Talk:Glow fuel

Glow fuel vs nitromethane:

The nitromethane article does have a small section that talks about glow fuel, but considering that glow fuel often doesn't have any nitromethane in it at all, I thought a seperate article was appropriate. I'm also not sure I like the name glow fuel, but perhaps it's better than model fuel?

Also, the diesel fuel section could use a lot more (or could be removed -- it's NOT glow fuel!) -- talk about it's name (even glow engines generally work by dieseling) and about how it's different. It might even warrant it's own article. But I don't know that much about it, so ...

dougmc 19:56, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

% Nitro
Typically, club flying (something like a .40 2 stroke) uses fuel containing only 5% nitro, increasing to 10% for helicopters, and 15% for really small engines (eg Cox .049). I'd suggest that higher than this is quite uncommon.

Odd, my experience is different. Most club flying uses 10-15% nitro with 5% being very rare, with helicopters and cars using up to 30%. This would be in the US -- Texas, to be more specific. You wouldn't happen to live in Europe, would you? dougmc (talk) 22:03, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

I've heard of these kinds of mixtures being used in Europe. An Italian-made Super Tigre can run on 5% nitro while a Czech-made Mark can run just fine on FAI fuel. Here in the "nanny state" of California, I run Byron's when I need to buy it locally or Powermaster if I happen to be visiting family. A hobby shop near them carries it and it's great. They make fuel for Traxxas as well. I just picked up a gallon of Cool Power and I've heard great things about the stuff. Getting back on track, all these fuels are 15% nitro and 16% oil. I got a great deal on a gallon of Magnum 12% heli fuel with 22% oil content. I don't own a nitro helicopter, but the stuff runs great in a plane I have with a Thunder Tiger .40 two-stroke. It's slimy as all get-out, though. It also isn't quite as powerful because of the reduced alcohol content. My Evolution .46 doesn't like the stuff and I wouldn't run it in my screaming Kyosho Phantom 70 biplane with an O.S. LX46 on a bet. --PMDrive1061 (talk) 16:10, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Safety
Might be worth pointing out that: methanol ignites easily, and burns nearly invisibly. Methanol is moderately toxic, even by skin contact (but castor is good for the skin!). Nitromethane is also a solvent for cyanoacrylate! On the other hand, is methanol safer to handle than gasoline? My impression (unverified) is that methanol tends to fume less, and is slightly less likely to be dangerous if handled "casually".

I've heard that castor oil is very toxic when ingested. I use gloves when handling the stuff. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.94.54.14 (talk) 07:28, 17 February 2009 (UTC)


 * My local hobby store sells 10% to 40% Nitromethane containing fuel. Although Nitro compounds are used medicinally, e.g. Nitroglycerin, they interact with the human body's Nitric Oxide system and can be very toxic. Nitromethane is a Monopropellant, see rocketry, and can provide propulsion with no oxygen at all. As with most explosives, the burning rate (velocity) of Nitromethane increases with pressure. Nitromethane can be detonated. From news reports of accidents, Nitromethane may detonate without containment. Castor oil has a nasty taste and caused gut cramping diarrhea, a fact used by previous generations to punish children. Nobody died. You are thinking of the poison Ricin found in the Castor Bean meal left over from expressing the oil. (The sap is also apparently toxic to animals.) Although several beans worth will make you somewhat sick, the meal is filtered out since it detracts from the lubricating benefits of the oil. Castor oil contains hydroxylated components that assist in sticking to metal and solubility in methanol. (FYI: Canola oil is expressed from toxic rapeseed.) Ethyl Alcohol is an antidote to Methanol, its binding constant to Alcohol Dehydrogenase is 100 times that of Methyl Alcohol. Methyl Alcohol is commonly found in many fruits: Pear wine contains about 1%. (I'd be more worried about the Cyanide in Beans, Almonds, Cherries, and Chestnuts.)

Hope that makes you feel better. Shjacks45 (talk) 08:35, 3 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Oh yeah. The fumes from the fuel contain formaldehyde (from methanol), as well as cyanide (low % nitromethane burning with low oxygen), and Carbon Monoxide, as well as inhaling Castor Oil vapor which is much more toxic than ingested or on your skin.

Shjacks45 (talk) 08:40, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Glow fuel is primarily for two stroke engines
Glow fuel is primarily for two stroke engines with the need for oil mixed in the fuel and limited exhaust and fuel/air between cycles. Shjacks45 (talk) 08:44, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Nitromethane and nitric acid.
I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right place, or that I'm posting it correctly, but I do need to point out this glaring contradiction. On the page for glow fuel, towards the end of the lubrication section, there is the very oddly capitalized claim: "(This is a common myth. Nitromethane does Not transform into any type of acid. The problem is methanol is highly hydrophilic which means it absorbs moisture from the air and deposits in on the various parts of the engine which is what causes the corrosion blamed on Nitromethane.)" But on the page for nitromethane, just under the section as an engine fuel, it spells out the chemical reaction which produces nitric acid: 4 CH3NO2 + 5 O2 → 4 CO2 + 6 H2O + 4 NO

So one of these must be incorrect, and my uneducated opinion is that it's the weirdly capitalized, and weirdly located, claim on the glow fuel page, which is notably lacking in citations.