S. navy should be equipped for oil burning. The report, completed in 1904, was so favourable that the newer vessels were immediately designed to burn oil fuel and many of the older ones were converted.
The first attempts at domestic oil burning were crude and, in the majority of cases, consisted primarily of a pipe from a tank dropping the oil on hot, refractory material in an open pan. These were followed by natural-draught vaporizing burners, which, how ever, did not provide the uniform combustion necessary for eco nomical and reliable operation. A later development was the mechanical-draught automatic burner, the foundation of the mod ern, domestic oil heating industry. In 1919, following the World War, oil fuel began to enter the American home on a national scale. By 1928 close to 450,000 American homes and buildings had been equipped for oil heating. The rapid rise of the oil burner lies in its convenience; an oil fire can be built or banked by the turn of a switch. Through electrical control, all the pro cesses of furnace tending have been made automatic.
Another advantage is that oil may be conveniently stored in congested business districts. The labour required for attending oil-fired boilers is considerably less than that where coal is used, even when this is handled by modern equipment.