Nitro Fuel Mixing

[Zimflier]

Good day fellow hobbyists from a chilly Zimbabwe,
I have been cogitating on mixing my own fuel and can get ethanol fairly easily. Can anyone tell me if I can use ethanol instead of methanol? Further can I also just use the 2 ingredients being ethanol and oil. I can get a fairly high grade synthetic oil locally.
Await further comments
Regards
Zimflier

[Alpha]

Welcome, Zimflier ! In general, ethanol can be used in a fuel system designed for methanol, but you'll most likely make less power in an RC engine with ethanol. I haven't tested this deeply myself, so most is conjecture and based on my understanding of chemistry and how these propulsion systems are intended to work. What engine are you using, specifically, and what idle/peak rpm requirements do you have? I would imagine that a higher rpm would be required on a typical 4 stroke running ethanol compared to methanol.

Ethanol is obviously far safer than methanol from a toxicity standpoint, so we should assume there are other reasons why ethanol isn't a more common RC fuel. In California years ago I had seen pilots mix the two, but I never paid much attention to the results.

NOTE: For anyone reading who is not familiar with Methanol vs Ethanol, especially in the 2020 era of Hand Sanitizer everywhere, Methanol is TOXIC and POISONOUS, while Ethanol is often seen as a safe ingredient in hand sanitizer. Be safe out there!

[Zimflier]

Thank you Alpha for your comments. I will probably be using a OS .40 Max. Having said that I personally have not been out to the field for some months. All my nitro planes are currently hanging in my hangar in a storage state. I was just trying to do some planning to get a plane in the air again.

[Elbee]

Zimflier, Welcome to "The Squawk", glad you're on board. An OS .40 FSR ABC was my first engine of any consequence some 36+ years ago. I still have it and it runs great. Best of luck with your fuel fix. Please post all your results and pictures of your aircraft, as well. Looking forward to it. Best, LB

[Zimflier]

Thanks Elbee. Will find some pictures of our club. Just have to retrieve them from the archives.