rcworld2000

ok guys i have been flying for a year and i use 15 100% synthectic fuel

i have been given 3 gallons of 10% fuel that has castor in it
(dont have exact specs infront of me )

is this ok to make this switch?

also is it just me or does the synthectic burn way cleaner and doesnt leave that smell all over you at the end of the day like the castor does?

and also from my old rc cars days doesnt the castor gum up over time where the synthetic doesnt seem to?

a70eliminator

I've use both 10 and 15 whatever is available at the time can't really notice any difference.

rcworld2000

do you have to retune ?

a70eliminator

I usually re-tune my glow engines each outing 1/2 turn out and back in just to verify all is good on the high setting, the low end I seldom mess with.

rcworld2000

great info guysthanks

TomCrump

I have many engines that I have set the needles years ago, and haven't found a need to touch them again.

The "needle tweakers" that I have observed, have far more problems than the guys who "set and forget."

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

Are your engines 2st ? If yes no probs.

I would be more cautious using all castor lubricant fuel in 4st. but 2 -3 % castor with the balance synthetic is fine.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I was once given a bunch of different nitro blends so just for grins I ran a days worth of testing using different nitro blends. Most of my engines are YS four strokes and like Tom, I'm not a needle twister, if it ran good before it should run good again as it was set.
In my day of testing I used a YS 1.10 FZ engine. Using fuel from 10% to 30% there was no need to twist a needle. With 5% the idle was pretty rough but I didn't bother to tune for it. At the end of the day I just dumped all the fuel together in a couple of cans and used it.
My normal brand is Power Master 15% with an 18% blended oil. {Castor and synthetic} Once in a while I add two ounces of Klotz to a new can of fuel, it's also a blended oil with Castor. Castor oil will gum up after a long period of time if you leave the engines in storage but it takes about a year or more. Climate could play into that?
Funny thing is I use SIG Castor oil when I rebuild an engine, it doesn't gum up or get hard. It seems to only be burnt Castor they will clog up an engine.
If I run an engine dry before I put it up for storage it takes a very long time to get stiff. Then I just pull the engine and heat it up with a covering heat gun and fire it up.
Burnt Castor is what makes an engine look nasty when it is burnt onto an engine and the engine doesn't look new and shiny. That bothers a lot of people.
And yes, the Castor is what gives you that modelers Oder at the end of the day. Some people like it, I don't so I have clothes I wear only when I fly and I wash them by themselves so my other clothes don't have that stink. Used to love the stink when I was a kid though.

rcworld2000

thanks gray. I have been using non Castrol fuel and I love it. I hate the smell. ive been using fuel with no Castrol I love it. but cant beat 4 free gallons of fuel.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

The way I have the exhaust pointed on all but one of my planes there is almost no clean up at the end of the day. On the plane I have my only two stroke the exhaust is pointing over the top of the wing, I call this plane the snot monster. After the first flight it is covered in Castor snot, after six flights it's truly a snotty pig and a pain to clean up. Other then the stink and snot Castor is fine and the sale price of Power Master is worth the time it takes. I usually fly all year long and there is never any problem with a stiff engine. I have been waiting for eye surgery sense late last summer and I can feel the engines starting to stiffen up because I haven't been flying the planes. That will be taken care of in June so I should be OK. Free fuel is well worth the clean up of the snot. Once you go back to your original fuel you will never notice the difference, other then maybe a bit of baked on crud on the outside of the engine or muffler.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

One rather important thing so far has not been pointed out in this thread and that is the fact that synthetic oil will brake down at a lower temperature than castor oil, granted it may only be a few degrees. What that few degrees may mean to us is if for what ever reason we may have a lean run it very well could mean the difference just a poor engine run and actually damaging that engine due to a lean run.

Actually that extra hedge in protection can come with blends of castor and synthetic oils with a very small percentage of the oil blend is castor. These blended fuels work quite well in affording that extra hedge. Here in the US fuels with blended oil content are very popular and with a two stroke glow engines some of us will not use fuels with no castor content at all. yes I know only just my opinion.

Another plus for at least some castor content and this especially so with plain bering engines is the dried castor can actually serve a preservative when the engine is just carelessly tossed in a drawer. Any engine that is simply stuck with dried castor is simple to free up with just the application of heat with several different methods of doing so as noted above.

A blended oil fuel is far less of a a problem than any 100% castor fuel but still will retain that precious few degrees of extra protection.

And you know same problem electrics have without the sound it just ain't right, a glow engine without the castor smell, just ain't right.

John

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

That "Castor Snot" besides protecting your engine during a lean run and preserving your engine after a session also absorbs and removes a generous amount of heat as it travels through your engine and out the exhaust.

I used to work in a hobby shop and noticed that the same guys that were burning all synthetic fuels were the ones complaining of short bearing life and peeling piston liners. Seems they were convinced their engines were defective.

rcworld2000

thanks guys

jtotten

For those who have some baked on castor oil, there is a product called "Dawn Power Dissolver" carried by (among others) some Walmarts and some Ace Hardware stores. It does a great job of loosening baked on castor. If you are in an area ot the country where winter is a "seldom fly" season, then as part of your storage routine you might make sure the engine has no fuel in it, hit the outside with a bit of Dawn spray, then about 20 min later use a toothbrush and water to remove most of the "crud", then put in a bit of light oil and flip the engine over a few times in various positions to coat the inside - next spring the engine will be good to go.