Did I just ruin my fuel?

[3_Stroke_Motor]

I was running my Jato the other day before I went to work. I accidentally left my gallon fuel bottle in my car and for about 6 hours it sat in a 110 degree plus car. Today when I tried to start it up, it wont run without the EZ Start igniting the glow plug and after words it will idle for about 5 seconds as the RPM slowly decreases until it finally dies. Yes, the glow plug is still good, as the plug ran just fine in my DBX, which runs 35% fuel (not left in car at work) and the Jato runs 20% which WAS left in the car. Dont ask why they run different %eges, I just wasn't thinking when I bought fuel to break in the DBX. So anyway, is the fuel dead? It is old anyway, about 2-3 years old unsealed so I know this is part of the problem, but did that extreme heat finally do it in?

 

[sv250]

The heat could have expanded the bottle to the point where the alch. evaporated and leaked out. Now you have a very oily fuel that wont burn.

 

[3_Stroke_Motor]

seems like so... any ideas on how to have fun with some old dead nitro fuel? Fire starter? or be boring and "dispose of the fuel properly" as it says on the bottle.

 

[sv250]

Ant hill bar-b-q

 

[cwal1774]

I left my gallon of fuel in the back of my jeep for 6 days when it was 106 outside. I'm still using it. Works fine.

 

[sv250]

Depends on how the seal did on the bottle. His wont run without the glow driver. A not so good seal allows the gas(alch) to escape.

 

[cwal1774]

Mine has a plastic plug that is a pain in the butt to get out sometimes intead of the cardboard gasket inside the lid.

 

[sv250]

That plastic plug is great for keeping the fuel in good condition.

 

[mrbones]

NAAAAAAA.......... That won't trash your fuel. A buddy of mine leaves his in his trunk all summer long and it runs just fine. What will ruin it is leaving the lid off for a long time and letting the humidity get to it. Methanol is like a sponge when it come to water and it will suck the moisture right out of the air. When I open my fuel, I always put that plug back in the top when I store it. Probably don't need to do that but I do.

 

[WinnersCircle]

I was running my Jato the other day before I went to work. I accidentally left my gallon fuel bottle in my car and for about 6 hours it sat in a 110 degree plus car. Today when I tried to start it up, it wont run without the EZ Start igniting the glow plug and after words it will idle for about 5 seconds as the RPM slowly decreases until it finally dies. Yes, the glow plug is still good, as the plug ran just fine in my DBX, which runs 35% fuel (not left in car at work) and the Jato runs 20% which WAS left in the car. Dont ask why they run different %eges, I just wasn't thinking when I bought fuel to break in the DBX. So anyway, is the fuel dead? It is old anyway, about 2-3 years old unsealed so I know this is part of the problem, but did that extreme heat finally do it in?

I think you have a tuning issue. Your fuel is fine. It sounds lean on the bottom to me. Increase the idle speed and then richen the low end. Readjust the idle speed after you get the low speed mixture right.

Lee

 

[3_Stroke_Motor]

I think you have a tuning issue. Your fuel is fine. It sounds lean on the bottom to me. Increase the idle speed and then richen the low end. Readjust the idle speed after you get the low speed mixture right.

Lee

No, the tuning is just fine, I always run the LSN and HSN on the rich side anyway, because my needs dont require that power and speed that the Jato provides, and I have a healthy engine to show for it too. It was in fact the fuel, bought a new gallon today, cleaned out the tubing and crankcase of the old fuel and put in the new changed the glow plug (it was time for a new plug anyway)... fired right up.

---------- Post added at 11:02 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------

Ant hill bar-b-q

unfortunately, here in south west Virginia, we dont have ant hills alot. This will be used for wasp holes!

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

As long as it wasn't in direct sunlight and the lid was on tight then it should be just fine. If the color has changed then it might be going bad.

 

[MudSlinger33]

This will be used for wasp holes!

That sounds dangerously fun!

 

[Rolex]

Old fuel is an excellent weed killer.

