WeeTed

Can I use Model Technics Formula Irvine Contest 10 glow fuel in an ASP 52 Four stroke engine?

1967brutus

ASP fourstrokes are in general perfectly happy with any fuel containing 5% or more Nitro, and 18~20% full synthetic oil.
They don't particularly like high Nitro (anything over 15% is pointless), and they don't like all castor lubrication (no fourstroke does) but a partial castor lubrication (say 1/5th of total oil content castor) is not problematic.

WeeTed

Thanks for your comment. Been using it for a while now with no adverse effects.

1QwkSport2.5r

I’m going to disagree with Bert on this one. I think he sometimes forgets US synthetics miscible in methanol really suck. I would absolutely recommend 20% oil with 20-25% of that oil being castor. If the operator performs proper after-run maintenance, there will be zero ill effects from using castor in just about any glow 4-stroke. Despite the hoopla, I use 20% castor in all of my 4-strokes, and I have yet to have a fuel-related failure or problem. Rusty cam? Hardly. Stuck valves? Nope.

This is glow fuel specific. I don’t run gas, and I don’t care what oils the gas guys use in their glow conversions. Apples to zebras comparison. Despite all the castor oil hate, it’s been widely used without failure for decades. That speaks volumes compared to the synthetic-only failures. Look at RC cars. Synthetic-only RC car fuels contribute to more failures than successes, and I can tell you RC car engines put the highest demands on the lubrication package than nearly any other RC platform.

Hi Bert. Nice to see you’re still at it! Don’t hate me, please.

1967brutus

I have to reluctantly admit that I did ot have that US oil quality thing at the front of my mind when writing that post, but given that OP asked after Model Technics, I assumed him to be from Europe.
But I seem to remember that I absolutely positively referred to "all castor" as less suitable, and a "partial castor package" as no-problemo.

WRT all castor lubrication, mind you, you are pretty particular in maintaining and storing your engines, but virtually everyone I know that still runs glow fourstrokes, runs them engines only occasionally, and from what I see, taking time to properly store engines inbetween those infrequent and irregular outings seems to not fit in nowadays busy schedules...

No disagreement there... The trouble with castor is not with castor itself, but with falling skill levels of RC modellers: Nowadays most folks don't know how to prevent a ring or valve getting stuck in baked on castor residue, or how to remedy it, how to clean and/or store engines, etc etc... Hence the "hate"...

Trying to keep me away from engines is like trying to mop dry the oceans... Can't be done, there are still too many engines for me to wreck or convert...
Hate, you? NEVER, Tim... Never...