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All Forums >> Glow Engines, Gas Engines, Fuel & Mfg Support Forums >> RC Fuels >> Questions about castor oil.
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Questions about castor oil. - 6/28/2006 1:30:50 PM   
johnny_gr2001


 

Posts: 73
Joined: 3/1/2003
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Please i would appreciate if you can help me.
I am running 4 strokes.

IF i am running 22 % all sytnhetic oil i would have more "protection" than running 18 % all Castor Oil or not?

In case i would like to add Castor Oil to my fuel what is the minimum safe percentage of Castor Oil to avoid "metal contacts"

In case i would add Castor Oil in this minimum safe percentage my engine it will be with this burn castor all over it or in the valves or in the exhaust?

All the today superior car oils are synthetic. The car and bike indtustry is not using castor oil at all even at high end cars they use synthetic oils.
Is their oils better than the castor or they use synthetic because of other reasons?

Is there any tests from labatories that test and compare castor vs synthetic oils?

Thank you very much for your time.








       Post #: 1

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 6/28/2006 2:27:34 PM   
skiman762



Posts: 1166
Joined: 12/1/2005
From: Nashville, NC, USA
Status: offline 		I'm not an oil expert but I believe that syn oil used for model fuel mixing is different then pressure lube systems use
any way you will find that most people want castor in the fuel
the reason are many and argued till the cows come home
but one fact is that castor can take more heat, most things I've read tell me that even though castor is not the best lubricant (not bad just not the best ) at normal temperatures it actually gets better the hotter it is and has a higher flash point then syn
so it offer great protection if you should lean out.
I have also read on more then one fuel website that syn offer great high rpm protection
Myself I have found that my engine run smoother with castor over pure syn
so I run Omega 4stroke it has 15%nitro with 17% oil a 50/50 mix of castor/syn, 2stroke Omega has 30/70 castor/syn
I took a break form flying when I came back I was talked into syn I was puzzled why I didn't remember these little engines being so hard to tune
then after reading some posts here I switched to Omega and it was like night and day aside from high temp protection I think castor just makes an engine run better IMO
I'll be test the theory further with a couple of 2strokes on the shelf they ran ok with the syn but there getting castor on the test stand and I'll report in with the results
so the short answer use at least some castor your engines will thank you in the long run


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home of the BRAVE: they paid for it and you're enjoying it

(in reply to johnny_gr2001)
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RE: Questions about castor oil. - 6/29/2006 12:18:28 AM   
gjeffers



Posts: 2234
Joined: 9/16/2004
From: Round Mountain , NV, USA
Status: offline 		castor also aids in the protection of rusting bearings that occur in between sessions

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its your thang....do what ya wanna do

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RE: Questions about castor oil. - 7/2/2006 10:19:00 AM   
MassiveMods



Posts: 1561
Joined: 11/23/2003
From: SydneyNSW, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		Castor as said in the previous post is great protection from lean runs. It also coats the engine internals over time with a sort of baked on coating. this stuff acts like a teflon coating and once at heat as an excellent lubricant. Synthetic has other properties that castor dosent. Hence why people like to have a blend of the two in their fuel. id say in 4 stroke applications you would want a synthetic as it is more fluid than castor typically. Castor is a very sticky oil , it is also non carcenogenic and non pollutant , which is preferable for boat fuel .

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RE: Questions about castor oil. - 7/16/2006 9:35:57 PM   
wcmorrison



Posts: 766
Joined: 10/2/2002
From: Weatherford, TX, USA
Status: offline 		A lot of the pre-mixed fuels found for sale in the USA have somewhere between 20 and 30% Castor. You can get all synthetic or all Castor too. Most folks seem to perfer the blend, not as messy and provides good protection against lean runs.

I add a couple our ounces to the standard blends to make sure there is some Castor in the fuel. Clearance Lee, the disigner of the K& B engine recommends 20% lubrication for all engines.

Good Luck

Cheers,

Chip

(in reply to MassiveMods)
       Post #: 5

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 10/31/2006 11:31:53 AM   
Johnnie Red



Posts: 212
Joined: 10/31/2006
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Castor oil is best to use but if you store the engine for a long time without intervals of use..... .then my fellow modeller you'll be in surprise when your engine is going to get "stuck". The Castor oil has always to be completelly removed before storing the engine out for a long time (5-10 years). Because of its capbilities to make this "film" to all metal surfaces and while time goes by to get "sticky" and eventually to give you hard time if you let it "dirty".

