Home-brewing fuel  
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
       

All Forums >> Glow Engines, Gas Engines, Fuel & Mfg Support Forums >> RC Fuels >> Home-brewing fuel
Page: <<   < prev  4 5 [6] 7 8 9 10 11 12 13   next >   >>  

Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
Home-brewing fuel - 5/1/2003 12:00:45 AM   
seanreit



Posts: 6469
Joined: 4/17/2002
From: Cedar Park, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Get's the moisture out before they fill it with propane

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 126

Home-brewing fuel - 5/1/2003 3:17:59 AM   
rsieminski



Posts: 1406
Joined: 4/24/2002
From: Sarasota, FL, USA
Status: offline 		They're not really in the biz of selling meth, how do you approach this.


_____________________________

Tons of new content on my site:
[link]http://mywebpages.comcast.net/webmaster01/[/link]

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 127

Home-brewing fuel - 5/1/2003 3:52:16 AM   
Capgains



Posts: 238
Joined: 2/27/2002
From: Klamath Falls, OR, USA
Status: offline 		I have a friend who is in the propane/gas installation business, and he said they really don't use large amounts of methanol, rarely bought more than 5 gallon pails. Most fuel distributors will have meth, but the price variance is nuts. If you buy a 55 gallon drum, beyond the deposit for the drum, it will be in the area of $1.30 to $1.70. If you buy in the pail, often the pail is non reusable, and they charge you $15 for the container, and then $3.50 per gallon of fuel. Not very economic.

The best way to go is find a top fuel dragster racer, and see if you can buy some off him. These guys buy drums. Get a refillable container. I bought mine off Ebay, put in VP Fuel Jug as your query, and on any given day there are usually some for sale. Also ATV and Motorcycle shops have these. Nice big 5 gallon airtight, chemical resistant containers. Nozzle sold separately. Around $27 or so.


Dan

_____________________________

Altamont Airport, Hair Care and Tire Center

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 128

Home-brewing fuel - 5/1/2003 4:32:37 AM   
Rudeboy



Posts: 3255
Joined: 12/9/2002
From: Bejing, BELGIUM
Status: offline 		It really boggles my mind how something as simple as mixing your own fuel can stir up so many reactions and questions...

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 129

fuel - 5/16/2003 12:34:22 AM   
FLYYBOY666



Posts: 20
Joined: 12/11/2002
From: GOODLAND KANSAS
Status: offline 		I have been in the learning mode here guys and you have laid out some great info.You need to shake fuel a bit every time it tends to separate out.If you look at the sweat beads at the top of you clear bottle neck.There is your nitro rising to the top and
self distilling on the bottle top. must shake

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 130

Home-brewing fuel - 5/16/2003 12:38:47 AM   
seanreit



Posts: 6469
Joined: 4/17/2002
From: Cedar Park, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Usually driving to the field takes care of that for me!! Of course I'm pulling that darn trailer.............

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 131

Home-brewing fuel - 9/6/2003 8:12:44 AM   
SpaceCase



Posts: 299
Joined: 8/18/2002
From: norwich, VT, USA
Status: offline 		Any one know if you can go with vp racing's c2-c full synthetic blend? this is for a four stroke that a small amount of castor oil would be added to. $45. for a gallon of nitro, $25 for five gallons of methanol, and $ 6. for a quart of synthetic oil. Got to figure out the math but this seems cheaper then buying pre mixed. Oh yea lots of nitro and some oild left over.

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 132

Re: fuel - 9/6/2003 8:20:28 AM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7450
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: online 		[QUOTE]Originally posted by FLYYBOY666
I have been in the learning mode here guys and you have laid out some great info.You need to shake fuel a bit every time it tends to separate out.If you look at the sweat beads at the top of you clear bottle neck.There is your nitro rising to the top and
self distilling on the bottle top. must shake [/QUOTE]

That would be the methanol not the nitro. Methenol evaporates at a much lower temperature than nitro. Also nitro is yellowish in color.

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 133

Home-brewing fuel - 9/6/2003 4:34:12 PM   
Rudeboy



Posts: 3255
Joined: 12/9/2002
From: Bejing, BELGIUM
Status: offline 		Pure nitro is supposed to be clear, not yellow...

If it's yellow it has been used in some industrial process before and recuperated... don't use that stuff...

