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Author Topic: Nitro is cheaper than oil?  (Read 843 times)

Offline Mark Mc

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Nitro is cheaper than oil?
« on: December 28, 2022, 07:52:24 PM »
I am about to mix up some 35% nitro for the upcoming season.  I have gotten used to the 50/50 mix for castor/synthetic in my engines, so that’s what I was going to mix up.  I have a quart of SIG castor, but I need some synthetic, so I was going to get some Klotz.  And maybe some Benol so I could mix up some fuel for my Fox 35s.  From what I’ve read, SIG buys Klotz in the 55 gallon barrel for their fuel.

Looking online at Amazon seemed to be my best bet.  But, MAN! Oil is expensive!  I was thinking I’d use Klotz KL-198 for the synthetic.  It’s full synthetic, but a little lower viscosity than Klotz Techniplate KL-200. Also a little more on price.  It comes out to 57 cents/oz. for the -198 and 47 cents/oz. for the Techniplate.  For castor the Benol comes out to 45 cents/oz.  And just for fun, I looked up the medical grade castor sold by Walmart, and it sells for 46 cents per ounce. 

And an ounce of nitro only costs me 39 cents!  Still a lot cheaper than buying pre-mixed, but the price distribution makes me scratch my head a little.

The Mixologist Mark

Offline Chuck Matheny

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Re: Nitro is cheaper than oil?
« Reply #1 on: December 28, 2022, 08:41:20 PM »
 Last time I bought a 5 gallon can of  nitro was around 2008 [from a VP Dealer] and it cost less than the Klotz or the castor..
Once I realized this..then it became clear why commercial fuel dealers use the least amount of oil that they think they can get away with.

Offline Dave Hull

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Re: Nitro is cheaper than oil?
« Reply #2 on: December 28, 2022, 10:42:48 PM »
McMark, that is an amazingly low price for nitro, if you are getting it today for only $50 per gallon. And, if it is straight nitro, not a stabilized-with-methanol mix...?

Chuck, the real comparison for how a fuel blender might save money is not comparing the oil to nitro cost differential, but to the alcohol, which is always waaaay cheaper.

Offline Mark Mc

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Re: Nitro is cheaper than oil?
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2022, 03:04:48 PM »
Well, it was $50 a gallon about five months ago, I don't know about today.  I was very happy when I heard what it cost.  A fellow club member went to the speed shop and he bought a gallon for me when he got his.  A month later I was driving across town and happened to look across the street I was driving down and noticed the speed shop he had gotten it at.  So I stopped in and bought another gallon of nitro, and five gallons of Methanol.  I'm set for a little while.

Mark

Offline Chuck Matheny

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Re: Nitro is cheaper than oil?
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2022, 09:38:58 PM »
McMark, that is an amazingly low price for nitro, if you are getting it today for only $50 per gallon. And, if it is straight nitro, not a stabilized-with-methanol mix...?

Chuck, the real comparison for how a fuel blender might save money is not comparing the oil to nitro cost differential, but to the alcohol, which is always waaaay cheaper.

When I mix up a batch of fuel for any certain class of engine I know in advance what percent I want the nitro to be and what percent I know the  oil content needs to be without fail.
The remainder is whatever the alky content happens to be.
When I buy a gallon of commercial fuel [of unknown oil content] I have learned from bad experience that it is wise to top off the dead airspace at the top of the jug with castor oil.
If there is any place where "cutting corners" can be done it is with fuel suppliers who choose not to tell their customers what the actual oil content is.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2022, 10:55:56 PM by Chuck Matheny »


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