does nitro go bad

I've used some pretty old fuel. If the can was sealed tightly and no moisture was present it should be fine. I've heard of nitro diminishing when the fuel is contained in plastic jugs. If the can has it's plating inside intact and no signs of rust I would say go for it. The old fuel I used was stored in glass jars. One issue that I've seen with old fuel is inconsistent engine runs. It becomes quite obvious that fresh fuel is in order. If the fuel in question was something mixed for a specialized purpose I would try and salvage it and use it. If not and the fuel in short order is just standard sport fuel I would run it in engine on a test stand to get rid of it. Otherwise buy new and save yourself the troubles of diagnosing engine run problems. Ken

Thanks for the help. Im going flying new years day,i,ll give it a try

akjgardner wrote:I bought a brand new in the box corsair at a yard sale for $50.00 .Everthing is in mint condition,the fuel is still in the unopened can.Does fuel go bad after 20 years.Can someone help me? Thanks

Hi There, Fuel has been known to last for years if unopened. It's a "crap-shoot" really. You may want to preserve an un-opened can of Cox glow-fuel though. You can obtain a pint of Sig 1/2A fuel.. designed for the Cox engine, if you want to "fire her up"!! Sig Champion "25" is a great fuel to use.. and if you're into flying small control line models.. you could "bundle" shipping costs with a Sig Skyray kit.




http://www.sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.exe/IndexAboutSigCatF.html?E+Sig

I think Ken Cook is the Mad Scientist when it comes to Fine tuning. the other weekend I fired up a Cox Sandblaster 049 chassis in My Basement. I started off with a Can of Testors fuel I picked up last March at the Largest Model Airplane Flea market here in USA on the East Coast. After one Run I Broke out some vintage Cox 30% Racing fuel to get My 049 " With the Program" !! I Feel that if the lid has been on tight and the can is not rusty inside it will be good. REAL MEN RUN COX ENGINES WITHOUT FEAR.

Bill steklenski wrote:       I think Ken Cook is the Mad Scientist when it comes to Fine tuning... REAL MEN RUN COX ENGINES WITHOUT FEAR.

Yep, and I think someone gave him an accidental negative(red mark) in his post above. As for your next statement, Damn right, no fear. And don't forget about the real women too.
Rusty

Down here in South FL my fuel seems age poorly in plastic bottles, very high humidity.
It starts to give inconsistent runs like Ken said.

I used to race Formula One R/C Pylon with as much as 75% nitro and the speed shop that sold me the raw nitro said it can take on water if open to the air or through osmosis in a plastic container. Otherwise, it would keep well if sealed tight in metal containers.

BTW, of course I had to try the F1 mix in my Tee Dees and they didn't like it. Not even 65%, in weather that made the .40s thrive on it. Sounded like sizzling bacon which I was told was pre-detonation.

vfxjim is very correct. In my experience, as long as the metal can has not been opened, it should be fine but as soon as it's been opened, it starts to go bad as it sits. The two big enemies of Glow Fuel is Sunlight and Water. Glow Fuel is Hydrophilic and soaks moisture out of the air like a sponge and if not kept tightly sealed it will go bad quickly especially in high humidity so it is wise to keep it in a cool dark area tightly sealed with as much air removed from the bottle as possible to protect it from any moisture introduced while it was open. Also as I stated above it is also sensitive to sunlight and should be kept out of direct sunlight when not in use.
Symptoms of bad fuel is Hard starting, elevated engine temperatures and inconsistent running. Hope this helps guys (Bandit)

thanks for all the help guys,and gal.Bandit,a good airforce buddy of mine was born and raised in Fort Vally Ga. He still lives there.His name is Steve Giles. Do you know him?

akjgardner wrote:thanks for all the help guys,and gal.Bandit,a good airforce buddy of  mine was born and raised in Fort Vally Ga. He still lives there.His name is Steve Giles. Do you know him?

No problem! and no I don't unforchantly, Does he fly RC, C/L? (Bandit)

There is no bad nitro. Just misunderstood nitro...

Hello Collectors, Hobbyists, and Flyers. Anything I wrote in a reply was not meant to be upsetting and I hope that anyone would not leave a negative. We all have a great time here on the Forum and its very Educational to share info and Experiences. I have Spoken to Ken Cook many times over and above meeting Him in person and am Very Impressed with His Knowledge, Experience and Technical Advice on Tuning and Racing Model Engines.

Light degrades nitro over time. One of the products is water, which messes with the methanol.

Your fuel is in a steel can. Light cannot get to it.

If it is "clear" then all should be good. (appropriate tinting allowed)

Sometimes steel cans will turn the fuel dark colored (opaque, blackish). This is usually because the can is reused and has wet fuel in it. Your can is sealed. If it looks good, it should be good, safe to run, and just as powerful as when it was packaged. I would not trust black fuel.

Phil

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a never opened box of cox fuel cans from the seventies, which was stored all the time in a dry cellar.

I opened one of the cans and the fuel still looks good and clear. I tested it in my 1/8 .21 daily driver buggy (After a couple of tanks I had to clean the car from the castor residues) and it runs very well with the about 40 years old fuel

Properly stored (air tight, cool, no light), there's not really much to go wrong with glow fuel. The ingredients are much more stable than, say, gasoline, which will go off fairly quickly by comparison.

If it runs well, it's good!

J