Tim Campling Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Hi everyoneI'm fairly new to flying and would welcome a little advice on glow fuel.My Hanger 9 Pulse has an OS 46ax 2 stroke. I ran it in on a model technics fuel containing 5% nitro and castor oil. I don't know which one it was, it was just recommended by my local(ish) hobby shop. No complaints at all except the mess! The Pulse flew well and the engine never skipped a beat. Gaining confidence I decided to buy a different fuel and opted for ModelTechnics ProPower with 16% nitro and synthetic oil. I figured there would be less mess and more power! Well there is certainly less mess but the engine runs very badly. Initially all sounds well and the climb out is fine but after about 2/3 minutes the engine note returns to the four stroke sound and at least 50% of the power is lost. After landing and adjusting the needle it seemed OK but once again after a minute or so of flight the same happened. Inspecting the head and cylinder showed a lot of carbon. What is going on? There's obviously more to this fuel lark than I know. Incidentaly I've switched back to the old fuel and everything is fine again.I'm now building a Hanger 9 P40E with a Super Tigre 61 ABC and they recommend straight fuel. I suppose I would really like to know what role the nitro plays and how different engines react to it.Thank you for listening!Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi TIm, We've a good fuel article on the front page, have you seen it? I use a fuel from Model World Maidstone called 'blue juice' which is a 5% job, £9.99 a gal so not too expensive either - it seems to make the motors really smooth and power is fine too - I use it in all motors which keeps things simple. Residue isn't too bad, worse on two-strokes but I put up with that as the engines run happy. May be it's best to put up with that which works well and just clean down after every flight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J BENNETT Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Hi Tim I am afraid the mess is all part of the fun. There are some low oil (synthetic) mixes, as you have found, which can reduce the mess a bit, but then you get into the oil content debate. Best thing is to fit a silicon rubber exhaust deflector to the exhaust outlet to direct the oil away from the model. You can get them at any model shop, although as they come in different sizes you need to get the right one. Do make sure it is very well secured and that you degrease the exhaust outlet before fitting. With regard to Nitro content I would agree with David that 5% suits the majority of aero engines and it's so much easier to just use one fuel for everything. Best to follow the engine manufactures advice as a lot of engines are quite sensitive to nitro content. RegardsJohn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted May 19, 2008 Author Share Posted May 19, 2008 Thanks guys. Messy fun it is then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nasa_steve Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 when i used to run the oily stuff i used to use Formula Irvine sport 5% with which my engines never missed a beat. i must say i tried the Blue Juice that david mentions but found the model technics formula irvine much better in fact i gave nearly a whole gallon of the Blue Juice away i did'nt like it at allnasa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 he gave it to me too ........ta muchly Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted May 19, 2008 Author Share Posted May 19, 2008 I've checked with Model Technics and I'll mix the ProPower with Dynaglo straight to get it down to 5% nitro. Important lesson learned! The P40E is coming along nicely. Can't wait to run up the new engine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted May 19, 2008 Author Share Posted May 19, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Clarke 2 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Sounds like the engine could have been overheating better off with 5 or 10% mix and its cheaper.....!!!Nobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Green Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 I use pro synth 2000 5% for all my engines (2 & 4st) and always get good runs. It use to be blue (same stuff as you David?) but they dont dye it now and it looks like murky beer.Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 I emailed Hobbico in the States and they're saying: "Tim, Thank you for your recent e-mail. If this is the SuperTigre G-61 it is recommended to use 10-15% nitro with 18% synthetic/castor lubricant blend. Cool Power fuel works great." So the American distributer is saying one thing and the UK distributer another! AAAAAGH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Clarke 2 Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Tim I think air quality has a lot to do with. I'd go with what the UK distributor suggestsNobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Campling Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 I agree. If only for warranty's sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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