In Praise Of Castor Oil

I have no idea what the klotz stuff is, but I suspect you will be able to strip, free off, clean and reassemble that engine blindfolded soon.

I read this a few years ago it is very interesting

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It is a great oil. One key point in regards to model engines is the 'film strength'. A lot of the earlier engines would have a larger clearance in the cylinder/piston and crankshaft/crankcase so a lot of them relied on an all-castor mix to keep compression and proper fitment of parts. Also since the castor 'sticks' better than an all-synthetic, especially at higher temperatures, it can provide better lubrication of a ball-socket joint or the 'bushing' (crankshaft/crankcase) than that of a ball-bearing setup.

Also worth it to note that although castor has a tendency to create more varnish it does not break down compared to a synthetic at high temps so if running leaner you would want to make sure there is castor in the mix or risk damage to the engine. Since the Cox engines have a might tighter tolerance on the piston/cylinder its often good to run a mix of 50/50 castor/synthetic to minimize the varnish while still protecting the engines.

I have noticed that some unwanted scratches plowed in the cylinder wall by dirt particles as the piston moved up first showed blow-by i.e. slight loss of compression. These scratches self-healed by time and blow by diminished as castor varnish has deposited in them...unbelievable advantage of castor over synt. I will always have full castor in my home blended COX fuels as the old recipe had it.

Coxfledgling wrote:I have no idea what the klotz stuff is, but I suspect you will be able to strip, free off, clean and reassemble that engine blindfolded soon.

That’s the idea behind using 2 different oils. Klotz is a company, Benol is 100% castor whereas Techniplate is part synthetic and part castor. Temperature dictates when to use which and as an added benefit, the synthetic will flush castor deposits and keep you from having to tear town to remove excess carbon buildup.

Castor has been used in engines since 1914 so it’s stood the test of time. There are better oils, but I always run at least part castor in all my older 2 strokes. Never had a problem.

I think Matt is pretty spot on with the importance of Castor and its benefits in high performance 2 stroke engines.

Pure synthetic burns and is gone almost as quickly as the fuel. With pure synthetic if the fuel stops the oil stops, engine braking on high performance racing 2 strokes from high speed to very low speed sees oil input reduced to almost zero, but high engine revs and high loads. When we first started using fancy Synth oils in GP 2 stroke bikes in the 70s people were seizing motors all over the place until we learnt to use it properly, by either going back to castor or blending.

Some Cox engines lean off a huge amount in the last couple of laps as the fuel tank empties out. Castor will still be in the engine during this period and protect the engine. Pure synth wont. I like synth and Castor blended as the synth also helps keep the engine clean.

Cheers,
Gary

My last order from Sig Manufacturing (2018) included X1 qt. of castor oil.



I'd never had any straight-castor.. and wanted to be able to increase the castor-content in the fuel mix for some of my old irons. Veco's, Fox's, McCoys, OS MAXIII.. I mention the OS engine only because it's an early one. It's a .29 two-stroke glow C/L engine that my Uncle gave me. He flew C/L combat/stunt in the USAF with a Veco "Renegade"/SuperTiger .35 combination.. circa 1974.. I digress..

Regarding "our" model-engines; it doesn't take a whole lot of time to tear one down at the end of a season; to de-gum and prep it for the next. Well worth the time spent.. if you ask me.

roddie wrote:My last order from Sig Manufacturing (2018) included X1 qt. of castor oil.

Party at Roddie's! This weekend! Snow be damned!
Bob

Klotz Benol and Novarossi 1N1 castor for my rc fuels I mix now. Thankfully I have a local VP dealer for the Nitro and Methanol. A few bottles of 1N1 left on my shelf.

Probably been posted before, but worth a repeat.
http://www.nitrorc.com/fuelws/

and? I know, for a fact, 1tsp at breakfast will keep you running "regular" all day


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Humco-Castor-Oil-Natural-Laxative-6oz/10417573

PV Pilot wrote:Klotz Benol and Novarossi 1N1 castor for my rc fuels I mix now.  Thankfully I have a local VP dealer for the Nitro and Methanol.  A few bottles of 1N1 left on my shelf.

Probably been posted before, but worth a repeat.
http://www.nitrorc.com/fuelws/

We have VP gas stations all around OKC, but no actual dealers, at least none that I have seen wonder if I can work through one of the gas stations.

Cribbs74 wrote:

PV Pilot wrote:Klotz Benol and Novarossi 1N1 castor for my rc fuels I mix now.  Thankfully I have a local VP dealer for the Nitro and Methanol.  A few bottles of 1N1 left on my shelf.

Probably been posted before, but worth a repeat.
http://www.nitrorc.com/fuelws/

We have VP gas stations all around OKC, but no actual dealers, at least none that I have seen wonder if I can work through one of the gas stations.

If they're franchised; maybe try contacting the franchisee.. .. couldn't hurt.

