Field Fuel Bottle
 

I am getting back into RC planes after 20 years. My daughter is old enough to have taken an interest. Many things have changed, glues, RTF planes, etc. One question I had was about fuel storage. We are using 10% nitro fuel. Everyone seems to be dispensing from the plastic gallons the product is sold in....I was alway told (20 yrs ago) to transfer the fuel to a metal can. The idea I thought had to do with sunlight exposure??? I see Tower sells a non-transparent plastic gallon....Is it a problem to use the 'factory' clear bottle on my field box....???? Thanks for any help

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

I have never had a problem with using the jug the fuel comes in.
Don't leave the cap off.

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

Personally - I use a 1 qt day bottle in my flight box.

The idea is that;
1- you are not going to use a gallon, so why carry it?
2- the gallon jug is heavy, why carry it?
3- If you are not careful you will 'COOK Off' all of your nitro before you finish the jug.

So - I got a 1 qt Orange Juice plastic bottle (Square) and I fill it up as required. I keep the "main jug' at home nice and safe.

Works great, costs nothing I'm happy!

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

The plastic jugs the fuel comes in are fine. Don't worry about it. Just put the cap on when not actually transferring fuel. Water can condense and contaminate the fuel.

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

The gallon jug is fine. If it's too heavy, get some exercise. Good grief.:D Keep the lid on and pump from the jug with any of the available systems where you don't have to keep taking the lid on/off. If the nitro is "cooking off" on you, you're not flying enough.:)

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

I also like using the gallon jug, because it balances with my 12v battery and starter in my field box. When my jug starts to empty i have to carry my box like /

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

I started in this hobby in the 1960's when all we had were the metal cans. Cans will rust, you can't see any junk in the fuel and, in my opinion, the fuel gets hotter when sitting in the sun. Sunlight will NOT affect the quality of fuel in a sealed transparent plastic jug.

My problem is one formula of fuel won't meet my diversified flying needs. I fly control line with both old, plain bearing, iron piston/steel sleeve metallurgy which needs fuel with a high castor content (28-29%). I also fly modern plain bearing, ABC or ABN schnuerle engines which need a medium castor/synthetic blend (20-22%). I also have modern ball bearing ABC and ABN engines which can use off-the-shelf commercial fuel blends with 17-18% mostly synthetic oil content. I just recently picked up a ball bearing ringed 4 stroke engine which has it's own unique requirements. And finally, I have a handful of ½A engines which typically require a higher nitro content than my sport fuels for larger engines.

My solution is to buy empty half gallon or quart plastic containers and custom mix the blends I need to meet my needs. One of my control line club members worked at a car dealership. He'd collect the empty 1 quart containers from windshield washer solvent which were triangular instead of round. These were great for our model needs.

There was some publicity regarding a well-known commercial fuel supplier whose plastic containers developed leaks. People who bought a case of fuel (4 gallons) and stored it in their garages only to find a good portion of it had leaked out by the following spring. The problem was traced to a faulty supplier rather than an overall design deficiency of plastic containers in general.

The only type of model fuel which REQUIRES a metal container would be diesel engines. The ether used in model diesel fuel will evaporate through the walls of plastic jugs.

RE: Field Fuel Bottle
 

Thanks to all....everyone had good ideas!!!!