Bob,
Great to have a partner in crime that likes diesel. What engine are you running? If fixed compression (i.e. Drone Diesel) you run different fuel then more current engines. For fixed compression the fuel is 75% ether/25% 25 SAE mineral oil (you need this to calm down the ether to prevent detonation), no kero or ignition improver. the best source for high ether starter fluid is John Deer SF.
For engines with VC heads you can use a mix of 35% ether, 25% oil, 2% cetane improver with the balance kero. Dr. Diesel fuel will work great or you can mix some starter fluid fuel. For this you can use any starter fluid that is high in ether. Simple way to tell is look at the list of components, if the ether is listed first it has more that 50%, heptane is the balance and pretty much just like kero. Just figure oil to be 25%, then the rest is the starter fluid. Since there is no kerosene you need to use 70/30 25 SAE mineral oil/castor (the mineral oil calms the ether down to prevent detonation).
To get the ether out of the can you can by first inverting the can and spraying out the propellant, put the can in the freezer for half hour then respray out any remaining propellant. Then take an ice pick and push it through the top of the can in a couple times with one on the opposite side as a vent. Pour out the liquid and you are good to go.
If running a Drone there are some simple tricks to get it to run with power and smooth. First is to get the right prop. The original prop from Drone was an 11x10 war club, some use 12x8's. The Drone run at a blazing 6700 rpm (I think this hold even for a shaft run). Next understand that needling the Drone is reverse or what you would think. The manufactures instruction says to OPEN the needle to smooth the run. They actually say to open it until it quits then close 1/4 turn in and fly. I have one in a Guided Whistle and use a uniflow tank with no problem.
If running a modern diesel they run high rpm, Dr Diesel site (
http://www.cafes.net/doctordiesel/) has a lot of information on running PAW's (just remember to use either bare maple mounts or if hard mounts put 1/32" plywood crush pads under the mounts lugs). If you want to go burry eyes about diesel here is the website for you
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/everything-diesel-87/Best, DennisT