I had ordered a gallon of VP Powermaster 10% Nitro 18% Oil (Air — which is a castor/synthetic blend 20:80), but unfortunately they didn’t have that anymore and just sent me the Mean & Green one which I believe this is a full synthetic.
I’m going to use the fuel for my LA-46.
So the question is, can I use that Mean & Green fuel as is?
I’ve also been thinking to add some more pure castor oil (I can find Merlin Castor Oil MA-220) in order to increase the % of oil to 22%. If my math is correct, I need to add 194 ml (6.5 oz) of oil and doing this will make a 22:78 castor/synth blend.
What do you guys think about it? Should I return it or just proceed with adding more castor oil?
The oil content is sufficient if you are sure you can almost always hit the needle setting. As Joe mentions, you can usually run straight synthetic, again, you better be sure you don't miss the needle and have an otherwise reliable system. I would be slightly more concerned about an LA than the more typical AAC, which are pretty much bulletproof.
What I am more concerned with is some reports I have heard about "Mean and Green" specifically. I have been told by people whose judgement I trust that they have had a lot of problems with PowerMaster Mean and Green, specifically, something green getting deposited on the piston and causing the engine to tighten up over a few flights.
In one case, to the point the engine couldn't be started after about 4 flights, and the modeler having to *sand the piston* with 600 grit sandpaper to get it loose enough to start!! I would categorize that as disastrous, you cannot accept that as a sport flier/beginner, and while this individual was certainly qualified to work on engines, under no circumstances should anyone reading this actually do this.
So, the problem I see is not the quantities of anything or not enough or the wrong kind of oil, just that whatever is in Mean and Green may very well cause a problem.
Brett
p.s. I would recommend Powermaster "Air" or Powermaster "Heli". I use "Air" all the time and while I sometimes add oil, that is to adjust the run quality slightly based on conditions, not about reducing or caring about wear because the base fuel is plenty good enough. David uses "Heli" with has the same or very close proportions, but I think is straight synthetic using low-vis synthetic oil, and maybe some Randy "Aero-1" additive.
p.p.s to the original question, if you are worried about the oil quantity, I would certainly suggest adding synthetic instead of castor. If I want to add, I use Klotz KL-198 which is a low-viscosity synthetic.