Alternative fuels for two stroke generator.

Capt'n Midnight

Just wondering what alternative fuels could be used in a two stroke generator to avoid having to pay excise duty.

I'm guessing methanol / caster oil but the stuff used in model aircraft isn't cheaper than petrol / oil mix so asking here in case anyone has looked into this for a old Honda 50 or similar.

Hotblack Desiato

Supposedly Sochiro Honda's first clip-on engines for bicycles were made to run on turpentine as it was easier to get than petrol in the immediate post-war period in Japan.

A Honda 50 etc. is a four-stroke. I think it would be pretty easy to feck up a two-stroke as they are prone to overheating and detonation at the best of times, and as well as that the fuel has to carry the oil into the engine. You might have an alternative fuel that burns reasonably ok but fecks up the lubrication. I doubt a fuel with any sort of a moisture content (ethanol/methanol) would work well in a two-stroke.

I'd say forget it. There aren't many things that are like petrol and not already expensive or heavily taxed. Get a four-stroke diesel generator and then you can run MGO, biodiesel etc.