Table of Contents
What fuel does a nitro RC plane use?
Most RC cars and trucks use 10%-40% nitro blends. RC airplanes may use lower nitro blends of 5%-10% nitro. There are also RC engines that run on regular gasoline mixed with motor oil or diesel fuel (these are engines with spark plugs rather than glow plugs) as well as jet-turbine engines that use propane or kerosene.
How do you make glow fuel for RC planes?
It is customary to quote glow fuel components by volume. A gallon (128 fluid ounces) of fuel with 20% castor oil and 10% nitromethane has 25.6 ounces of oil, 12.8 ounces of nitro, and 89.6 ounces of alcohol.
Is glow fuel the same as nitro fuel?
RC glow fuel, also often called nitro fuel, is a special blend of three main ingredients, plus a few minor additives, used in radio control model engines.
Can I mix nitro fuel?
If your fuel is like others it will be fine to mix the two to get a different percentage of nitro. Yes absolutely you can for the same brand. It’s done all the time.
What is nitro fuel made of?
Nitro fuel is made of methanol, nitromethane, and oil, and it is readily available by the can or bottle in hobby shops. But the percentage of nitromethane in the fuel will differ, from between about 10 percent to 40 percent (20 percent is typical), depending on the type of vehicle you have.
What type of nitro fuel should I use?
Nitromethane is the ingredient in the fuel that ignites inside the engine. A higher “nitro” content generally equates to better performance. Engines are designed to run best within a range of nitro percentages. For those who want to run higher nitro, 33% is the optimum nitro percentage for Traxxas engines.
Is nitro RC fuel flammable?
Nitromethane is flammable on its own, even without oxygen, but it’s burning point is very high—higher than 4,000°F. The higher the percentage of nitromethane, the quicker the fuel can burn, translating into higher rpm and horsepower.
How do you make nitro methane?
Preparation. Nitromethane is produced industrially by combining propane and nitric acid in the gas phase at 350–450 °C (662–842 °F). This exothermic reaction produces the four industrially significant nitroalkanes: nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, and 2-nitropropane.
What is glow fuel made of?
Glow fuel is a mixture of methanol, nitromethane, and oil. Methanol is the primary ingredient as it provides the bulk of the fuel, and is needed as a solvent for the other ingredients.
Can you run a nitro rc car on alcohol?
I have tried 50/50 nitro 20% fuel and isopropal alcohol. It worked fine but i had to run it really rich to keep the engine going or it just stalled.
How long does RC nitro fuel last?
RCNT Racer fuel lasts around 6 months before you start hitting trouble.
Do Nitro RC cars need oil?
Oil Content – RC Nitro Fuel Nitro Cars typically require an oil content in the range of 7.5-12%. The car engines are not always under high amounts of load and run well with a lower than average oil content. For sport bashers, it would not hurt to run the higher 12% oil content.
Can you mix methanol and nitromethane?
If you run strictly according to volume (for example mix three gallons of nitro to one of methanol for a 75 percent mix) you’ll always be on the safe side.
How much power does nitromethane add?
There is only 1 advantage to nitromethane and that is POWER. Nitromethane will generally make 2.3 times the power of gasoline with everything else the same.
What is nitromethane in glow fuel?
Nitromethane is added to the fuel for more power and to make the engine easier to tune. Nitromethane contains less energy than the same amount of methanol, but it requires less oxygen. This means that more of it can be put into an engine during each turn of the engine. This leads to more power.
Will a Nitro RC engine run on petrol?
If you are attempting to put regular gasoline in a non-altered nitro RC car engine, then-No it won’t work properly. It will damage the engine. However, if you are retrofitting the car to run on gas, then it can run on regular fuel although maybe not at its highest potential.
What is nitromethane used for?
Nitromethane is a colorless, oily liquid with a mild disagreeable or fruity odor. It is used as a propellant, fuel additive, rocket fuel, and solvent, and in making dyes, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and explosives.
Which is faster nitro or electric RC?
Brushless motors can also handle a lot higher voltage than brushed motors. With a high voltage supply, brushless motors can help a beginner RC race at blistering speeds. RCs equipped with brushless motors currently hold the fastest speed records for RC—yes, faster than nitro.
Why does nitromethane make so much power?
The fuel comes with its own oxygen atoms to help it burn. The big advantage of nitromethane is that you can get a lot more power from each explosion inside the engine. This means that, compared to gasoline, you can pump about 8 times more nitromethane into a cylinder of a given volume and still get complete combustion.
How much does nitromethane cost per gallon?
Nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $16 US per gallon!.
How fast do nitro RC cars go?
Although Nitro cars used to be held up as the high watermark of all RC achievement, they have since been unseated by electric cars. The current world speed record for an RC car is held by the fully electric “Radio Controlled Bullet”, clocking in at an incredible 202.02 mph!Oct 25, 2017.
Does nitromethane mix with gas?
This means that nitro fuels carry two oxygen atoms as part of their chemical makeup. While nitromethane (CH3NO2) does not mix with gasoline, nitropropane (C3H7NO2) does. Squeeze more air into an engine and it will usually make more power, assuming the air-fuel ratio is correct.
