Sidewinder Fuel for .049?

GermanBeez Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:24 pm

Hi, Forum, i have a question to the fuel mixture i am using to operate my engines on:
i've just bought a bottle of sidewinder standard hobby nitrometh fuel, however it is almost completely synthetic.(ca. 1% castor).
Because of this i have also got myself some castor oil from our local drug store (my where they surprised, that someone wants castor oil...)
what i dont know is, how much i have to mix in to get a suitable fuel. the ingriedients of the fuel its self are as follows:
-16% nitromethane (i know, not perfect)
-84% methanol
-under 1 % castor
-some other synthetics
i've got a liter of this stuff (because i live in germany)
it would be great if the experts could help someone, whos just started their engine collection. Smile

nitroairplane Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:35 pm

I think you really should not run your engine on that the minimum amount of castor oil you should have in your cox engine is 10% but if you mix that with your fuel you will get a very low nitromethane content I recomend you get some real 1/2a fuel or buy some high percentage nitro fuel i mean 30% or above and then put some castor oil in that then at least you will get a decent nitro content.The minimum total oil i recomend is 20% and at least 10% of that must be castor oil or in the past when i did not have any castor oil to hand i mixed it with olive oil and that was decent but not ideal.

GermanBeez Thu Jun 16, 2011 3:56 am

well, i havent tried it yet on this fuel mix...so no harm was done :-)
i just dont know where i should get the original 1/2 A mix anywhere in germany....
theoretically, i could mix some additional nitrometh in with it, to make it up, right?

**Admin** Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:44 pm

I'm surprised that you can't find any 1/2A there! From what I hear, these engines and other small glow engines are popular in Germany. Can you order fuel online? I believe Sig could ship it to Germany, it would have to come across by sea as they cant ship it by air. http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.exe/IndexText/FSIGCF001.html?E+Sig I run most of my Cox engines on Sig 25% (its mainly 1/2A).

nitroairplane Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:27 pm

If sig won't send to Germany I am sure you can buy model technics fuel and they make one that is 25% nitro and 20% castor oil and that Is ideal it is what I use for all my cox engines.

nitroairplane Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:28 pm

If sig won't send to Germany I am sure you can buy model technics fuel and they make one that is 25% nitro and 20% castor oil and that Is ideal it is what I use for all my cox engines.

nitroairplane Thu Jun 16, 2011 4:29 pm

Oops I did not mean to post that twice but I am replying on my phone and I was not sure if a sent the reply

EXModelEngines Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:32 pm

If you go to the Sig Website, www.sigmfg.com I would look for a dealer near you that carries their products.

The fuel you are describing does not sound ideal. As others have mentioned the oil content is the key. I would recommend a fuel that has around 20% oil content, and half or more of that should be castor.

Yes, Cox engines run best on 25% nitro, but you can get away with a lower nitro content in that is all you have available. The oil is really the more important component.

Good Luck!

Matt.

nitroairplane Fri Jun 17, 2011 1:56 am

But my fuel is Ideal because it has 25% nitro and 20% castor oil?

GermanBeez Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:37 am

Hm...well, i found a fuel available here, that IS synthetic but has 30% nitro... so simply adding castor might just be possible....
the problem with shipping fuel overseas are the customs. when they find out tha my package contains a VERY volatile and poisonous liquid,
i'll probably have to pay a LOT, or they would cofiscate it...

GermanBeez Fri Jun 17, 2011 3:43 am

aha,i've just found a dealer in nurnberg(i live near munich=> good)
but it seems, he doesnt ship his fuel anywhere...probably to big a hassle with shipping flammable fluids...
hm...i think,ill write them an e-mail, and see if they can ship it...

nitroairplane Fri Jun 17, 2011 4:35 pm

Congatulations on finding fuel if he will not ship I am sure you could arrange a courier service to pick it up.
I am sure you will greatly enjoy this hobby and if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.
Have fun,
nittpairplane

GermanBeez Sat Jun 18, 2011 2:23 am

Thanks!!
You guys are a great help!
My neighbour told me about a local hobby store(in germany,
They're called model stores, if anybody wants to know Very Happy

)
Who supposadly sells high nitro percentage fuel, so i might
Just get lucky today....
"Servus" from bavaria

EXModelEngines Sun Jun 19, 2011 9:04 pm

Congrats on the fuel!

nitroairplane

I'm sure everyone has their preference, but I thats what I like the best.

Matt.

nitroairplane Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:59 am

I like that but some people who's names have escaped me at the moment found that they got more power from around 30% castor fuel he said it made needle vale adjustment easier and more reliable he was also using 30% nitro fuel. I tries that but there was only a noticeable difference with my tee dee .010 it had more power but needle valve adjustments were not greatly altered I am certain that the performance change was only dilue to the nitro content and not the oil content.that fuel was extremely messy and engines shellacked really quickly.

GermanBeez Mon Jun 20, 2011 3:15 am

30 % castor?
that must have a syrup-like viscosity Very Happy

i can understand that it wont perform well....

EXModelEngines Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:26 am

I guess I should qualify that when I said ideal I was mainly referring to the best all around fuel.

I'm sure one could experiment with fuels, and get better results for a particular engine.

Matt.

nitroairplane Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:46 pm

On diesel I have run both pee wee .020 and babe bee .049 on thirds mix that consists of 1/3 ether 1/3 Kerosene and 1/3 castor oil and that ran fine but was extrmely messy. The best diesel fuel for diesel cox engines I believe is d1000 that is 28% castor oil although when I tried to run anchor .010 as a diesel using that blend I broke two cranks but I will go back to that later on.

GermanBeez Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:48 am

how do you actually get the cranks out of the motor?
it seems to me like the propeller driveplate was pressed on there by a machine, and it cant possibly be removed...

nitroairplane Tue Jun 21, 2011 11:02 am

I have actually never taken one off but apparently if you secure the crankcase in a vice and screw the prop screw
In and then tap it with a hammer it should pop off once tried to do this with a shuttered .049 but couldn't get it off and I was so annoyed that I melted the crankcase with a blowtorch to remove the crank then I bough a new crankcase for £4

EXModelEngines Tue Jun 21, 2011 4:04 pm

The easiest way to remove the propeller driveplate from the crankcase is to:

Take the propeller screw and thread it about 4 turns

Place the crankcase assembly on a hard, flat surface and tap on it with a hammer until it separates from the crankshaft

You will then be able to pull the crankshaft out of the crankcase and clean it properly.

To reinstall it you can use a small press or a hub and stud.

Matt.

**Admin** Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:29 pm

replacing a broken crankshaft in a early Babe Bee >https://sites.google.com/site/coxenginecollection/replacing-a-broken-crankshaft-in-a-post-1959-babe-bee

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