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ORIGINAL: mike early

That's a good point. A well-tuned engine is definitely smoother than a poorly tuned one.

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ORIGINAL: Garthwood



I agree with you. But ''what if'' the other elements like the propellor, spinner, stale fuel etc, etc., are the culprits ???

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ORIGINAL: SrTelemaster150

Low Cost Fuel Alternative

Looking for something less expensive than $17-$22 a gallon glow fuel?

Although this is going to be primarily used in Sato engines W/electronic ignition, there are some YT videos showing it being used in glow engines W/O any modifications to the engine.

You can adjust the oil content to suit your needs. I have opted to run a mix that will be compatible W/the lower temperatures encountered W/spark ignition.

Google had revealed a station that had E-85 on the route to Pittsburgh so I loaded an old fashioned 5 gallon gas can that has positive sealing spout & vent caps in the trunk before I left.

At a well stocked “Hobby Express” near my Aunt’s house I picked up some fresh 15% Cool Power as a control for my testing as my 2 (unopened) gallons of the same have been sitting for some time. Although I’m confident that they have not absorbed any moisture, I still had doubts about the nitro stability over many years. Anyway, in addition to the fresh glow fuel I picked up 32oz of SIG Klotz synthetic oil that is compatible W/alcohol fuel.

I paid a slightly inflated price of $16.49 @m the Hobby Express. If this works out well, I can get the oil direct from SIG for $13.99 & shipping will be free if I combine the purchase of several quarts W/other building materials I need to total $150 or more.

I settled on 15:1 mix ratio as Saito recommends 20:1 for their gas engines. (The FG 57 gas twin has the same part # for the connecting rod as the 300T glow engine) I opted for a bit more oil content as I have been lead to believe that gasoline has a bit more lubricity than alcohol. The oil content = 7 ½% @ 15:1.

I stopped on the way home & purchased some E-85. 15 quarts of E-85 = 3.75 gallons @ $3.599 a gallon = $13.50.

$13.50 + $16.49 = $29.99 for 4 gallons of fuel/oil mix = $7.50 per gallon. The lower price of the Klotz from SIG will lower the cost per gallon to $6.75.

We are having a cold snap W/the temperatures dipping to 0*F tonight, but we are supposed to be in the 50s by Wednesday so I will delay testing until the warmer weather.

I plan to run a gallon of my old fuel through the NIB Saito FA 150 to break it in & then I will do some full throttle RPM & fuel consumption tests on both the old & fresh glow fuel. I’ll give the E-85 mix a shot on glow ignition too. It would be great if I could totally eliminate the glow fuel in my non-spark ignition Saito engines too. Confirming the glow ignition compatability of E-85 would be great news for FS 400R5 users too.

I’ll then covert to spark ignition & do similar tests.

I am thinking that cylinder head temperature readings would be helpful for the best evaluations.

Does anyone have any recommendation for an INEXPENSIVE temperature meter?

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ORIGINAL: Garthwood




SRT..................up here north of the border, we don't have stations that carry E-85, so the only option is to use the regular gasoline. I have NIB a SAITO FG20CC engine and I intend to test bench this engine in the spring or summer. I have no big rush, I've heard quite a bit of negative comments about this engine, one being that it runs good on ground but fails in flight. I would like some one on this thread who has this engine to explain the best way to successfully have this engine tuned in properly. When you hear about these negative comments one is fairly disappointed and discouraged to the point where it becomes doubtful that this engine is anything but a show engine. I purchased this engine at the TOLEDO show 2011. Has there been any changes in the carb prior 2011 ? Those who were successful and happy with this engine, did they follow the instructions in the manual diligently ? I would like to get some feed back from the experienced guys. Thanks.

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ORIGINAL: Garthwood

SRT150......................thanks you. I did'nt know that we had E-85 fuel close by. Is it still 20:1 synthetic oil formula ? I'M amazed by the smooth running of the FG20 in the video. I also seems to run much cleaner, non of that black carbon stuff coming out. I'm surprised that Horizon Hobby never recommended the E-85 Ethanol sysnthetic fuel.
Can I use fuel stabilizers in the E-85 ? What is the formula of the E-85 really ?

Thank for your input, will keep this in mind.

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ORIGINAL: Mein Duff

SrT... I picked up a hand held temperature reader at ''Harbor Freight'' recently for about $16.-...they had larger version with pistol hand grip at about $40.-

My smaller version seems to fluctuate quite radicaly between temps....but jumps back to the higher reading as a constant.

Get what you pay for I guess...I'm sure there are better quality items out there.

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ORIGINAL: SrTelemaster150



Read my post more closely. I upped the oil content to 15:1 due to the lesser lubricating qualities of alcohol compared to gasoline. 1 quart to 3.375 gallons (15 quarts) You could achieveneraly the same ratio using 14 liters (3.68 gallons) of E-85 to 1 quart of oil or of course if you could get liters of oil, 15:1 E85:oil.

I don't think you need stabilizers in alcohol but you MUST make sure your container is air tight or the alchohol will absorb water.

Horizon doesn't recomment the E-85 as it is not widely accepted YET.

You will get more HP out of E-85 compared to gasoline but you will also have to richen up your carburater settins so you will use a littlle more.

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ORIGINAL: Garthwood


SRT150......from what i see in the video, the E-85 RUNS cleaner, is that right ? Other videos that i've watched i noticed black carbon.

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ORIGINAL: Garthwood

srt150................this is probably the one the car racers use to monitor their engine. What's the normal read out for the Saitos ?

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