Speakin' about fuel
 

Now days when everybody is going electric or gas, do alcohol based fuel producers think that pumping up such ridiculous prices is going to bring more business? Is there a real factor for such prices?

Just a thought!

RE: Speakin' about fuel
 

unfourtantly their is a reason.
oil and nitro are expensive. ill use wildcat as a example because i know what oils they are useing
http://www.klotzlube.com/proddetail....%5FQuart&cat=8
that oil cost $45 a gallon, but im sure wildcat gets it much cheaper, we'll say $25 for augument sake
nitro (hold onto your wallets) http://www.worldwideracingfuels.com/...oductid=790067 is 80 bucks a gallon, we'll say klotz gets it for $50
methanol runs at 2 bucks a gallon
and dont forget the plastic container :D 25 cents, if that
.so for a gallon of fuel with 20% oil (5 dollars worth of oil) 10% nitro ($5 worth of nitro) and $2 bucks worth of methanol. thats 12 a gallon. we get it for 15-20 a gallon
so no its not going to get any cheaper but their may be a solution (one of you engine guru's could tell me if this is even possible) put needle berings instead of bushings on the con rod (like they do in gasoline engines). that would allow us to run 3% oil instead of 18%. then raise the compression and run no nitro. then we could see prices of 5 bucks a gallon with much longer run times because their is more burnable material (methanol) in the fuel. the problem is the engines would be more sensitive running no nitro.
the key is the needle bearings, those would really help. im guessing its much harder than i think it would be, or they would have done it by now (their would be less friction so the engine would have more power)

RE: Speakin' about fuel
 

Talk to the Europeans. They use FAI fuel. 80% methanol. and 20% castor. We over here in our search for power are somewhat spoiled.

I flew model airplanes for 25 years before I ever used anything beyond 5% nitro and 25% oil. I had as much if not more fun that I ever did running 70% nitro in Pylon Racing, way back before there were limits on such.

RE: Speakin' about fuel
 

I have one friend running a Moki with store bought FAI fuel and the fuel prices for it are not all that less then the nitro fuel?? In the states they use several types of oil, not always Castor but still call it FAI, go figure.

RE: Speakin' about fuel
 

In the commercial fuel world, the cost of the fuel is not always the ingredients. Thanks to a certain big time operator in the hobby distribution system that has gobbled up everything possible, most all fuel brands go through that operator. They have Wildcat, they have Powermaster and a number of others. Fuel is trucked from mfger. to Champaign, then to the retailer, and said "operator" has to almost double its money on each gallon sold.

Profit for the manufacturer, profit for the distributor, and profit for the retailer plus the cost of ingredients, handling, and trucking all over the country 2-3 times, and soon you are talking some real money for that gallon of fuel.

RE: Speakin' about fuel
 

Hi!
Very few in Europe use 80/20 Castor oil fuel (FAI) anymore!

Fuel is more expensive over here but as many of us use 10-15% all synthetic oil in our fuel and just 5% nitro , the price is not that high.
Price is around $35.00-40.00 for 5 liter containing 5% nitro and 15% Aerosave all synthetic oil.