Transport & Industry4 min read
Which Fuels Can Be Used in an Internal Combustion Engine?
Petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, ethanol and hydrogen all work in an IC engine. Coal does not — and why explains what these engines need from a fuel.
Marcus Hale
Contributing gas engineer
Working Gas Safe engineer. Services flued and flueless appliances all week and fact-checks everything on this site that involves a gas pipe.
- Based in
- Yorkshire, UK
- Experience
- 15 years
- Guides written
- 7
How Marcus got here
I have been on the tools since 2010. Most of my week is boilers, fires and cookers in ordinary houses, which means I see the gap between how appliances are designed to be used and how people actually live with them. The single most common thing I find on a flueless fire call-out is a permanent air vent that somebody has quietly boarded over because it was draughty. They are not being reckless. Nobody explained what the vent was for.
That is mostly why I write. Regulations are written for engineers, and manuals are written for lawyers, and the person sitting in front of the fire gets neither. If I can explain why a rule exists, people tend to keep the rule.
I review every guide on this site that touches gas appliances before it goes out, and I have asked for changes on plenty of them.
The journey
2008
Apprenticeship
Started as a plumbing and heating apprentice, mostly carrying things and being told to watch.
2010
Gas Safe registration
Qualified and registered. First year on domestic boilers, fires and cookers.
2016
Flueless and LPG specialism
Took on more flueless fire and LPG work, including a lot of remedial jobs on installations that were never right.
2020
Started writing
Began writing plain-English explainers for customers after realising I was giving the same fifteen-minute talk in every kitchen.
2025
Technical reviewer at UpFuel
Reviews all gas-related guidance here for accuracy and for how it could be misread.
Areas of focus
- Flued and flueless gas appliances
- LPG and natural gas
- Combustion analysis
- Installation regulations
- Gas Safe registered (UK)
- 15 years in the field
- CCN1, CENWAT, HTR1 assessed
Guides by Marcus Hale
Natural Gas5 min read
Flueless Gas Heaters Explained: How They Are Legal, and Where They Are Not
Catalytic burners and oxygen depletion sensors make flueless gas fires legal in many places — but the room-size and ventilation rules are strict.
Transport & Industry4 min read
Which Fuel Is Used in Aeroplanes? Aviation Turbine Fuel Explained
Jets burn aviation turbine fuel, a kerosene grade sold as Jet A-1. Small piston aircraft use avgas. Here is why kerosene beats petrol.
Kerosene4 min read
Kerosene Grades Explained: 1-K vs 2-K, Dyed Fuel and What Burns Clean Indoors
The sulphur difference between 1-K and 2-K kerosene, why dyed fuel is a tax marker, and how to store fuel so a wick heater burns clean.
Cleaner Fuels4 min read
Advantages of Using LPG and CNG as Fuels
High calorific value, clean smokeless burning, no ash and instant control — the practical reasons LPG and CNG replaced solid and liquid fuels.
Cleaner Fuels4 min read
Why Natural Gas Is Called a Clean Fuel
It burns almost completely, leaves no ash or soot, contains virtually no sulphur, and emits about half the carbon dioxide of coal.
Propane5 min read
Indoor Propane Heater Ventilation: How Much Air You Actually Need
Indoor-rated propane heaters still consume oxygen and release water vapour. The ventilation figures, ODS limits and cylinder rules explained.