Boll Aero 18 fuel

[Drei]

Hi,

I am going to attemp the Boll Aero 18 engine, but I have a problem regarding the fue!!! It' s not about the mixture but from where I can buy some. I'm from Malta and I' ve serched in some model model shops but with no sucsess
Do you know ( if there is) some web sites who sell the fuel and ship to Malta !!
Please help :bow:

Thanks
Drei

 

[AlanHaisley]

Drei,

Your best bet is either in England or Italy. I did find a formula for diesel fuel but it is problematic to mix it yourself since the formula requires both diethyl ether and either amyl nitrate or iso-propyl nitrate.

Apparently in the USA they use amyl nitrate as an accelerant while in England they use iso-propyl nitrate.

One formula is

• kerosene 43%
• castor oil 24%
• diethyl ether 30%
• amyl nitrate 3%

If iso-propyl nitrate is used instead of amyl nitrate, there should be 2% of it and a little more kerosene, I think.

Some of these are controlled substances in the USA. Also, I would think that shipping of the raw ingredients from country to country or even within a country could be restricted.

Alan

 

[Paulsv]

Lots of information about the fuel here:

http://modelenginenews.org/

In the left hand column, click on "Resources," and then on FAQ. There are about 3 different FAQ questions about fuel for compression ignition engines like the Boll Aero

 

[Drei]

Thnaks for replying... I will search more since I am willing to make the Boll Aero ....
But if not, we attempt another engine :-\

Drei

 

[Blogwitch]

Drei,

You are correct in attempting to produce the fuel first, there would be nothing more annoying than making an engine you can't run. But I think you will have great difficulty in getting anything with such a volatile ingredient sent by any method, it is just too volatile, especially in the worldwide climate of unrest we live in.

You might be lucky and find an apothecary who is willing to supply you with some sort of ether. That is the way I had to do it many years ago, and they would only supply me with small quantities, I also had to sign the poisons register. Take a selection of recipes with you, preferably printed out from a reputable website, just so that they may be able to match with something they carry in stock, and to attempt to persuade them that you want it for legitimate reasons.

You might find that a plea for help in a local paper will be more forthcoming, because I am sure someone else on Malta has had the same problem in the past, or even currently.


Blogs

 

[samuel10]

Hi my name is jason can you use 25% ether starting fluid .

 

[lensman57]

Hi,

I am going to attemp the Boll Aero 18 engine, but I have a problem regarding the fue!!! It' s not about the mixture but from where I can buy some. I'm from Malta and I' ve serched in some model model shops but with no sucsess
Do you know ( if there is) some web sites who sell the fuel and ship to Malta !!
Please help :bow:

Thanks
Drei

Hi,

What you want is something like Model Technics D2000 diesel fuel, sadly Model Technics do not directly deal with the public and the very few outlets that stock this fuel do not ship them via mail order and has to be bought over the counter as far as the UK is concerend. So unless you can get hold of the ingredients yourself and mix them up, you 'd have a hell of a job getting hold of Ether and Isopropyl nitrade BTW, there is very little you can do about this fuel and that is a shame. Perhaps things are easier in the US or other parts of Europe.

Regards,

A.G

 

[gus]

In the 1950s.The local aeromodel clubs in Singapore mixed their own diesel because the imported
aeromodel fuel was very expensive and beyond our school boy budget.
I can only recall the mixture ration. 3:2:1. It is kerosene castor oil and alcohol.
As for which is 3 and which 2 and which is 1.My memory cannot recall. Will try to contact my class mate now in North Carolina.. Good Luck.

 

[mcostello]

I am a home shop machinist lurker here. I am wondering why an engine is so special that it cannot run on something commonly available. Can any one enlighten me?

 

[Ramon]

Hi guy's - couldn't get on here earlier - my wife spilt water on the keyboard and the monitor on the main job - back on the laptop at last.

'Diesel' fuel - this is a perrenial problem for many would be builders but it can be overcome with perseverance in some but not all quarters.

Firstly to answer MCostello - these small IC engines rely on compression to ignite the fuel mixture. They are two strokes and as such do not have fuel injection so the fuel contains an ether component which ignites at the temperatures involved at the kinds of compression achieved. The word 'diesel' is somewhat a misnomer but was the generic term applied many years ago when they first came on the modelling scene as distinct from spark ignition and glow. They will not run on 'true' diesel fuel nor will they run on glow or 'nitro' fuel

The most basic mix is 33:33:33 of ether, paraffin, and oil - usually castor. This basic mix is fine for older sideport engines eg the Mills 75 etc but once the engine is capable of a bit more performance the proportions vary as well as the addition of an ignition improver - the performance of any given engine noticeably improving. The 'sport' mix I regularly use consists of 38% paraffin, 30% Ether and 30% castor oil plus 2% Ign Imp.
As as already been stated this improver used to be Amyl Nitrate (or Nitrite) but this is now virtually impossible to source and was replaced by IPN - Iso-Propyl-Nitrate but I believe that even this is difficult to obtain now. Here in the UK an 'Ignition Improver' is available from at least one fuel producer but I have no idea exactly what it is, only that it works.

In their heyday these engines were available from virtually all UK model shops who also kept a reasonable stock of fuel. There were many manufacturers of fuel too but these days it appears there are only two major suppliers (of glow fuel) who also sell diesel. Since the advent of 'Nitro' motor powered models the popularity of the small diesel has waned and sourcing the fuel from the usual outlets is nigh on impossible. However most shops - in the uk - who deal with 'Model Technics' the main fuel supplier are usually happy to include an individual order for diesel fuel along with their usual main order for glow (nitro) fuel. Model Technics do three 'grades of diesel - D1000, D2000, D3000 or to keep it simple - basic, sport and contest.

These engines can run on non ether based fuels as has been mentioned on here before though I have no personal experience of doing so. I believe however that even then the engine has to be started on a conventional ether based fuel before switching over.

Several people have successfully used the high ether content engine starter fluids as the ether content but as I have no experience of this either am hesitant to recommend it - perhaps others could enlighten us.

I'm afraid that doesn't help you very much in your situation Drei however as an alternative perhaps you could consider making an engine with glow plug ignition - why not try the Firefly a .40 cu in engine as recently built by Jason B on here. Like the Boll Aero this can be made from barstock and I'm sure you will find it much easier to locate a source of glow fuel where you are

Hope this helps some

Regards - Ramon