Model Techics Fuel Formulas

[Andy Stephenson]

When Model Technics were still in business they had a table of all the fuels and their ingredients. Since their products are now manufactured by Optifuel the list has disappeared from the web.

Does anyone have a copy of it saved for reference?

[Jon H]

I believe Opti have altered the mix on most of the fuels as they use different oil, have different additive packages and no longer use the MT sical additive. The old datasheets will be pretty meaningless now. 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

2 hours ago, Andy Stephenson said:

When Model Technics were still in business they had a table of all the fuels and their ingredients. Since their products are now manufactured by Optifuel the list has disappeared from the web.

Does anyone have a copy of it saved for reference?

Yes it was handy, they probably only bought the name, but I never liked optifuel, still there are plenty more out there,,,

[Robert Cracknell]

There are some organisations have archived Web pages.....have you tried those?

Web.archive.org

[Cuban8]

Ages ago I remember asking a local  model shop owner who fancied himself as a humourist (no, not for his prices) what EDL meant on 'Technics Fuel labels.

"Extremely Dubious Lubricant" was his reply.

.......probably right, actually.

[Ace]

  Is this what you are looking for?

Sorry will not insert correctly 😥

 

[Ron Gray]

[John Rickett 102]

That must have been quite an old list as the popular TechPower and ProPower aren't included.

Big Bang was probably the nearest to what is now considered Laser Low Oil fuel.

 

[Ace]

Thanks Ron.

John R - May 2001

[Andy Stephenson]

Many thanks guys.

Even if the formulas have been changed under the new ownership, it gives me a guide to all the different mixes.

[Cuban8]

7 hours ago, John Rickett 102 said:

That must have been quite an old list as the popular TechPower and ProPower aren't included.

Big Bang was probably the nearest to what is now considered Laser Low Oil fuel.

 

What a wonderous additive.....probably regrows hair, whitens teeth and promotes male vitality as well. 

[John Rickett 102]

I have no idea what it is but I believe it works, needles settings are noticeably less critical. In my view its a shame that Model Technics ceased trading but as with everything, we all have favourites.   

[Andy Stephenson]

I tried the Sical fuels and while they may make the engine run better, the residue from the exhaust has a smell like an old loco shunting yard but the worst bit is it's really gooey and orange and there's a lot more of it.

[Ron Gray]

My experience of the Opti Laser low oil fuel is that the mixture needs a little bit of leaning then everything else is fine and you still end up with a lot cleaner model!

[Jon H]

12 hours ago, Andy Stephenson said:

I tried the Sical fuels and while they may make the engine run better, the residue from the exhaust has a smell like an old loco shunting yard but the worst bit is it's really gooey and orange and there's a lot more of it.

 

I am not having a go at you Andy, but this is always hilarious to me as i hear things like it all the time. Sical doubled the mess on my model, the sical in my fuel fell out of suspension and sat in a puddle 3 inches thick at the bottom of the gallon, sical did this, sical did that... The Sical component of the fuel was around 1% and would have made absolutely no difference to the exhaust residue or cause any other problem. The amount used was tiny. 

 

Anyway the only reason for this post is as a bit of a warning not to not assume that a given thing is responsible for a given outcome as, quite often, its isnt. In the case of the MT pro power fuels i suspect the orange goo was caused as much by the high oil content of that fuel and some other factor like a rich tune. Techpower was the same fuel but with less oil and it ran very clean, and the old laser 5 used it too just with ML70 and not EDL..mostly anyway. Its also possible the orange colour made it more apparent?

 

I do however agree completely that it did smell funny. I got a whiff of slightly burnt candyfloss myself. But as it smells better than petrol it was not a big issue for me. And anyway, when it comes to fuel, nothing beats the smell of diesel. 

 

But none of this really matters as sical is no longer used in any of the fuels as opti have their own additives in house and just use those instead. 

[Nightflyer]

Personally I had used Model Technics fuels since my early days of flying in the mid 70s on for aircraft, and model cars indeed competing not only nationally but at World and European competition level without any issues.

Choice of fuel is often discussed not least because some manufacturers engines perform better with one fuel or fuel manufacturer than another.

 

[Brian Cooper]

I used Model Technics fuel in the last millennium. . . 🤦‍♂️ . . But I am better now. 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

They were good fuels, but you had to choose the right one for your engines.

[Phil Olson - Model Technics]

The SICAL additive was put in at 1% ( Jon is correct on that) , but the actual active ingredients were a tiny fraction of that as most of the 1% was in fact EDL oil - thats the only way we could meter all the ingredients in accurately

[ASH.]

Phil,,  Do Opti fuel use the same oil - Klotz Techniplate..?

I do miss Contest 10.

[Phil Olson - Model Technics]

I can't say ASH as I don't know - they have the ability to order the Klotz oils as they already buy from them but as to what they put in at the moment I can't say.

 

I would like to think they use the same formulas as we gave them !

[ASH.]

Thanks for replying Phil.  Optifuel is red, same colour as Contest 10 so I presume it's Klotz.

[Jon H]

31 minutes ago, ASH. said:

Thanks for replying Phil.  Optifuel is red, same colour as Contest 10 so I presume it's Klotz.

 

It is but i think its castor free klotz and lower viscosity as well. 

[Peter Christy]

The MT Bekra helicopter fuels used the castor-free Klotz. I haven't used anything else for years - even in 4-strokes! I still have a couple of gallons of 16% and a gallon of straight left, but sooner or later, I'm going to have to bite the bullet...!

 

--

Pete

 

[Andy Stephenson]

I tried some Laser 5% in my Saito82 yesterday and was amazed how well it worked compared to the "wrong" fuels I'd used before. The main needle seemed to be set far leaner and no lack of power on only 5% nitro. I'm guessing there's no castor in this fuel.

 

We are told that it's OK to run 2stroke engines on this fuel but not on the Laser professional low oil version, has anyone tried this yet.