During the recent trip to Chennai, I was introduced to Mr Ethiraj of Mayura Chemical (http://mayuraachemical.com).  His company manufactures synthetic lubes, including a direct replacement for the Klotz KL200 (which seems to be the most widely used synthetic oil used in RC in India).  He has been supplying some leading hobby stores in India, but has started directly shipping to end customers in India.

Here is what I gathered.  I will request Mr Ethiraj to confirm my understanding by commenting here.

1.  He has pure synthetic oil similar to Klotz 200 which can be used in your fuel blends.  I believe there is a minimum shipping quantity around 10 or 12 pieces for the 1 litre bottles.

2.  They will also mix fuel blends with methanol, nitro (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%), their synthetic oil and ordinary castor per your ratios, and ship them out in gallon (3.5litre) containers in cartons of 4 each.  I believe the shipping rates would come to around Rs110 (roughly) per gallon.  Shipping rates to Kerala would be lower because of a tie up with a transport company based in Kerala, I am told.

Overall, it is a great news for glow enthusiasts.  Mr Ethiraj can be contacted at 09841073044.

Also, we were setting up and test flying the Hirobo 50 heli belonging to our hosts Mr Arun and his son Avinash using the fuel supplied by Mr Ethiraj.  The engine was responding well, but we only did a couple of trimming hovers next to his house (could not do it at the field on Sunday due to a radio LCD issue).

Hopefully others can comment on the same after testing the fuel in detail.

Overall, it is exciting to see there is a source for people like us in Kerala, at rates that seem to be lower than elsewhere (particularly the international blends).  He also mentioned having other additives in his fuel blends that help prolong engine life.

Great News, Anwar Sir.

I never thought fuel would be such a pain to procure.. But this is great news now! Anwar Bhaiyya is Mr. Ethiraj also a RC enthusiast? Is he on RCI? otherwise you should invite him to join, that way we can clear any doubts and also he will get more customers 

Fuel is a great market in India for RC guys. First it was the Tornado-Byron imported fuel and now this. Expect some big announcements shortly on local glow fuel production which could change the scene. Standby for more news on this soon.

Some pictures of the Klotz equivalent.  Guess who is the model (or is it modeller) ?

The calloused fingers and stains suggests he is a scratch builder

what is the price per gallon ?

Not sure.

Others have posted that Rotor has glow fuel now : 

http://rotor.co.in/show-detail.asp?prodid={3B3A111E-E3FC-4350-A5D9-561E6BD47FA1}&pn=1

Capt Manish ??

Guys, dont even bother about this stuff. Rotor has decent fuel mixed with Klotz and has better consistency. The mix is computer controlled and not a backyard mix in a chemical store. The methanol and nitro are imported.

Ajo,
My backyard mixed fuel, aided by highly inaccurate eyeball Mark 1 A has given me excellent service.
Any reason why you say not to bother about this lube? Atleast the guy has tried to make something locally availble. If it is not good it will die naturally. Why beat it to death?
And if you were to really import the best nitro in the world you would be selling a kidney to buy a seasons worth of fuel.
I have imported Nitro from Merck in Germany and would you beleive me what it cost? INR 2500 for a 250 ml  
Now go figure how much would fuel having even even 5% of this Nitro along with Klotz and Meth be sold at retail price.

My only reason was convienence. Why bother to take risk and source methanol and mix it each time? Also locally produced fuel with castor never worked for me. The veteran heli flyer's fuel was the worst I have ever seen. Castor although is the best lube has its share of issues. It used to make my car sluggish and difficult to start.

So much time was taken to clean and degum components. And it smelled really bad.

I personally used the fuel mayura produced for Rotor and it s........ My engine heated like crazy and was running erratic. A college boy busted their engine too. I shifted to Tornado and Byron. Cooling is a major issue for cars.

But with Rotorol, my issues have been solved. Need to see the long term effects though. I am sure Rotor is not using Merck nitro. But the basic ingredients seem to be ok.

more over it is difficult to deal with mr.ethiraj

there is no certain time line that is being maintained by this guy after you make payment.

this is my personal experiance which happened on last 3 ocassions i have tried to deal with him.

so it is better to stick to organised source rather than running behind individuals.

regards

puneet

Hey Guys!

I'm reviving this thread cause I just got off the phone with Mr.Ethiraj who manufactures Power Glo fuel. He quoted Rs.300/litre for 20% Nitro and 15%Lube mix. The lube is claimed to be a high quality replacement for Klotz.

Is this a good alternative for Tornado 20%? I know cost wise it makes sense. But what about the quality?

As far as delivery is concerned, he said I can have it picked up at his facility if I were worried about delivery times.

I've posted this msg on every thread that contained the Power Glo Topic. I feel this should have some exposure!

Tassem.

very great news sir 

good one Tassem

Things have progressed a lot since that last post. I've put Power Glo on hold and am going to try the self brew route as you advised. But I want to give Rotor a shot as well.. Too many decisions too little time!

Dude..
Don't get into all this. Small savings on fuel is no where compared to engine life / cost.
Just stick to the brand you are using. Let me know if you have shortage of fuel

Cheers

I'm just researching. I have to finish the Tornado first before I try anything. Have you tried rotor ever?

If you want to try the self brew route, you might as well try rotor. Rotors fuel will be more consistent than self brew since its factory mixed using a mix software. But if you are looking at perfect quality and long life from your engine, you are better off with Tornado.

You can definately take a chance with the RTR engines, anyways there are not going to last much. Local brew will make your life tough by giving you tuning issues, starting issues, improper idling etc.

I have used both branded as well as self brewed ones on my heli.

Self brewed ones are much cheaper and reliable and the quality depends on the ingredients you choose. One may choose all castor or all synthetic or both in proportions as a lube.

Rotor Fuel is very costly at Rs. 1550 for 20% Nitro (3 Ltrs.), Earlier they were offering it at a discount price of Rs.900/3ltrs. Although the fuel is ok. The label doesnt mention the mixing ratio of lube anywhere. The packing is also of great concern as I received 2 cans with both the inner and outer lids broken. I had also noticed that the mix is also not consistent as claimed by Mr. Ajo. I have been using Rotorol 5% on my beaver 40 since new and it was running fine and once the 3 ltr pack finished I started using the fresh pack and to my dismay the engine went lean and I had to retune the carb. The claims of mixing software and computerised mixing is a hype. The mixing is not a rocket science or something.

I have switched over to Tornado and it is superior to Rotorol, the price is also the same (Rs. 2200/4 Ltrs.)

I would love to use self brewed fuel on my planes and helis, but the ingredients are hard to get here in Coimbatore.

Yes, you are right on the lube mix. Nor does many fuel manufacturers including Tornado mention anything on their cans. I got that data from the technical people at Tornado and Byron. Rotor said lube was 12% for cars.

What I meant was consistency was on the mix. Not once I have come across the lube being separated from the base. I have used many fuels which had oil separated from the fuel. Yes, there is a difference between each batch. I assume Rotor is experimenting.