mpalermo

Actually Nitromethane is not made from oil...

Preparation
Nitromethane is produced industrially by treating propane with nitric acid at 350–450 °C. This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane. The reaction involves free radicals, including the alkoxyl radicals of the type CH3CH2CH2O., which arise via homolysis of the corresponding nitrite ester. These alkoxy radicals are susceptible to C-C fragmentation reactions, which explains the formation of a mixture of products.

Although inexpensively available, nitromethane can be prepared in other methods that are of instructional value. The reaction of sodium chloroacetate with sodium nitrite in aqueous solution produces this compound:

Sport_Pilot

Propane is made from oil, and nitro from propane, so nitro is made from oil.

Chinayoungboy

As far as i Know, there are another method to get the Nitromethane. it is chemical reaction by dimethyl sulfate and sodium nitrite.
it is the common method in China. because the dimethyl sulfate is most toxic so our government limited it's production and transportation, many nitro manufacter can buy it form July. if they have no dimethyl sulfate, they will no have Nitromethane.

mpalermo

Well you are correct a source of propane is oil but it is my understanding the larger source is from natural gas....

But we are splitting hairs... cause natural gas has risen as well... damn oil companies...

NITRO FUMES RULE

The larger source is derived from natural gas. As a manager's in a local hobby shop's RC
car department I have been following this subject a lot. We are all very nitro heavy in our
shop so I am trying to gather as much info as possible. Our main supplier is the very same
one as Tower Hobbies. Don't qoute me on this but nitromethane is also used in the medical field
in certian cases and a big part of this "shortage" is going to be caused by a new type of fertilizer that
is trying to be developed in the agricultural field. Lets add another chemical to our food chain. Lets hope
that tiis not true as I would rather burn it in our glow engines than have it linked to a fertilizer that grows
our crops!

More HP

My Feedback: (2)

Nitro Fumes... I'd like to know more about the fertilizer, can you point me in a direction to get info on that?

what would that be called, Nitrolizer?

NITRO FUMES RULE

I don't know any of the specifics regarding the fertilizer other than it is experimental and
will whack into our nitromethane supply. This was heard from an inside source but hope its
not true. Will have to wait and see for now. "Nitrolizer" Now that is some "Food" for thought !!

If you are not smelling nitro fumes and listening to the sweet song your not LIVING !!

evilhorse

hey nitro fumes, do you run better on 15% or 30% hehehhe

Sport_Pilot

No, there is some propane in natural gas, especially when they add it during peak parts of the winter season. But I think the propane you buy to heat your home or to fire your grill is made during distillation of gasoline.

doctor jason

you should pass on the last line to mr Bush, The man responsible for most of the wars in the middle east, I don.t believe the oil is american,

balsaeater

ERR the nitro methane made in USA is made best I can tell from natural gas most of which comes from Alaska and gulf of Mexico of the USA state of Texas with some few imports of natural gas from Algeria

So I would suspect that made in USA nitromethane is mostly made in the USA product

At the rate the Chinese are buying up all the oil contracts from IRAN and other non American and British aligned gulf states the only oil that might be left to buy in the gulf region and be sorta called USA oil might be the IRAQ oil obtained with a British and USA military invasion

I think the kettle on this one might be black , but so is oil and energy and fuel is politics like God and religion cant be divorced from each other much as we would like to think it is only a chemical story it gets very gory when when they gouge our pockets for $$$ for fuel

Balsaeater

Sport_Pilot

That oil goes to Europe for political reasons, the money goes straight into rebuilding the Iraqi infrastructure. In fact I think the whole operation has recently been turned over to the Iraqi governement, but they are basically paying the same contractors.

Howard

My Feedback: (55)

Sounds much like what the Third Reich would have said after we sent troops to Europe - that was probably before you were born.

evilhorse

the problem with buying "American" these days is , WE dont MAKE anything! we simply assemble if when it comes off the ship. It's "more cost effective) to have some indian or chinese kid make it and ship it to us.

garywi

My Feedback: (3)

Where can I get CoolPower High Performance Heli 30/20? MY LHS says it will be a long time before they can stock, if ever.

evilhorse

nowhere, noone has it.

opjose

Wow even Tower and Horizon now show little NO nitro fuel availability...

Anyone know when this will be over?

balsaeater

Any body know if its a big deal to make this at home using these chemicals ??

balsaeater

carrellh

Mike's hobby shop in Carrollton TX was fully stocked on 9/21/08 with Ritch's Brew, Wildcat, Powermster, Omega, and Cool Power and prices were up a couple of dollsrs compared to June or July when they were low on most fuels.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

So now that the Olympics are over will the cost and availability of nitromethane go back to 'normal'?

opjose

Their on-line store only lists quarts though... sigh...

XJet

Very unlikely.

Once prices rise and suppliers realize that the market is prepared to pay those higher prices, it's very seldom (especially in a market as uncompetitive as the nitromethane market) that prices return to former levels.

opjose

To that end, I just purchased several small gas engines...

Now when gasoline hits current glow fuel prices.... ugh.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

I'm trying to cut back on my nitro habit. My Enya and OS 2-strokes run great on 5%. I may try 0%. I'm running my Saitos on 15% and will try 10%.

tigrejohn

My Feedback: (7)

DIY Nitro? Forget it. First, the reaction is exothermic (generates heat), how do you plan to control it. Second, a good reaction demands precise(!!!) ratios of the ingredients. If your off, the PH value of the results can be very acidic which would not be good.

In the late 80's, we also experienced somewhat of a nitro shortage. Eastman stopped making it for what ever reason and also about that time, another company operating in Texas blew up. That left us with one producer who couldn't make enough. The Chinese stepped in about that time and was producing and shipping crap, it had a high acid value. At that time as a chemical buyer and interacting with a couple of friends ( a professional fuel dragster and a commercial model fuel blender), I got involved in a bit of back alley buying for them. The fuel dragsters found that the Chinese stuff had too fast of a burn rate and were blowing up motors. And the fuel blender in testing some of it before putting it on the market found that residual fuel left in an engine etched steel.