To efficiently burn diesel fuel in a cast-iron stove made for logs, coal, and other such combustibles, construct or scrounge a heavy pot or iron/steel container as large as possible that will sit inside the stove. Fill it two-thirds full of diesel oil. Place a piece of burning cardboard or heavy paper in the oil. Fumes from the warmed oil will burn at the top with a low-grade, warm glow. Intensity and heat output plus oil consumption are controlled by the air intake in the stove and outlet on the rear stove vent. These are very much similar in operation to commercial “spark heaters.”
Because they require storage of bulky, tough-to-handle, highly refined kerosene, I am not particularly fond of the little oriental space-heating stoves often sold by Wal-Mart and Home Depot under the trade name of Sun (or something similar). Numerous city survivors, including my son, claim they will use these because of the following:
• They are inexpensive to purchase and install.
• They are commonly available without hassle from local hardware and builder supply outlets.
• They require no outside source of electrical energy.
• They nicely heat a modestly well-insulated four-room apartment.
• They are light and easily portable.
Similarly informed people often differ in their opinions. And keep in mind that city survivors, including me, may pay with our lives for bad decisions and lack of prior planning. I dislike these heaters because of these factors:
• The fuel is expensive and difficult to find and store.
• They have a relatively low energy output that can only be used to heat. No cooking can be done on these units.
• The kerosene fuel has a relatively low energy output per gallon and can only be used in these little stoves.
• These heaters are cantankerous, difficult, and short-lived in an environment screaming for rugged simplicity and long life.
I like common diesel fuel that can be used in both machinery and heaters. Diesel is the likely fuel you will get from military fuel dumps, old petroleum distribution points, abandoned vehicles, and street merchants. Diesel is what you will probably store in 55-gallon barrels or in the big tank next to the fence.
Some very nice, entirely commercial space heaters are available for city survivors who want to heat with diesel fuel. First, be sure it isn’t possible to scrounge one of the old. army surplus, collapsible, multifuel stoves. A few new ones with only storage corrosion are still out there. Second, consider converting a small cast-iron stove to use oil as previously mentioned. These units are very versatile.
Local plumbing/heating/hardware people will have diesel-oil-burning stoves and space heaters. Stoves run on oil fumes. They require no electricity and are very reliable (Oil is gravity-fed from a storage barrel to the stove). Most weigh about 200 pounds and will heat a small house (six rooms) nicely. They cost about $1,200.
Try Wolf’ Steel, 9 Napoleon Road, RR 1, Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4M 4Y8 if your local dealer doesn’t have something suitable. Wolf Steel manufactures a stove called the Napoleon. It’s expensive, but very nice and extremely simple.
Oil space heaters use electric pressure pumps and high-capacity fans to turn diesel oil into heat. They range in price from $160 to $2,000 (for great, giant units used to heat airplane hangars). These are nice units if power is available. Order from Granger Supply if you draw a blank at your local dealer. Granger has one outlet or more in every state in the union.
Oil space heaters are often used in hunting camps, summer homes, garages, and barns. City survivors may wish to purchase their heaters now to learn how to operate them. I, for instance, have burned up three of these units when they accidentally became unplugged. Chickens sitting on the power cord burned one and also the chicken house. Who said true intelligence only comes from actually doing something? This sure is true of my experience with oil space heaters.
Stoves require venting, but no electricity. Space heaters are not vented, but consume lots of electrical energy.
GENERATORS
This brings up another important point. Do city survivors need to plan to have some small amounts of self-generated electrical power? Based on advice from the been there, done that crew, the answer is yes. But it needn’t be a large amount. A small generator—perhaps 4,000-watt capacity—is almost a necessity to run a heater, the freezer, the fridge, or perhaps a water pump on a short-term basis, they claim.
Because city survival involves so much long, grueling, hard work that continues into the night, it may be tempting to run a light. This is not recommended unless you are willing to risk a mortar round down the elevator shaft, or unless all soldiers have left the city and no danger from aggressors remains.
The noise from generator operation can also attract attention. It wasn’t quiet, but almost, during city survival in metro Manila, where the power frequently and repeatedly died. I vividly recall the noise of various generators, small and great, as they fired up.
Tracking down one noisy generator among many might be impossible. Finding a lore unit in operation in the middle of a quiet city would be relatively easy unless it was high up and deep within a building. Some city survivors mention using snipers or armed guards to protect their rain-collection systems and generators, but I would suppose it is the better part of wisdom not to plan to get into firefight situations.
The problem with simple little 4,000-watt generators is that for true city survivors, they really don’t cut it. After long, long years of living with generators, I have concluded only diesel-fired models made for commercial application are practical for survivors.
Gasoline, for gasoline engines, is difficult to store. Its volatility is a storage curse in the medium to long run. Diesel fuel packs a great deal more energy per gallon, and diesel generators are virtually always continuous-duty, industrial types. They initially cost more, but will run dramatically longer before wearing out and breaking down.
Most generators doing city survival duty are plugged directly into the appliance they are powering. By contrast, large, 8- to 10-kilowatt generators at country retreats are often backfed into the entire power complex at the retreat. Backfeeding is very illegal some places, and won’t work at all in small apartments that are part of a large building complex.
When backfeeding, the main power panel fuses are removed from the retreat power box. This keeps the generator power from feeding back out across the transformer into the line again, where it can be a lifethreatening hazard. A sort of heavy extension cord with two male plugs is used to backfeed power from the generator’s 220-volt circuit to a commercial welder, shop, or electric range outlet.