[valhalla]

Thanks for all your help. I found a local source for methanol/methyl hydrate. Cost works out to FAI fuel with 12% oil content (for big Super Tigre) at about $10.00 a jug.

[plncrzy]

Oh Yea... just to add and potentially save for others... I also knew of a senior modeler in BC.. who flew large 1/4scale + running Super tigers 3500's etc... He ran Wall mart Methyl Hydrate + the cheapest engine oil he could find usually the $1.00/lt type no name brand... I saw the engine/plane fly and it ran flawlessly... he told me that he goes through bearings a little quicker with this cheap fuel/oil mixture..... but the savings far offset the cost of more frequent bearing replacements.

[eduardo]

Wow, this thread, of humble beginnings, has generated quite a lively and extended debate! I suggest we all go out for a beer and get the type of alcohol that really matters!

Eduardo

[wise guy]

I mixed my own fuel using methyl hydrate alchol bought at Canadian Tire and castor oil from the drug store and added 5% coleman stove fuel { napta] .Also do not use more than 5% of coleman fuel may wash the caster off the cylinder anyways this fuel worked good in a K+B motor which usually used 10% fuel

[plncrzy]

Originally Posted by eduardo

Wow, this thread, of humble beginnings, has generated quite a lively and extended debate! I suggest we all go out for a beer and get the type of alcohol that really matters!

Eduardo

Now thats one alcohol I wont substitute!

[AJCoholic]

I have some home made stuff (my aunt in Europe has an orchard & distillery and makes a special plum brandy thats VERY potent) in my booze cabinet that would probably run in a glow engine just fine... but that would be quite a waste!

[valhalla]

Would probably smell nice, though!

[rcjetguy]

Hi All, A really interesting thread! I enjoyed it. Only problem is, I have already ordered our fuel for this season- 2 cases of Wild Cat 5% DF fuel to go with the 1 case left over from last year. And next year we hope to burn kerosene. Anyone know of a cheap substitute for kero?
Rcjetguy

[propwash2]

This must be the billionth time I have seen the same misnomers hashed about regarding methyl hydrate. Yes you can make glow fuel from methyl hydrate.

Methyl Hydrate is a purely "Canadian" name for methanol ,methyl alcohol, good old CH3OH. There must be 20 different names for methyl alcohol but they are all referring to the exact same thing CH3OH.

methanol, carbinol, colonial spirit, columbian spirit, methylol, methyl hydrate, wood alcohol, wood naphtha, wood spirit, methyl hydroxide, pyroxylic spirit and on and on ..........

Methanol is often called wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood. It is now produced synthetically by the direct combination of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases, heated under pressure in the presence of a catalyst.


The only difference between the jug of methyl hydrate at the hardware store and the tanker truck of methanol I buy to keep my gas wells from freezing off is the price per litre.

The best deal for methanol I've seen is at SUPERSTORE which sells it for $5.88 for 4 litres in their automotive section.


Here are a few of the common myths about methanol etc. that keep popping up.

Myth #1 Methyl hydrate is methanol with water added to it

No -its just a different name ( a Canadian name) for methanol - its the same 99+% pure product..... probably got its name from the fact that methanol is used in Canada to prevent hydrates from forming in gas and gasoline lines ( gasline antifreeze). or maybe it came from the fact that methane gas is used to form the CO and H2 which are reacted on a catalyst to form methanol so some twit likened it to a "hydrated" liquid form of methane gas - who knows or cares....

The only drawback to using that jug from the hardware store is the price.


Myth #2 You can get water out of fuel by freezing it as the water will solidify and you can dump it out.

Uh - no - bad idea.. Methanol is totally miscible in water and the only way to separate them once combined is by distillation. So that jelly glob you just scooped out of your cold fuel is the oil which does start to drop out and congeal when it gets cold. Your engine will likely run better on the new low oil fuel you have just created for awhile til you seize it.

If you have a jug of fuel you think is water contaminated there is no way of getting the water out of it besides distillation. If memory serves me correctly you can have up to 3% water content before it becomes troublesome and your idle and transition crap out.
Keep you fuel tightly capped at all times as methanol is hydroscopic and
readily sucks moisture out of the air.



OTHER METHANOL TRIVIA

One of the drawbacks of methanol as a fuel is its corrosivity to some metals, including aluminium. Methanol, although only a weak acid, attacks the oxide coating that normally protects the aluminium from corrosion:

6CH3OH + 2Al → 2Al3+ + 6CH3O− + 3H2
The resulting methoxide salts are soluble in methanol, so the corrosion continues until the metal is eaten away.


Unlike petroleum fires, methanol fires can be extinguished with plain water (while methanol is lighter than water, they are miscible, and the addition of water will cause the fire to use its heat boiling the water).


Methanol is a petrochemical that is used to make countless industrial and consumer products such as synthetic textiles, recyclable plastics, household paints and adhesives, foam cushions and pillows, and even common medicines such as ASA (acetylsalicylic acid).

Methanol is used to manufacture a fuel component that when added to gasoline makes the gas burn more cleanly and produce fewer emissions. Methanol is also used to remove nitrates from municipal waste water.


World demand for methanol is around 32 million tonnes per year and increasing modestly by about 2 to 3 per cent per year. The production of formaldehyde represents one-half of world methanol demand.

[valhalla]

Propwash... great contribution, thanks. I'll have to take a look at what Superstore is charging locally before I order a 201 litre barrel.