J330

My Feedback: (3)

Anyone notice fuel prices lately?
2 years ago when I stocked up, glow fuel was $12-17 / gallon in town.

Today, I went to Hobbytown to get a gallon of Omega 10% if they had it. They sure did. $27.99. $30.99 for 15%. Patriot was $24.99.
I was shocked. They said "Price went up about 2 months ago, and we had another increase 2 weeks ago. You also won't find any glow planes or engines here anymore."

1. Why? What happened two months ago when my head was in the sand?

2. What cheaper source online can someone point me into that's not as staggering as these prices? Anywhere?
Even if I have to mix a homebrew myself. $3 a flight just seems a tad high.

I can see moving down to a .25 size model real quick.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

A Main Hobbies, $29.99 for a case of 4 gallons, with hazmat fee of $27.50 and shipping UPS, it would come out to $90. $22.50 a gallon.
Tower is even higher.
If I lived in CA, I could have walked in person, they sale price for 10% Byrons which is $29.99 for the case of 4, until they sell out.
LHS in Sebastian has Omega $17.99, while supplies last. Next order, he'll perhaps go up?

jetmech05

don't down size your motors.....up size the planes and motors....go gasoline...ethenol free is 4.20 a gallon plus oil 11.00 bucks at most for 2 gallons....

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I started flying gas this past year and all year I don't think I used three gallons of gas. I also fly my glow some, however not nearly as much anymore because of the price of glow fuel. I can get it for around 18 a gallon, but when you think about gas at around 4 or less it is a no brainer. I would burn about a 3/4 gallon of glow fuel in a day's flying. That really added up over time.

I plan to gradually get rid of most of my glow planes except for the very economical ones and then anything that will handle 20cc up is going to be gas from the start.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

It's on sale at Hobby People for $15.00 a gallon for what power master is calling car fuel? 20/20 or you can get the 15%, your choice. What is happening with the prices?? I stocked up last year when it was on sale at Hobby People and still have a couple of gallons. My next two builds will be gassers just for the fuel price reason and I have been flying my electric more this year. If I could afford to sell all my glow engines and go gas only I would. I can't see ever buying another glow engine, just makes no sense except I have so many of the high dollar glow engines that are no longer worth spit, I have to keep using them. Just not as often these days.

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

Are the glow engines just not selling or you feel getting your investment out of them would be difficult pricewise? I only have a few glow engines and I was thinking about selling them. I figure I will only get about 50% of the price depending on the engine. One is an OS 91FX and a Saito 1.25 and both probably have a gallon of fuel through them.

If I cannot get a fair price for them when I get ready to sell them then I will probably put them on planes and hopefully get some time to fly them. I like the gas so much though that I don't think I will fly the glow much so doesn't make sense for me to keep them. They will more than likely collect dust and to me that is a waste.

If glow fuel had a chance of coming down in price I would keep some glow engines.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

I don't want gas fumes in my garage, go gas, goboom! I'm addicted to the smell of nitro, got to have it. Besides, gassers 16" - 24" props scare me. I see guy whacking their engines over with a welding glove.
How do I transport the Goliath's?
MG high torque servos cost how much?
In the end, I don't feel the urge to go bigger. I had a few 1.20 sized planes, in that direction it seems like flying in slow motion to me.

acerc

I spent the last year or so, almost two,replacing my fleet just to go to gas. In Febuary of last year I started my first gasser on a stand just to hear it. That was the end of nitro. Haven't started one since. Sold what I could and gave the rest away. And don't regret a minute of it. Cost to replace was around 10k, not too bad really. Although glow fuelmight have beencheaper, LOL.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

That's funny.
I wonder if people ever count the cost of a new car, the payments, interest, higher insurance (full coverage), to save on fuel, but it would take 12 years to break even if they did the math. How about the guys on Harley's as primary transportation (Goldwing guys too), thinking it's a great way to save on gas going to work, until some soccer mom runs them over not looking out for motorcycles, and he sees long term disability and huge medical bills that ruin that economical choice.
As far as leisure activities, 10k is slightly out of my ball park.
I burn 7 gallons a year average, so cost per gallon is about $15 more than your gas = $105 a year,
so you can break even in 95 years and start feeling the savings!

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

DJFourson,
You can get the small gassers now for about the price of glow. A lot of guys are buying the Revovler 70" and putting a DLE 20cc engine on it and the whole rig is really a cheap gas setup. Takes reasonably priced servos, an engine that is comparible in price to the comparable glow and the airframe is around 240. Not bad for a "priced" entry into gas planes for almost the same as glow. Just the sound of gas engines has such a realistic "scale" sound to it. I like the four-stroke glow sounds as well, but prefer the torque and power of the gas.

countilaw

Hobbytown fuel prices are always too high. I get fuel for $15.00 a gal, only have to drive a few more miles than Hobbytown to get it.

