Ingredients
Glow fuel is a mixture of methanol, nitromethane, and oil.
Methanol is the primary ingredient as it provides the bulk of the fuel, and is needed as a solvent for the other ingredients. The presence of methanol causes the glow plug found in model engines to heat via a catalytic reaction with the platinum metal wire element which glows in the presence of methanol vapor.
Nitromethane is added to the methanol to increase power and to make the engine easier to tune. Typically glow fuel is about 0-30% nitromethane. While higher concentrations can result in better engine performance, usage of highly concentrated nitromethane is rare due to its cost. Although a given amount of nitromethane contains less energy than the same amount of methanol, it increases the amount of available oxygen in the combustion chamber per every intake stroke, which allows the engine to draw in more fuel while still maintaining a favorable mixture setting. The increased amount of fuel entering the engine increases power output, and also aids in cooling. For racing use, the nitromethane content can be increased to the range of 30%-65%.
Nitromethane is often difficult to obtain in many countries, so in these countries glow fuel typically has no nitromethane at all.
Read more about this topic: Glow Fuel
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