Jason Channing Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, Tim Flyer said: Interesting Jon . For 19L of high purity minimum 99.95% US made drag racing methanol it’s about £75 with collection at Santa Pod. https://santapodshop.com/products/vp-racing-fuels-m1?_pos=2&_sid=8b814a3c7&_ss=r VP have awesome fuels and very high purity and is where I get my Nitromethane from when its required. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 8 hours ago, Rocker said: I have been using Optifuel Optimix 12%..Use to cost £26 for 5 liters ,now it is £35 for 5 liters.After reading this thread I now realise ,if you want a decent top fuel you are going to have to pay for it .Make me wonder if the cheaper fuel has cheaper oil etc in it hence it is cheaper to buy Or are the more expensive companies just making bigger profits I have to cough up and pay the £35 and hope I have a good quality fuel 🤨 SMC is good quality fuel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Channing Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 2 hours ago, Tim Flyer said: Interesting Jon . For 19L of high purity minimum 99.95% US made drag racing methanol it’s about £75 with collection at Santa Pod. https://santapodshop.com/products/vp-racing-fuels-m1?_pos=2&_sid=8b814a3c7&_ss=r VP have awesome fuels and very high purity and is where I get my Nitromethane from when its required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Channing Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Not a chance in hell would I put ML70 through my YS engines. Its also not an oil you will see really anywhere other than the UK. Klotz, Fuchs Aerosave, Castor are worldwide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocker Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 25 minutes ago, Ron Gray said: SMC is good quality fuel! Might have to see how much 5 lts of 10% is at SMC is then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 21 minutes ago, Jason Channing said: Not a chance in hell would I put ML70 through my YS engines. Its also not an oil you will see really anywhere other than the UK. Klotz, Fuchs Aerosave, Castor are worldwide. you would put castor in a ys but not ml70? That makes absolutely no sense at all. ML70 is perfectly suitable and is not the same as it was back when originally released. As with all oils it has been developed and works just fine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 (edited) I really don't understand the complaints. How many flights would you get from a gallon of fuel? How much per flight? All depends of course on all sorts of factors but you're probably talking a few tens of pence for a small fourstroke maybe a quid or very much more for something much bigger and thirstier and with high nitro - especially a two stroke glow. Just guesswork, but I'm sure someone will do a proper calculation. What value do you put on your hobby? I probably did a couple of gallons of diesel to get to and from the field today, so model fuel costs are usually minimal in comparison for me (all electric today btw).......my choice and value judgement for a pastime that I love doing. BTW, I wonder what the overall markup on a gallon of fuel actually is when you take into account the costs of materials, manufacture, packaging, transport, advertising and good old VAT. A few quid, I should think. Don't forget that the manufacturer and the retailer has to have a worthwhile profit, otherwise they might as well not bother at all. Edited July 21 by Cuban8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Three posts gone because you got personal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Fuel, failsafe, range checking have all become personal lately...... don't know why we appear to have become less tolerant of others opinions...... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 If someone is doing something that's different to the way I do things, providing they're not breaking the law or wilfully not abiding by club rules etc then that's perfectly fine with me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 What does seem to have happened is that one or two people have been deliberately provocative and have indeed provoked reactions. Some topics divide opinions - which are perfectly reasonable to express, especially when backed up by experience - but we must respect different points of view without resorting to personal attacks. Time to return to discussing the topic of model fuel prices if anyone has any useful information or suggestions. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 Just a heads-up…. Southern Modelcraft’s website has them listed as attending this weekend’s event at Old Warden (for which entry is free). Perhaps a good opportunity to buy your fuel without extra delivery costs. Brian. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 (edited) 1 hour ago, RottenRow said: Just a heads-up…. Southern Modelcraft’s website has them listed as attending this weekend’s event at Old Warden (for which entry is free). Perhaps a good opportunity to buy your fuel without extra delivery costs. Brian. Yes, that's very handy indeed, providing the fuel costs of driving to the event make the postage savings worthwhile. If one lived in Cornwall but was going to OW anyway, then that's a bonus. Pleased that SM are attending, but I wonder just how worthwhile it is for them? Presumably, they are charged to have their stall, fuel costs for transport aren't chickenfeed and I guess the time and effort to arrange everything even without manning their stand for hours on end is not a five minute job. Most of us are old enough to recall the days when fuel sales at shows by SM, Model Technics, Weston and a few others