Frank

rgburrill

Get your club (you do belong to a club don't you) to buy in bulk direct from the manufacturer.  My club would buy 8 to 10 cases at a time from PowerMaster which reduces the split shipping and HAZMAT charges plus get a quantity discount.  I recal it costing about $8 to $10 when Hobbytown sold it for around $15.  And back then I went through a case ever two months.

hsukaria

If you are lucky like me, you can find somebody who will sell you their left-over low nitro fuel. A guy at the club bought a lot of 5% CoolPower from a LHS at the end of flying season. He has no use for low nitro, so we swapped, I got 8 gallons of 5% for 2 gallons of 15%. So, I paid $16/gallon, thats $32. I got 8 gallons for $32. That's $4/gallon, not bad!!!!

I only burn 2 gallons/year. So, that plus another 4 gallons I had already, 12 gallons. So I am set for another 6 years for glow. After that, who knows. Maybe I can tweak my glow engines to run on 0% nitro (not the 4-strokes though) and mix my own.

I typically buy my fuel at the Toledo Show in the Spring. Great prices there. I'll buy another case this Spring and hoard it.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

I was told the reason for glow fuel being so high is cost of one ingredient in the mix. This item is nitromethan and is manufactured in China. Our government through the EPA controls the distribution.

hsukaria

That's my understanding. There is only one place it is manufactured, in China. But I also believe that there is a catch-22 efffect going on; glow prices are high, more people go to gas and electric, so less demand for glow fuel, prices go up because only one manufacturer is needed and local hobby stores stock less, so less people use glow, etc...

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

A lot depends on your area, I'm in Vegas and glow engines just don't sell. We have so much open space and the fields are big enough that bigger planes are used in my area. The king of engines here are the DLE 30. I have a fleet of YS engines that new cost a bunch more then the DLEs. No one is even buying glow engines at the swap meet. I found a good YS 1.10 Sport with an asking price of $200.00 but I think I could have gotten it for $100.00 but I sure don't need another glow engine. So, they aren't selling and I'm the only one I know using YS so it's even harder to sell them. I would just loose too much so I keep using them. I have a few gas engines on hand, two of them I can use but the G-62 is too big for the planes I build these days.

R8893

My Feedback: (20)

I you live more than a couple miles from your flying field, you will probably find the biggest flying expense you have is the gasoline, oil, tires, etc. that you car uses up getting there and back.

Johnny_Zero

My Feedback: (44)

Not really a problem here.....Magnum #1 Glow fuel......5 quarts for $19.99.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Then you tack on the price for a half gallon of glow fuel to that. I tend to go through a gallon or more on a weekend of flying. The price of fuel has gotten out of hand and I have to drive across town to buy it, that's a couple gallons of gas in the van. When Hobby People has a good sale I try to stock up. They have a sale about once every four months so I buy as much glow fuel as I can afford. I usually have a good supply on hand by spring. I enjoy flying but I do like both gas and glow power. Gas is easier and cheaper to operate, with the prices of the new gas engines on the market today I would never buy a new glow engine. With the number of glow engines I have on hand I don't really need to. There are several new small gas engines on the market you can use in 60 size planes too. I have started flying at a field that is only 7 miles from my home compared to the 27 miles to my other favorite field. Just trying to save some money and keep having fun. All hobbies cost money and modeling is cheaper then all the other hobbies I have had in the past.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

Why isn't FAI (0%) just $8 a gallon, if it's just one ingredient?

Wingspam

17.99 a gallon for omega 15%

acerc

DJFOURSON. I did not make the switch because of glow fuel cost. I like gas engine's. Never could stand glow and going to gas gives me a reason to go bigger which I like. If anything about this hobby was about the money I doubt there would be many of us in it.

scaleman57

My Feedback: (23)

Changed my giant Cubs to DLE 20s, changed my 1/4 scales from Saito 180s to DLE30s ,Flying 1 glow a Saito 150 in my ESM Cessna 185 only because I couldnt fit a gasser in the cowl without hacking it up. Doubt if I will fly glow anymore plus I dont like the mess.

Sport_Pilot

Glow engine hobbiest are usually too serious to go to the LHS. So they think nobody is buying (well they are not from them), so they may want to pull out altogether. Most of the high priced LHS are really getting there dollars from non serious people just tryingout a new electric plane or car. Fuel i not that expensive in most places. Still you can mix your own for about $10 or even less if you keep the nitro low. Not hard to do either.

Sport_Pilot

If you like big planes go gas, but for medium planes glow is the way to go.