 

[2revo1maxx]

Rolex would know, because he sure doesn't put fuel in the tank!

---------- Post added at 7:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 7:12 PM ----------

:banana-mario:

 

[TRXaddict]

Buy new fuel, but what ever you do DO NOT throw it away.. the bad gal of fuel can be used for oil filter oil. Leave the gallon with the lid off for awhile.. probably after a couple weeks youll have alot of oil for your air filter and then youll be atleast saving money in some sort.

 

[Snook Man]

Install a new plug...

 

[j.wain]

I was running my Jato the other day before I went to work. I accidentally left my gallon fuel bottle in my car and for about 6 hours it sat in a 110 degree plus car. Today when I tried to start it up, it wont run without the EZ Start igniting the glow plug and after words it will idle for about 5 seconds as the RPM slowly decreases until it finally dies. Yes, the glow plug is still good, as the plug ran just fine in my DBX, which runs 35% fuel (not left in car at work) and the Jato runs 20% which WAS left in the car. Dont ask why they run different %eges, I just wasn't thinking when I bought fuel to break in the DBX. So anyway, is the fuel dead? It is old anyway, about 2-3 years old unsealed so I know this is part of the problem, but did that extreme heat finally do it in?

How can you tell when your fuel has gone "bad"?
The first indications will generally be the inability to start the engines at previously run needle-valve settings. Another clue might be that the engine has very poor idle, runs but bogs down tremendously during run up and/or will not attain the same RPMs you are used to.

"How do I keep my fuel fresh?
If you have the opportunity, look for someone at a flying field on a sunny day who has a jug of fuel that is only ¼ full. What you may notice is that there are droplets attached to the top and sides of the fuel. This is the moisture in the air that is condensing inside the jug because of the greenhouse effect of the semi-translucent plastic jug. One way to overcome the greenhouse effect is to store your fuel in a metal can."

I found this.... as my nitro car decided to stop working I i looked in to the fuel being at fault, one way to see if the engine has been effected by to much oli is to take the heat sink odd and try to pull the pull start or some how move the piston and if there's a thick black/grey residue there's to much oli in the fuel... hope this helps

 

[3_Stroke_Motor]

How can you tell when your fuel has gone "bad"?
The first indications will generally be the inability to start the engines at previously run needle-valve settings. Another clue might be that the engine has very poor idle, runs but bogs down tremendously during run up and/or will not attain the same RPMs you are used to.

"How do I keep my fuel fresh?
If you have the opportunity, look for someone at a flying field on a sunny day who has a jug of fuel that is only ¼ full. What you may notice is that there are droplets attached to the top and sides of the fuel. This is the moisture in the air that is condensing inside the jug because of the greenhouse effect of the semi-translucent plastic jug. One way to overcome the greenhouse effect is to store your fuel in a metal can."

I found this.... as my nitro car decided to stop working I i looked in to the fuel being at fault, one way to see if the engine has been effected by to much oli is to take the heat sink odd and try to pull the pull start or some how move the piston and if there's a thick black/grey residue there's to much oli in the fuel... hope this helps

Thanks for telling me exactly what I've already known from 5 years of being in the nitro hobby... lol, I know key signs that fuel is going bad, discoloration, evap of ethanol and age. But this fuel was already flirting on the line of being bad anyway being really old, all that isn't news to me, just wondering if that prolonged stay in my jeep was enough to finally kill it. I'm certainly no newbie to the Nitro side of the hobby, I've got a good deal of experience under my belt. It's all in good fun though!

---------- Post added at 7:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 7:04 PM ----------

Update! I just 5 minutes ago decided to see how nitro burns uncontrolled out of an engine! Took an old candle tin and put ~25 cc of fuel in there and tossed a match in, it burned surprisingly very controlled, this may be due to the reduced volatility of the fuel, but I was expecting a flare up much like gasoline! I burned for about 2 or 3 minutes and it was a very soft dim white flame, and a big flame too! It came out about 7 inches from the top of a 5 inch tin, and burned forever!