Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember John Nagelson
saying something like:

1) how easy is it to run an generator fuelled by PARAFFIN(known in the
US as 'kerosene', i.e. '28sec', the type of oil used in most oil-
powered domestic heating systems in the UK)?

Don't, just don't. Kerosene has nothing like the same lubricity as
diesel, and you run the risk of wrecking your injection pump. Kerosene
can be used if you are utterly sure of what you're doing, by adding
mineral oil to it in the right proportion.

2) how easy is it to get hold of, and run, a generator fuelled by
SOLID FUEL, e.g. coal or wood or both?

Steam raising is fraught with danger, but not impossible. The fact you
are asking the question points that you are not that able to do it
safely.

3) how easy is it to run a generator fuelled by DIESEL? And surely if
you do, you don't have to pay petrol-station prices? Is there a legal
way to avoid paying the excise?

Red diesel is the thing for that, but HM Gov have bumped up the price of
it now.

4) what about running an oil-fuelled generator on cheapo COOKING OIL?
Is this practicable? Is it legal?

Of course it is - safe, practicable and legal too. You really need to do
some research on your own, though. As a starting point, do a google
search for this very subject and spend a couple of weeks absorbing
knowledge.
--

Dave

As has been said many times, taking an on-grid house off grid
pretty much never makes sense.

Just one thing I'd say though: a lot of people are talking about
10kVA plus gensets. If you want as much power as now minus
heating, already, that's what it will take, but the norm is to
dramatically reduce consumption first, such that 1.5kW peak is
enough, and this can come from an invertor. Laptops replace
desktops, 500w microwaves (1kW input) replace 800w, etc

One or 2 not mentioned yet:
Space heating: solar air & solid fuel.
Space cooling: plant shading, whitewash, whole house fan, night
time solar panels
refrigeration: gas
Hot water: concentrating solar, heat scavenging (invertor, genny
etc)
Lighting: fluorescent / CFL, not LED
Washing machine: wind driven agitation if long wash times are
acceptable


NT