(in reply to wcmorrison)
       Post #: 6

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 10/31/2006 3:08:18 PM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7448
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: offline 		Don't confuse the synthetic oils used in full scale auto's and bikes. Our fuel must mix with methanol and they have yet to make a synthetic that is as thick nor as high temp as castor. The castor is superior in all respects, but because it is of a higher viscosity it will slow down a racing engine a bit unless the percentage is cut back.

(in reply to Johnnie Red)
       Post #: 7

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 11/1/2006 2:49:59 AM   
downunder



Posts: 3113
Joined: 10/10/2002
From: Adelaide, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Johnnie Red
The Castor oil has always to be completely removed before storing the engine out for a long time (5-10 years).

Castor slowly thickens (gums) over a long period but usually frees up enough to strip the engine by just heating it a bit in an oven. The "gum" is an excellent very long term preservative. If OTOH you store the engine with a synthetic then you'll have a pile of rusted out junk inside .

Synthetic oil for cars isn't really a synthetic (other than the extremely high priced oils), they're normal refined oil with some added synthetic modifiers.

I only ever use all castor but a blend of castor and synthetic can be the best way to go. For a great description of castor and synthetics have a read of this http://www.go-cl.se/castor.html

(in reply to Johnnie Red)
       Post #: 8

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 11/1/2006 3:47:33 AM   
hpi apollo



Posts: 2639
Joined: 5/13/2006
From: Georgetown, KY, USA
Status: offline 		when i mix my fuel, sometimes i use pure castor oil, it allows my engine to run almost a turn leaner while temps are in the low-mid 200's, and power is good

castor is king, period


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RE: Questions about castor oil. - 11/1/2006 12:49:06 PM   
Johnnie Red



Posts: 212
Joined: 10/31/2006
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Hey Downunder,

Interesting pinpoints. But hey do not miss the point! As I said "Castor oil is BEST to use....when you use the engine!
The storage of a dirty engine is what makes the trouble and I suggest to clean the engine thouroully, and add afterrun oil before storage. Now this has to be done of course also in the engines that are using synthetic oils as well. The difference is in the slightly bigger difficulty of cleaning the castor oil remnants in the engine (esspecially the 4cycle). The biggest corrossive mattrial that will bring your engine "rusty" is the use of NITRO and not the synthetic oil my friend.
Anyway this is to clarify a few aspects and ME TOO believe on the Castor oil..

Cheers

(in reply to hpi apollo)
       Post #: 10

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 11/1/2006 2:01:04 PM   
Sport_Pilot



Posts: 7448
Joined: 1/21/2002
From: Acworth, GA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

The storage of a dirty engine is what makes the trouble and I suggest to clean the engine thouroully,


No need to clean it. Just add some good oil, (not MMO or WD-40) and store it. In fact you might be better off if that good oil is castor oil.

(in reply to Johnnie Red)
       Post #: 11

RE: Questions about castor oil. - 11/5/2006 8:16:30 PM   
jrcaster



Posts: 462
Joined: 9/29/2006
From: Hopkinsville, KY, USA
Status: offline 		I have been out of the hobby for over ten years, so if I miss the point let me know. I have been reading on here that the total synthetics don't leave as much mess on the plane to clean off after the flying day. When you run a gas two stroke like on a weed-eater in one spot you don't get a puddle of oil on the ground because the lubricating oil burns almost 100%. and gasoline being a petrolium product has a little lubricating properties too, but not enough for bearings and bushings thus the reason for the 2 stroke oil.

In glow fuel Alcohol has NO lubricating properties so if you run Methanol strait you will seize an engine on the first tank. If you go with the weed-eater technology you would add oil to your fuel for lubrication of the bearings and not worry about the piston sliding in the sleeve.

Synthetics are designed to burn to a certain extent, thus the easier cleanup after a day of flying. Castor is designed for higher temps so less of it gets burned, and the bigger mess at the end of the day.

Glow engines are designed to be cooled in two ways, neither is 100% efficient.
(1) It is an air cooled engine so it gets some cooling from the prop-wash, and other air flowing over the head during flight. This gets less efficient in a cowled plane.
(2) It is also an oil cooled engine so only the unburnt oil that makes it through the engine and out the muffler caries the heat out of the burn chamber. That is one of the big reasons that Castor is more forgiving of a lean run than synthetic.

Big question here, Which is cheaper, A new engine or window cleaner and paper towels.

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Re-kit specialist. It's rebuildable till it fits back in the box.

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       Post #: 12

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