alternative rc fuel
 

Is there anything other than the nitro fuel that is sold at the hobby shop that we can use to power our nitro engines for less of a price. I've heard of people making their own fuel using a mixture with klotz oil but wouldn't know where to start if I tried this myself. Could someone please direct me as to how this would be done. I've been considering a baja ss just because of long runtimes and cheap operating cost. Any help would be appreciated.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

First off, we don't use nitro fuel. The fuel we use is Methanol with oil and 20-30% nitromethan.

One thing you can do is run 0%-5% nitro and that will cut the cost quite a bit. Because the nitro is the most expensive thing in our fuel.

There's a thread that talks about using little to no nitro fuels. With less nitro you will need more oil, and the only fuel that has that low of nitro is air plane fuel, unless you make it your self, which is the US might be a problem (not sure though)

Here's the link http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_75...tm.htm#7591143

I can get a gallon of CoolPower or Omega for $8.50 for 0% and $10.00 for 5%

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

stick with good nitro if you think about it a gallon lasts a long time 75 or 125 cc's at a time 40 bucks is alot but your motor is lubed by the nirto
if you go cheep and save a few bucks you might blow your motor I use o'donnell they use synthetic oil in there fuel witch burns better then lets say traxxas and it protects better sorry there is just not a good cheep fuel you can use a generic brand like towerpower but is is like 3 bucks cheeper not worth it

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Nitro does not lube the engine, its the oil that does.

Synthetic oil does not lube as well as Castor, so a castor synthetic blend would be the best.

Like I said before, drop the nitro and you'll be paying less for fuel, plugs will last longer, you'll be getting longer run times, and the same performance. (just read the link)

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

when i say nitro i meen the fuel we all call rc car fuel NITRO, read the first line in your quote of me it is "stick with good nitro "and i mention the price of a gallon i do not state any specific nitro content, you can debate if synthetic or nautural is better I like synthetic and i think odonnell fuel is the best just my opinion and os recomends odonnell it comes in a wide range of nitro contents 10 to 50 % i use 20% .A nd this guys post is about using something other then fuel made for rc cars that is why i say stick with fuel made for it because of how nitro engins get lubed by there fuel where did i loose you ?

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

You only need 2 things for fuel in these engines, 1. Methanol, and 2. oil and that's it.

He was wanting a cheaper fuel, or a fuel that's cheaper, and I said you can run 0%-5% nitro, and that will give you better run times, and so on.

I can get a gallon of Omega (which has a castor synthetic blend oil) 5% for $10.00

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

technically, the fuel we use is called "glow fuel"
not nitro fuel

as jb said, nitro is just one component of glow fuel
and is not required for the engine to run

the only two required components are methanol and a natural or synthetic caster oil
with proper set up and tuning the engine will run just fine and suffer absolutely no damage

it's not difficult to make your own fuel (with or without nitromethane)
just find somewhere local to buy pure methanol and buy some oil
klotz is a good oil

the most basic mix for 1 gallon is (0% nitro, 12% oil)
112oz methanol - (@ $4.00/gallon at places that sell to 1:1 racers)
16oz oil - http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXS626

That works out to about $10 - $11 per gallon

and again i'll say
it will not hurt your engine in any way
but you will probably have to reshim and, for sure, retune

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Thanks for the feed-back. So I guess it is possible to run model airplane fuel in glow rc car engines as long as it is tuned right. Tower Hobbies specifies that the Klotz oil is not for use with glow engines, but what could it hurt as long as you have the right mixture and the engine is being lubricated? I watched a video of a Monster GT running on a home brew of klotz oil and methanol, and it seemed to have good power.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

I says its for gas not methanol.

Go to or call your LHS and ask for a price on 5% plane fuel. I would go with a production fuel because consistency will be hard to keep mixing fuel your self.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

my bad

klotz makes oil for several different applications
i just picked that one because at 6oz it fit with the 12% oil formula

here's the oil that's made to be used with methanol
and, as a plus, it's less expensive per oz

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXS623&P=ML

i don't disagree with using production fuel for the consistency
i was just trying to point out that making your own is not that hard a thing to do

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

WOW.40 american dollars,we get it in oz for 20 australian dollrs

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

I've been getting this for $17 per gallon: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXA316&P=0

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

That's from your LHS right? Because the price from tower I think I figured $29 a gallon. (you have to buy a case which is 4 gallons)

This is the prices I can get my fuel at

0% nitro Cool Power and Omega $8.50
5% nitro Cool Power and Omega $10.00
10% nitro Cool Power and Omega $12.50
15% nitro Cool Power and Omega $14.00


Some one said to add a little (3%) acid tone to 0% nitro fuel to get it to act like 5% , so I wounder if you could add a little acid tone to 5% nitro to get it act like 10% since acid tone if fairly cheap.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Wow, your hobby shop sells fuel really cheap. Did you try the lower nitro percentage fuel yet? What percentage did you try in what engine and did you like it?

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Close, but let's call it acetone :).

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

I haven't yet, I still have a gallon of 30% and a gallon of 15%, and I've only driven maybe 4 times this year:(

I live about 2 hours from Morgan fuels, and one guy goes up there and buys it from the factory, so he doesn't pay shipping, so that means I pay less.


I look at the e-mail after I posted that and saw it was acetone and not acid tone. What is acetone, I don't think I've ever heard of it?

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Wow JB Comp, in a month you've really become a believer (and expert) in the 0% nitro thing. I'm impressed. :D

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

Well I want to try it, but like I said I still have 2 gallons of fuel to use, and hey it seems to be working for downunder.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

JB
Acetone is a solvent that you can buy from any hardware store or paint supplier. It's also quite a good fuel in itself. Shell Racing A methanol has 3% acetone mixed in the drums but I think this is done mainly because acetone reduces the ability of methanol to absorb water from the air.

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

so it is verry humid do you think adding acetone to my odonnell 20% nitro would help if so what % do you think is right ?

RE: alternative rc fuel
 

I did a search on it, and some people put it in their cars for better mileage. I wonder if its true.