You might remember I sourced a gal. of VP/Powermaster 10-22 glow-fuel for running my old steel-fin stoves.. I was ISO 10-29.. but I don't think it's a blend that Powermaster retails any more. That was one reason why I bought the quart of castor from Sig at my last fuel order. I've never run these engines.. and they haven't seen much (if any) use. I'd like to treat them as "new" when I attempt to run them.. while following general break-in practices.

Kinda related, it might apply to you flying field or landing strip. If you’ve been invaded by gophers or moles this guys article does tout castor oil as a weapon of mass deterrent.

https://eganiemeyerlandscaping.blogspot.com/search?q=Castor

Roddie, your Powermaster GMA is fully suitable to run any of your engines. It will not destroy them in any way. George Aldrich developed that fuel for use in iron piston engines hence the letters GMA which is his initials. I wouldn't recommend adding additional oil to that fuel. Your just lowering the other contents percentage in doing so. 10% nitro in the engines you've pictured in the past is all that the engine needs. I have 25+ years using that fuel exclusively in vintage iron piston engines with 100% success rate and never a failure. It doesn't erase the varnish as some have mentioned and it will run better than any full castor fuel. When you start adding oil percentages in excess of 23%, some engines just shut off like someone turned off a switch. This is quite common in some Enya and older OS Max-S engines. This is what makes the Thunderbolt r/c plug so important to these engines due to it's temp.

Cribbs74 wrote:

PV Pilot wrote:Klotz Benol and Novarossi 1N1 castor for my rc fuels I mix now.  Thankfully I have a local VP dealer for the Nitro and Methanol.  A few bottles of 1N1 left on my shelf.

Probably been posted before, but worth a repeat.
http://www.nitrorc.com/fuelws/

We have VP gas stations all around OKC, but no actual dealers, at least none that I have seen wonder if I can work through one of the gas stations.

There should be a VP Drag Racer supplier in OKC Ron. OK is the land of Street Outlaws,,gotta be one close by. A engine builder/ Dyno shop should know. I get a bit of a discount thru my guy since we buy 55 gallon drums of VP C23 Nitrous race fuel. $1000 per drum for C23, which has actually came down a bit.

A franchised station can probably get Nitro and Methanol in 5 gal buckets, but I wouldn't want to see that price I don't think. They probably get shanked for the haz mat shipping, and in turn probably shank you back, to cover the back end and make a pretty penny still.

Thanks Rene , how did you know i have moles LOL I can't believe i haven't heard of this ?! There a real PIA !

getback wrote:Thanks Rene , how did you know i have moles LOL I can't believe i haven't heard of this ?! There a real PIA !

Reminds me.  I need to fill my acetylene bottles.  Mole Olympics around here.  I got some good highbar competitors ready for Sochi--Damn.  Missed that one.

Little pocket sized excavators.  The bain of property owners everywhere.  About 3 of my 10 acres is pimpled well.

PV Pilot wrote:

getback wrote:Thanks Rene , how did you know i have moles LOL I can't believe i haven't heard of this ?! There a real PIA !

Reminds me.  I need to fill my acetylene bottles.  Mole Olympics around here.  I got some good highbar competitors ready for Sochi--Damn.  Missed that one.

Little pocket sized excavators.  The bain of property owners everywhere.  About 3 of my 10 acres is pimpled well.

I'm guessing that you people (with mole problems..) have nice rich soil.. Our property (.5+ acres) here in Northern RI is lacking a good loam-base. Wherever I try to dig, I hit gravel in just 3-4". We've got tall/established Oaks, Birch's and conifers around 3/4 of the property perimeter. Tru-green/Chemlawn was giving quotes in our neighborhood.. and told us that we didn't have a lawn for them to quote a service-plan for...

Ken Cook wrote:             Roddie, your Powermaster GMA is fully suitable to run any of your engines. It will not destroy them in any way. George Aldrich developed that fuel for use in iron piston engines hence the letters GMA which is his initials.  I wouldn't recommend adding additional oil to that fuel. Your just lowering the other contents percentage in doing so. 10% nitro in the engines you've pictured in the past is all that the engine needs. I have 25+ years using that fuel exclusively in vintage iron piston engines with 100% success rate and never a failure. It doesn't erase the varnish as some have mentioned and it will run better than any full castor fuel. When you start adding oil percentages in excess of 23%, some engines just shut off like someone turned off a switch. This is quite common in some Enya and older OS Max-S engines. This is what makes the Thunderbolt r/c plug so important to these engines due to it's temp.

Hi Ken, Do you run that Thunderbolt r/c plug in any particular vintage glow-engines.. or is it your "go-to" plug for most of them? Other than the Fox-brand.. I don't have a stock of 1/4-32 threaded glow-plugs.. and I know how you feel about the Fox plugs........... I'd be willing to spend some extra $$ on glow-plugs, if they're known to have a decent track-record.. you know?