flip_gt2

i am thinking about makeing my own nitro fuel i would like to know where i would get the ingredants to make it

SIRCC

NASA

zxknight

i was thinking the same thing

mikeeternal

most "real" hobby shops carry most ingridiants for fuel... mine does www.dennishobbies.com we got everything 'cept methonol

Chris_RC

Stick to Nitrotane, Byrons, Sidewinder, Maxy's, and O'Donnell fuel. They have spent countless hours in R&D developoing the right mixture o fsynthetic and caster oil, and nitro %

TIGER76

Cant see it being worth stuffing up an engine to try out homemade fuel tbh If you dont get the mix right it could overheat or not lubricate the engine parts and kill it off []

DaveG55

Making nitro fuel is about the simplist thing there is. Finding the 3 parts is more difficult than making it. You can buy very good castor oil - either natural or synthetic. The rest is just straight nitromethane and methanol. The methanol is easy to get. The Nitro is not all that hard but it is kinda expensive. And that's where the real problem lies. To make your own fuel anad have it be cost effective you have to buy the nitro in bulk quanities of about 50 gallons. There aren't a lot of people who will use that much nitro for home brew.

As far as actually making the fuel, that's easy. Anybody with simple math skills who can read a measuring cup can do it and can make fuel that will not only NOT hurt an engine but can mix it to the specs and conditions that they want.
To make 20% Nitro w/ 12%oil simply mix:
26 oz nitro
16 oz oil
86 oz methanol
Shake well and use.
It really is that simple. If you want a different mix simply pick the percentages you want and do the math.
You will NOT hurt your engine.

Having said that, there are advantages to buying pre-made fuel. As Chris RC pointed out, There is a lot of research that goes into those fuels as well as additives like anti foaming agents that it's harder to find. There's also the cost issue, you can make it for less but you'll have to buy in large quanities which leads to storage and freshness issues.

But it's not rocket science and don't let the fear of hurting an engine stop you.

breezerboat

I have two questions about fuel.

1. My engine seems to be tuned fine, but still runs a little hot. (about 280) If I switch from 20% fuel to 15%, will it cause my engine to run cooler? And how much performance loss will I see if I do that?

2. I use Powermaster 20%. Is this fuel any good. I read lots about Odonnels and wondered if I should switch.

Thanks

Chris_RC

Actually I think it is your fuel. Im not sure but I think that fuel has alot of oil. Your aiming for 9-12% oil. O'Donnell is ok but really toxic. Alot of people really like Byrons, alot of peple including me like Nitrotane. Nitrotane IMO is just more consistent, easier to tune, and has a crisper throttle response. If you were to get O'Donnell fuel, DO NOT get the R2R version, way too much oil. Dont get the Byrons RTR stuff either. Both have way too much oil. If you can find it, try Losi Nitrotane Sport 20%. It has 12% oil which is ideal for the average person, and if you accidently run it a little lean it wont have the effect of running lean on race fuels. I use Nitrotane 20% race, and I really like it. I actually get great performance at 180-210. At 240, it is like an electric car!