Originally Posted by cmulder

you have a point there living in italy
if you check the wikipedia page about castor oil you see that in Italy it used to be used to torture people with ; not the poison but force feed them the oil.
Regarding the poison i doubt it since it takes some chemistry skills to isolate it in strong enough concentration to be useful.

btw i can recall there was a company called aviomodelli ; try to see if they are still active and they might know where to get some locally,

Do'nt know about torture but after WW2 it was ofted forced onto collaborators as a sign of purgating, typical example and well known in Europe was the scene
in one of the Don Camillo films where "red" burgomaster Peppone forces "reactionary' priest Don Camillo to swallow castor oil as a revenge. These stories were written by Giovanni Guareshi. The medical oil is harmless but too much of it will force you to take some rc magazines to the loo and stay there for quiete some time......

To think, all that useful castor oil wasted... on people who probably didn't want it anyways.

Modern castor based lubricants that can be used as lubricant with diesels, though they may cause a white waxy precipitate with glow fuel:

Castrol R30
Castrol A747
Maxima 927
Shell Racing R30
Fuchs Racing R30
Klotz BeNol


These are typically found in motorcycle and kart supply shops.

The question is...what's the precipitate!?

Originally Posted by Alex VK2KR

Hi

I ran a few tests using vegetable oil as a replacement for castor
many years ago. This was following the late Gordon Burford's experiments with them.

With only small (under 1cc) engines, i used a variety of oils from the cheap
compound ones from the supermarket to dedicated canola, safflower etc.

The motors all ran ok, despite the thinner viscosity of these oils,
HOWEVER the gumming effect on using these oils was horrendous,
if people think castor is bad, these are far worse.

These engines were not run lean as they were sport ones, and
did not want to affect the wear on them by pushing the oil levels to low
in the fuel mix.

I would use these oils as castor is almost impossible to obtain easily
here in Oz, but ether IS impossible to source.

regards

Alex

If john deere tractor products are sold there. Their starting fluid is at least 80 percent either.

Originally Posted by Reginald

Alex I can see why ether is hard to get, same in Belgium altough I can have it without problem at my drugstore or pharmacy because they know what I use it for, it is a known fact some people sniff it. But why is castor so scarce down-under ? It is still used very frequently in hospitals over up-here.

I think ether is also used and required in certain illegal drug processing.

Originally Posted by barry wilson

I think ether is also used and required in certain illegal drug processing.

Thanks Barry

That is exactly the reason why it is almost impossible to obtain.

The control line guys have a source - somewhere, otherwise you have to
be a manufacturing company to justify why you need it
and then only available in huge commercial quantities.

There are a few of the "manufacturing chemists" (ie those that still
mix up the elixirs of yesterday) that stock ether, however inquiries
are always stone-walled.

regards

Alex

I think the ether from the winter starting fluid is what most of the diesel guys are using. The can is turned upside down and emptied of the propellant and the remaining mostly ether is used. It is only needed to start, and I have seen some youtube videos of motors running fine using a starter with no ether. Just castor and kero. One guy sprayed the ether for a prime, and then it ran on the kero/castor. I had one diesel as a kid and never had good luck with it. It only started for other people. I think it didn't like me.

Not so sure on that.
Have been known to add a bit of 'extra' Ether to Diesel fuel for extra Go.
Acts much like extra Nitro in Glow fuel.

Originally Posted by cmulder

other thought for the next supply ; what is the degumming procedure ?
or is it just that the oil that gums up less is the first pressing ?

To remove varnish, I used a wood dowel with fine steel wool wrapped around it, soak in fuel and spin by hand in cylinder with the glow head removed. Have also used tooth paste on the steel wool. Wash cylinder thorougly with hot water and detergent, dry with paper towel/Q-Tip, and lastly apply 3-IN-1 oil or Marvel Mystery oil while re-assembling the engine. Varnishing usually doesn't recur after initial break-in and varnish removal.Do not over-tighten cylinder and glow head, use only 2 Cox wrenches. If connecting rod becomes loose in piston, tighten (carefully) with Cox reset tool following instructions.

In standard "sport" engines, with engine loaded sufficiently with say a larger diameter prop and less pitch; is it possible to run a Klotz mix without Castor Oil, without buggering the engine, particularly if run a tad rich?

A lot of people run without castor. At a risk of getting tarred and feathered here, I would say it is wise to add a bit of castor, like 3 to 4 oz. to a gallon to all commercial fuel. The older steel pistons and even the newer plain bearing ones likely benefit more from more castor. ABC BB motors can survive without castor if not run too lean IMHO.

Originally Posted by aspeed

A lot of people run without castor. At a risk of getting tarred and feathered here, I would say it is wise to add a bit of castor, like 3 to 4 oz. to a gallon to all commercial fuel. The older steel pistons and even the newer plain bearing ones likely benefit more from more castor. ABC BB motors can survive without castor if not run too lean IMHO.

It almost sounds like the flaming discussions that go on in motorcycle forums, using motorcycle oil versus automotive oil. Okay, so a wee bit of castor for older motors and plain bearings benefit. I'm almost wondering if Lucas oil treatment (a wetting agent) might also suffice.

I've seen engines die from poor tuning + a lack of castor. Although at this size, most people chalked it up to .049’s being toys...

I’m sure you can get away without and I know synthetics do great, but I’ve no doubt castor has saved me a few times. I’ve thrown more than one airplane into the air only to hear it unload to a lean run, then followed it around the sky until it either died or ran out the tank… They might land smoking, but they always ran again.

I’ve also ruined a few ancient swap meet engines from running modern fuels that ate away all the varnish and crucial gunk that kept the motor sealed… They lost compression and got all sloppy.

I’ll keep adding castor… even if it now comes with a homeopathy label covered in cursive scripts and flowers...

Aside from the occasional swap meet clunker, all my dead engines passed away due to sudden deceleration.

Originally Posted by OkiThumper

In standard "sport" engines, with engine loaded sufficiently with say a larger diameter prop and less pitch; is it possible to run a Klotz mix without Castor Oil, without buggering the engine, particularly if run a tad rich?

Back to your question, BLUF: stay a touch rich and you’ll usually be fine.

If you tune any engine right and stay within the recommended prop sizes (within reason for altitude etc.), you'll typically be ok.

As I recall, it's high heat that kills the synthetics. They break down into shorter chain molecules and "burn off" leaving a lack of lubrication. Castor cooks into longer chain molecules and gets sticky, especially in that piston cup, ultimately turning into the varnish that stains the engine. A couple lean runs on synthetics can wear out a cylinder where castor will often leave the engine filthy, but not much worse for the experience.

ymmv...