was huge - not the case today, so I hope they have big sales. Edited July 23 by Cuban8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 I also really appreciate retailers attending shows as I use them for shopping as well as a great chance to chat and meet other modellers…we have no “local model shops” nearby these days. Fuel is always something that I buy there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 21 hours ago, Tim Flyer said: I also really appreciate retailers attending shows as I use them for shopping as well as a great chance to chat and meet other modellers…we have no “local model shops” nearby these days. Fuel is always something that I buy there. That's all good to hear, Tim - and most of us don't have a bricks and mortar model shop withing a practical driving distance any more. My 'local' model shops are now all over the country and accessed by mail order which I find suits me fine these days. I needed some Deans type connectors yesterday for a specific purpose - none in my stock so a few clicks on Amazon Prime and they are due for delivery today. I don't use anywhere near the quantity of fuel that I used to, so my stocks last for some time - last time I ordered a couple of gallons a few month back they were sent via 48 hour courier for a tenner, which I though was pretty good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan M Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 On 21/07/2024 at 20:03, Cuban8 said: I really don't understand the complaints. How many flights would you get from a gallon of fuel? How much per flight? Erm... My Gangster 63 Irvine 53 does 12mins flying mixed aeros using 75% of a 10oz tank, about 200ml per flight... Thus 5 flights totalling one hour uses up one litre, which is a typical session for me... So 5 litres gives 5 hours concentrated flying fun over 5 sessions, at a cost of say £25 per 5 litres that's £5 per session... Shocking how utterly reasonable that is really... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Christy Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 I suspect this is the problem you get when there is a virtual monopoly in the supply chain. Not that long ago, there were two major brands, now there is only one. Yes, I know that there are other smaller suppliers, but these aren't what the majority of (remaining!) model shops stock. Further, with the declining use of i/c engines, there is little incentive for another supplier to enter the market. In days of yore, we used to mix our own, but thanks to government legislation, its almost impossible to buy nitromethane any more. Luckily, a lot of older European engines are quite happy on straight fuel....! -- Pete 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 (edited) 11 hours ago, Jonathan M said: Erm... My Gangster 63 Irvine 53 does 12mins flying mixed aeros using 75% of a 10oz tank, about 200ml per flight... Thus 5 flights totalling one hour uses up one litre, which is a typical session for me... So 5 litres gives 5 hours concentrated flying fun over 5 sessions, at a cost of say £25 per 5 litres that's £5 per session... Shocking how utterly reasonable that is really... Exactly....and with a medium sized fourstroke, probably even cheaper than with your Irvine 53 based on the 91FS in my Chippy and the frugal rate at which that sips fuel. A non-issue really. I guess the real worry over the medium term will be the possible reduced availability of the wide range of fuels that we enjoy now. Either because of future commercial pressures or nanny-state legislation as pointed out by Pete C in his comment about Nitromethane. Edited July 25 by Cuban8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cooper Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Models with a 120 F/S engine up front typically cost about £1 per flight. Models fitted with smaller engines tend to be a bit more economical. I can put up with that. . 👍 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 All depends doesn't it Brian? A pumped 120FS, or larger, in a model flown in a spirited fashion for out and out performance will obviously use much more fuel than a spot of gentle scale flying. The cost of fuel is really the least of our worries IMHO. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 6 minutes ago, Brian Cooper said: Models with a 120 F/S engine up front typically cost about £1 per flight. Models fitted with smaller engines tend to be a bit more economical. I can put up with that. . 👍 Good value, you can't get much for a pound these days, not even at the pound shops 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Manuel Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 (edited) 3 hours ago, Eric Robson said: Good value, you can't get much for a pound these days, not even at the pound shops Oh, I don't know. Three flights for a pound is about the going rate. Edited July 25 by Gary Manuel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel R Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 My biggest glow in regular service is a 15cc size four stroke in an Aeromaster - seems to get through only 6oz per 10+ minute flight, so not very much different to that Irvine 53. My maths has that at about a wopping £1 per flight. Pretty much as Brian says. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 For the maths experts, 800ml in 8 minutes at 35€ the 5 litres, and it's only a 15cc 2 stroke !. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Irrespective of all the arguments put forward, we make our own choices and pay the money, and get some fresh air with hopefully good social company.👍 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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