George Aldrich's
excellent article on performance engine rework (Aero Modeler Annual, sometime in the '60's) said NEVER put PO in a fuel with alcohol, or it would cause pre-ignition. Not knowing any better (not having a copy of said Annual), I did it the "cowboy way" and experimented, using my basic 65% nitro homebrew. With 5% PO and 4% Nitro Benzene, got a nice gain (don't recall rpm gain), and with 8% Nitro Benzene, got +800 rpm. There were some problems with this, because the engine didn't "clear out" as quickly and really didn't like running rich all that well (rich for launch, WFO afterwards). And of course, Nitro Benzene was soon to (justifiably) become a banned substance, along with Benzene. Nitro Benzene is what us old timers remember as "that shoe polish aroma", because Kiwi shoe polish contained a little bit of Nitro Benzene.
In speed/racing engines, Amyl Acetate does the same thing as NB, in a much smaller percentage, without the bad traits and the carcinogenic issue. AA smells a lot like bananas. FWIW, Amway used to sell an "octane booster" for automotive uses that smelled "a lot like bananas"! If anybody has any experience with the Amway product, I'd like to hear about it. "Octane Boosters" usually sell for $8 or more for 8 oz bottle, while AA is cheap by the gallon.
Mike is correct about PO being uber volatile, and difficult to store without considerable loss to evaporation. I used a quality plastic quart bottle, wrapped the joint between the lid and bottle with layers of vinyl electrical tape, and put it in the freezer. I wouldn't store it in the freezer with food. If I had some I wanted to dispose of, I would let it evaporate on a hot sunny day with a nice breeze.
Steve
Topic: Propylene oxide What to do with it? (Read 1463 times)