When using "normal" amounts of nitro and clean, pure fuel components your fuel should not be separating...

_____________________________

Revver Brother #33
...I think it needs more power...

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 134

Home-brewing fuel - 9/7/2003 5:47:41 AM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7450
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: online 		I used to work with a lot of nitro and its always been yellowish. I think it turns purple when its bad. Lab nitro may be clear, but if its intended for fuel its yellow. If you leave a jug in the sun the methanol will evaporate and condense on the side of the jug. Same process as distilling. If you get enough water in the fuel it will cling to the oil and settle on the bottom. If a small amount you can shake it and it will mix back in. However, it may make the engine hard to idle and transition.

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 135

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/10/2003 12:17:24 AM   
SpaceCase



Posts: 299
Joined: 8/18/2002
From: norwich, VT, USA
Status: offline 		OK part of the reason I got a four stroke was power without so much nitro. But Could I run no nitro at all? Was going to pick up some methanol and some vp-c2c synthetic oil. I know the power wont be as great, but what Im concerned about is reliablity, not stalling, transistioning and idleing. is there a good mix thats just methanol and synthetic oil?

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 136

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/10/2003 10:28:38 PM   
POWERMASTER


 

Posts: 46
Joined: 10/27/2002
From: Elgin, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Rsieminski,
The FAI Pylon races do require FAI fuel, 80% Methanol, 20% Castor for these races.
The Pylon Gold Cup Races, fueled by Powermaster Fuels, use fuel that does contain
Nitro in the amount of 15% and 18% oil content of which 2/3 of the oil is synthetic and 1/3 is Castor oil.


quote:

ORIGINAL: rsieminski

The lower the nitro, the cooler the engine will run. If the engines on no nitro were melting some component on the engine, than the NV was set wrong, or there was too little oil in the mix. There is no mystery, synthetics will burn up way before castor will. Yes it may cause a litle more gum, than the synthetics, but break them down and clean them once a year(like you should any high performance engine), and they'll last years. Castor makes engines run cooler, by spuwing that oil all over the plane. That's what carries away the heat. Methanol has almost twice the latent heat of evaporation. This means it will carry away with it more heat than a higher mix of nitro, net resut is that it runs cooler. You can regain back most of those 2 or 300 rpm, by increasing the compression ratio. The pylon racere use only no-nitro/castor fuel. They avg over 130 mph. A little nitro gives you some slack with the NV, but it's not really necessary.


_____________________________

Wendell Hammond

(in reply to rsieminski)
       Post #: 137

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/11/2003 3:25:27 AM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7450
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: online
quote:

OK part of the reason I got a four stroke was power without so much nitro. But Could I run no nitro at all?


Many of the modern four strokes require at least 10% to idle and transition properly. Recently I couldn't find a glow plug hot enough for a TT .91 with 5% nitro.

(in reply to SpaceCase)
       Post #: 138

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/19/2003 3:41:25 AM   
susquach


 

Posts: 288
Joined: 1/15/2003
From: kerrville, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Likewise, this is an interesting thread. I have a question for you guys who run no nitro fuel. I understand that's common practice in Europe and am interested in knowing what "trade-offs" you had to make. Would really like to get away from nitro as that would open the door to using commonly available paints to finish models. Have heard that no nitro fuels cause rough idle. Wonder if that could be cured by using an onboard plug igniter similar to 4-stroke practice?

(in reply to volare)
       Post #: 139

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/19/2003 4:37:27 PM   
downunder



Posts: 3114
Joined: 10/10/2002
From: Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Well I have to say I've never used nitro so I can't say if there's a trade off at all. What I do know though is that they'll start first flick and then idle as slow and smooth as any other I see at the field. I've run them upright, inverted, on their side and all with no problems.

(in reply to Sport_Pilot)
       Post #: 140

RE: Home-brewing fuel - 9/19/2003 6:07:10 PM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7450
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: online
quote:

Would really like to get away from nitro as that would open the door to using commonly available paints to finish models. Have heard that no nitro fuels cause rough idle.


Engines made for low nitro have a high compression ratio, that is what makes them shake a bit at idle. I don't think it is that bad though, and just as reliable. Using 5% nitro doesn't calm the shakes, using an on board igniter would make it worse as would a hot plug.