Fuel Toxicity
First, try avoiding careless handling of modelling fuel at all times. It contains the toxic and flammable methanol. Contact through the skin, through breathing or drinking may result in blindness or madness.
For this reason, you should avoid contact with the fuel through breathing and the skin as much as possible. Obviously, you should keep the fuel out of reach of children.
Store your fuel in such a way there’s no risk of environmental pollution. Keep the fuel out of reach of children and unauthorized persons. Best storage facilities are locked at all times, adequately cooled down, ventilated and maintain a low temperature.
What are the Tornado fuel elements?
Tornado model engine fuel is made up of three key components: methanol, nitromethane and oil all along with additives to create the Tornado specific performance.
Methanol is the most dominant ingredient and contains the primary energy content of the fuel.
Nitromethane carries additional oxygen into the combustion process. This way it helps to burn more fuel and to produce more power. The percentage nitromethane is used to rate the fuel.
The oil blends used by Tornado are always a mixture of castor and synthetic oils. Only the Tornado Heli fuel is fully synthetic. Extensive testing have proven that our blends offers maximum protection for the engine under many different conditions.
Additives are added in very small quantities to alter the characteristics of the fuel. Among several others, these include anti-oxydation and anti-corrosion additives.
Methanol
Methanol is an alcohol [CH3OH]. It’s a colorless, flammable and toxic liquid. Read the Safety sentences for the product’s safety risks.
Methanol is hygroscopic so it attracts moisture out of the air. A too high water content can eventually result in corrosion of the engine parts. To avoid the water intake you should always close the tin after usage and never let the tin open for longer time of periods.
After racing, always treat your engine with Tornado afterrun oil. Methanol deposits in the engine can result in local high water contents inside the engine, which may result in corrosion. The special components in Tornado afterrun oil prevent this and ensure engine protection during long-time storage.
Nitromethane
Nitromethane [CH3NO2] is a low-viscous, polair fluid. Nithoromethane has got a lower energy density than methanol, but for combustion it needs much less oxygen. In other words, nitromethane delivers oxygen to the combustion chamber, so more fuel can be burned which will result in more power.
Why does Tornado uses a blend of ricinus and synthetic oils?
To answer this question we need to get into more detail about both types of oils:
Ricinus is a natural oil, withdrawn from the Castor bean. It’s a colourless, sometimes yellowish oil.
Ricinus oil has got some very unique properties which make it extremely suitable for modelling engines. First, it has superb lubrication qualities. Second, once the oil gets very hot, instead of degrading it starts polymerising; the oil changes into a more solid lubricating film which will lubricate the engine even at very high temperatures.
The big advantage of synthetic oils is that they carbonite very little resulting in less engine deposits. It even has a ‘cleansing’ effect on the engine. Synthetic oils are also more low-viscous than Ricinus oil and maintain this quality at a high temperature.
So, because there are strengths and weaknesses of both castor and synthetic oils Tornado fuel uses the strengths of both types of oils containing a blend of both ricinus and synthetic oils.