volks,
The simple answer here is biodiesel....the flashpoint is somewhere near 400 degrees f.
Bruce Grove wrote on 8/1/01 11:51 pm:

Phil wrote:
> I wonder why VW didnt stick with the diesel vanagon  and just added a turbo charger. You can try to ignite  diesel fuel with a blow-torch and it STILL wont  ignite. Presently one in three cars sold in europe is  diesel powered. Diesels get good gas mileage and are  safer than Gasoline powered vehicles.
>

Diesels give out a rather dirty pile of particulates, especially higher mileage vehicles so are deemed to be less clean.  Although the fact that unleaded petrol is far more carcinogenic than leaded petrol never comes into it, nor the fact that most catalytic converters don't actually work properly because they've been destroyed by too many short runs and so are even worse.  Also, diesel will burn very happily if you give it a wick, it just doesn't vapourise like petrol...

Bruce

p.s. surely if diesel ignites by compression all you need to do is hit it with a hammer ;-)

> phil
> 84' westy "Millenium Falcon"
> 84'Westfalia W/Tiico I4 "sh*thawk"
> 01' International flatbed (Turbo diesel)