Buying Methanol: Where?  
View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Tower Hobbies
Enter up to 4 keywords or Tower stock numbers
Logged in as Guest



Users viewing this topic: none
  Printable Version
       


RC Extreme Power 102cc Gas Engine - RTF
Seller:  Milton
Details:   $799.95   |  7/4/2008   |  Classified Ad
We will rotate YOUR AD in this spot if you select "Forum Featured" when placing or editing your ad!

All Forums >> Glow Engines, Gas Engines, Fuel & Mfg Support Forums >> RC Fuels >> Buying Methanol: Where?
Page: [1]

Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 12:47:37 AM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Where do you guys buy your MeOH to make you own fuel?

I'd like to thin some 15%/18% down to 5%/20%. I got the caster bean but I'm not sure where to get the Methanol...
Burdick and Jackson?
       Post #: 1

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 12:56:56 AM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Ok, it gets worse...its a resticted product. I figured as much since it is the basic component of a lot of chemistry. You must be buying it in some form where its use is disguised. What purity are you folks using 95%?

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 2

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 2:51:55 AM   
w8ye



Posts: 16979
Joined: 12/11/2001
From: Taylortown, OH, USA
Status: offline 		Why not just buy some 5% to dilute your high nitro fuel?

Enjoy,

Jim

_____________________________

I've attended the CutFinger Institute of DirtNap University for years but never did graduate....

Club Saito Member #7
Original AMA #31261

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 3

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 2:57:20 AM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Well just buying some 5% is a possibility but I thought all these homebrew folks had some kind of secret Methanol connection...

(in reply to w8ye)
       Post #: 4

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 3:21:34 AM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7405
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: offline 		Check out VP Racing Fuel. I don't know the web address but just doing a search with that name and I am sure it would come up. Cost should be about 2.50 to 3.00 per gallon.

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 5

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 9:10:37 PM   
wldcwbypilot


 

Posts: 467
Joined: 9/29/2003
From: Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Methanol is actually, CH3OH, ethanol is C2H5OH, sorry I did not use subscripts. If your talking about Nitromethane thats a different horse, thats racing fuel and its not cheap. Straight wood grain alcohol which is methanol is not expensive, should be able to get it at a good hardware store or an old fashioned drug store.

(in reply to Sport_Pilot)
       Post #: 6

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 9:19:15 PM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Methanol is actually, CH3OH,

Yes, Me is short for the Methyl group which is CH(3). I'm a chemist. I'm really relunctant on the quality of the Methyl Alcohol they sell as paint/lacquer thinner. That stuff has to be 10% water. I got a hold of VMR and spec'd out some anhydrous methanol (no water) but they wouldn't see it to me cause its a hazardous material. Bizarre, you can't buy a liter of methanol from the chemical distributor but you can buy as much as you want down at the hardware store (with less quality)

(in reply to wldcwbypilot)
       Post #: 7

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 9:27:48 PM   
wldcwbypilot


 

Posts: 467
Joined: 9/29/2003
From: Corpus Christi, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I am a bio_chemist, nice to meet ya!!!

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 8

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 10/31/2003 9:29:08 PM   
JWN



Posts: 4772
Joined: 3/26/2002
From: Florence, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Call around to some shops that specialize in auto racing (aka Speed Shops). They should be able to sell you any amount you like. AFAIK, methanol is not a restricted product. I don't know what Kalifornika has done in the past couple of years, but a friend of mine used to buy 20 gallons of methanol at a time from a speed shop in Sacramento.

John

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 9

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/1/2003 3:11:12 AM   
flipa10


 

Posts: 100
Joined: 12/28/2002
From: Caledonia, MS, USA
Status: offline 		I buy my methanol from the local speed shop. They sell nitro too, although I use none.

(in reply to JWN)
       Post #: 10

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/1/2003 3:39:19 AM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Kalifornika


(in reply to JWN)
       Post #: 11

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/1/2003 3:41:05 PM   
Jim Thomerson



Posts: 2765
Joined: 10/9/2002
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Does anyone know, or have an informed speculation about, the grade of methanol used in manufacturing glow fuel? Real question is what percent water do we have in fuel to start with. I would guess it's some grade that costs about 50 cents a gallon in tank car loads.

JIm

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 12

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/1/2003 5:00:33 PM   
bentgear


 

Posts: 2735
Joined: 3/25/2002
From: Brandon, MS, USA
Status: offline 		Jim, if you believe the manufacturers hype then they go to great lengths to only use methanol with 0 percent water and spend great amounts of money on facilities to keep any moisture from entering their systems. I know some of the shippers of methanol have tight requirements on the tank trailers before they will load them and will run analysis of the product after loading.
Ed M.

(in reply to Jim Thomerson)
       Post #: 13

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/1/2003 7:16:04 PM   
Jim Thomerson



Posts: 2765
Joined: 10/9/2002
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Just checked a racing fuel website. If you place a monthly order for their 99.95% pure methanol, it is $41.56 for a 5 gallon container. This includes $20 hazmat. This does not include shipping charges. You can order as many 5 gallon containers as you want.

A dealer friend got me some fuel, 10% nitro, 20% oil, half castor/half synthetic, for $10.95 a gallon. That suggests to me that the fuel manufacturer (a major one) is not paying anywhere near that much for methanol.

Jim

(in reply to bentgear)
       Post #: 14

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/3/2003 3:59:18 PM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Yes, I saw that -- Sunoco. But 1 pt to 1 gallon... I'm going to have to go find a speed shop.

(in reply to Jim Thomerson)
       Post #: 15

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/3/2003 4:46:04 PM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7405
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: offline 		The VP site lists the distrubitors. Call the distrubitors and they can tell you who they sell to in your area.

(in reply to 3d-aholic)
       Post #: 16

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/4/2003 1:14:54 AM   
murphyj



Posts: 71
Joined: 4/21/2003
From: The Pas, MB, CANADA
Status: offline 		We were playing around with some different blends for my Rossi. Methyl hydrate works quite well and it available at any auto parts store. It comes in large quantities as well. Its a very common material used by truckers operating in cold weather climates (used in the air lines). Castor oil mixes very will with the fuel and the rossi winds right out.
Murphy

(in reply to Sport_Pilot)
       Post #: 17

RE: Buying Methanol: Where? - 11/4/2003 1:23:49 AM   
3d-aholic



Posts: 1990
Joined: 10/7/2003
From: Austin, TX, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: