I was wondering...would a Homelite 25cc engine or 30cc engine converted to a high compression glow engine run good on ZERO nitro fuel? You know like the Moki engines do. They say no lose of power with the no nito fuel. I can get menthanol for $2.85 per gallon. I can mix 6 gallons of fuel with one quart of Klotz oil. Now that sounds like low cost flying to me! Thanks Capt,n P.S. I already have 5 quarts of Klotz oil!

I just cant help myself but to think they put the Nitro in for a reason
Be it RC or NHRA Funnycars, they put the nitromethane in for more power, and I cant see getting the same power as without it. Is the compression you are talking about so high that nitro would just blow the head/ pretzel the rod rather than make more power?

The nitro not only helps the power, it also helps the idle and transition to open throttle. These conversion engines are fairly low on the compression ratios anyway, and I don't think would run as well without some nitro. My Poulan 42cc, even with a hot glow plug has a bit of an rpm drop when I remove the glow power. This is a sure sign that it could use a bit more nitro, not less. It runs so well however that I'm not going to worry about it. My Homey and Echo engines don't have the drop, indicating that the glow plug temp and nitro mix are close to optimal. Engines purpose designed for no nitro use have higher compression. They consequently don't run well with nitro as a rule, and will often burn out glow plugs as well.

AV8TOR

Captain,
Eastern european engines were designed to run without nitro, because nitro was very expensive and hard to find over there. It will work, but usually not as well. Nitro is an oxidizer which helps to burn the alcohol.

Dave

You can get nitro reasonably cheap if you buy it in bulk. I just never wanted to pay the cost to buy 20 gallons of it and ship it.

Keep it sealed up, cool and out of the sunlight-----it should last quite awhile. But, your gonna have a tough time burning up 20 gallons of nitro when you only use 8 or 10 ounces per gallon. [sm=71_71.gif]

This would be a perfect opportunity to see how much nitro a Homelite 30cc engine can actually take. Whip up a batch of 60% nitro and let er rip. [sm=lol.gif] Might wanna get a cool plug.

I have read all replys. I guess I should have asked....Will a high compression Homie run on strait alcohol with NO gas added. FAI type fuel...no nitro 40-1 lube (Klotz) and strait methanol? I can get good quality methanol for $2.85 gal. Thanks Capt,n

Hi,

Yes, it will run, and probably pretty well as long as your carb can flow enough methanol. You may have to modify the carb passages to make them larger as the engine will need nearly twice as much methanol as it would gasoline. It will run either with conventional ignition or glow. It would run better with 3 to 5% nitro.

AV8TOR