White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (Full Version)

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Mike P -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (3/24/2003 1:29:00 PM)

Noticed white flakes in my fuel stored in the garage over winter. Also noticed the castor oil in the plastic container seemed to separate. Will the flakes go back into solution when it warms up here in North Dakota? Whats with the castor oil separating? Can I filter it and still be OK?:confused:



Bax -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (3/27/2003 3:28:31 AM)

The white flakes happen when the castor oil in the fuel gets cold. When the fuel is warmed up, it should almost all disappear back into solution. Filter out any remaining flakes.

If the fuel has an extreme amount of the flakes, or they won't dissolve back into the fuel when it's warmed, the fuel is old and the castor oil has gone bad. It's not good for running any more and should be properly discarded.



rplumbo -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (4/7/2003 3:27:18 AM)

I had a quart of castor oil in my trunk this winter and it turned completely white. It was originally and nice golden brown/yellow color. Even after bringing it in the house, it's still half original color/half white. It is definitely the castor that you're seeing. The easiest way to get it back into solution would be to heat it up, like pour it into a pot and heat it on the stove. BUT since this would be about the dumbest thing a person could do with an explosive mixture, I'd say throw it away.

Reid



downunder-RCU -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (4/7/2003 12:52:32 PM)

What sort of temperatures are you guys talking about? We rarely even get a frosty morning where I live so I sacrificed some castor to my freezer. I got it down to 10F with a consistency of honey and it stayed the same colour throughout. Once I put some castor based fuel in the freezer and still nothing happened to it. All I can guess at is that I'm using Castrol M castor and that maybe the castor having problems is a low quality. Some castors are sourced from third world countries where it's refined chemically using xylene and traces of this xylene remain.



rplumbo -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (4/7/2003 6:38:35 PM)

Well, I guess it must have gotten down to 20 below (F) at one point. But it was probably consistently 0-10F for most of the time. Mine congealed to a consistency of soft butter.

Reid



Bax -> White flakes in fuel. Castor separates? (4/11/2003 1:19:41 AM)

To a certain extent, being a vegetable oil, castor oil has some solids mixed in with the liquid. If it's cooled enough, the solids will separate out. When the fuel's rewarmed, the solids will melt back into the fuel. A small amount won't, and that's why you should filter your fuel.

If the fuel, even at room temperature, still looks like a bunch of crackers were tossed into it, the castor oil has gone bad.

As far as actual temperatures are concerned, I don't know them. Many modelers in the North (it's not a direction, it's a place!) store fuel in the garage, so any kind of winter usually cools the fuel enough to have the castor oil get cool enough to start to have part congeal.

With most modern fuels made with mostly synthetic oil and some or no castor oil, the problems we used to have with all-castor fuel have largely disappeared.

Clarence Lee of RCM fame, explains a lot of this in his engine books.

bax



Fuel Dinosaur -> Castor changes (4/17/2003 6:27:53 PM)

Castor oil is a natural product and contains long chain compounds, some of which come out of solution when cooled down. One good solution is to store your castor oil at room temperature. A good castor will normally go back into solution when it gradually warms up to room temperature. Also, castor-based fuels do not last indefinitely. Try to use the fuel up in a year or so if possible. Basically, castor is a pressing of the castor bean, it is filtered and graded. Sometimes, it is further treated to remove gums from the castor. In the U.S., you can get pretty good grades of castor, like the castor from the New Jersey plant, Klotz Benol racing castor, etc. Because castor contains a lot of compounds, you might want to cap it up as soon as you remove some from your castor jug or bottle. Lower grade castors or very old castor will give you more of these white flakes over time. If you are having trouble with your castor when you just about freeze it, store it INSIDE, like under your pillow. :-) Okay, in the back of the closet in a room temperature room, tightly capped in the dark.



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