!0% vrs !5%
08-29-2024, 06:18 AM
#1
Thread Starter
!0% vrs !5%
I just bought a 105 in wing span Areonca Champ with a 1.20 size engine, don,t know the engine make. The guy I bought it from said he used 15% nitro fuel in it. He said he used 15% in almost all his glow engines. I use 10% in my 46 and 70 size engines with no apparent issues. Would 15% be better? I know high performance automobile engines use premium and lower performing engines use regular gasoline. This, I believe has something to do with higher compression of the engine requiring premium gas which has a higher octane rating which is a antiknock compound. Does this type of scenario work for glow fuel? Using premium in a regular car engine is a waste of money. What would happen if you switched from 10% to 15% glow fuel in an engine that was used to 10%? Would the 1.20 run ok on 10%? I also use synthetic glow fuel. Any problems if you switch to castor, if ,say the synthetic fuel one usually uses isn't available?
08-30-2024, 07:59 AM
#3
In your case going from 15% to 10% won't make much difference. It makes a difference in smaller engines. My .15's and .25's like a little more nitro. Nitro actually likes lower compression. It's actually the opposite of an antiknock compound. It lowers the cylinder pressure where ignition occurs. This is like advancing the ignition in an auto engine. A little bit of nitro, 5%, improves starting and idle.
If castor is what you have on hand, then use it. As BarracudaHockey notes it is more messy and it gets gummy if you leave the engine sitting in storage. I run castor and castor synthetic blend but some of my engines are older and the lapped iron pistons like the castor.
You may see some differences in tuning and top end power but the bottom line is that you can safely run any commercially available sport fuel from 5-15% nitro without any problems. I would be cautious about running blends for other applications such as cars or helis due to possible variations in oil content.
If castor is what you have on hand, then use it. As BarracudaHockey notes it is more messy and it gets gummy if you leave the engine sitting in storage. I run castor and castor synthetic blend but some of my engines are older and the lapped iron pistons like the castor.
You may see some differences in tuning and top end power but the bottom line is that you can safely run any commercially available sport fuel from 5-15% nitro without any problems. I would be cautious about running blends for other applications such as cars or helis due to possible variations in oil content.
