Wild Bill
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Nitromethane
Hey guys.
Thankyou for having me on the forum. I've been a lurker for years but decided to sign up to be more involved.
My question relates to nitromethane. I have searched and found a topic pertaining to my question, but still have a couple of queries.
People who use nitromethane in cars (toy and racing) often state that it is only useful for anywhere between 1 and 3 years.
My query is thus; does it only become "useless" for cars and engines? If it is still useful for chemistry as was stated in the other topic (called
"old nitrmethane") are there any limitations/caveats I should be aware of?
I am curious also, does anyone know if old nitromethane is still useful in explosives? I imagine people who have used commercial kinepack may be able
to shed some light on this? Surely the manufacturers would not want a binary mix that only had a 2-3 yr storage and shelf life?
I would think that if anything it would become more sensitive over the years, as I have not been able to find information on how or if it breaks down
in it's pure state. Perhaps that is why racing users deem it useless after only a few years....sensitivity issues?
Thanking you for looking,
Bill.
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MyNameIsUnnecessarilyLong
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Nitro sold for RCs is usually a mix of NM, methanol, and castor oil. The methanol will absorb water so I'm guessing that's the reason for the limited
stated shelf life.
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Wild Bill
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Thankyou Sir. Thats all I have really been able to find out. I have no real information indicating that the nitromethane breaks down that quickly.
Moisture is of course an issue, and precludes it being used in high performance engines.
However, as was mentioned in the other topic, it is still usefull as a chemical.
Perhaps the moisture issue has carried over into all uses of nitromethane, when really it is mostly related to engines?
Additionally I have never heard of anyone using nitromethane in an energetic context who said it failed due to being old. Failures due to too small a
cap, but not age related issues. The moisture may require a larger cap perhaps?
I would love to hear from any other folks who could comment on this, as it seems to be an uncertain issue.
Thankyou again,
Bill.
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woelen
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I have pure nitromethane (a colorless liquid) and it is many years old. There is no sign of decomposition and it is as good as when I purchased it. It
is stored in a tightly closed glass bottle with a sturdy cap with PTFE liner inside.
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Fantasma4500
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for energetics uses i really doubt it would become useless even if you were to accidentally spill a smaller amount of water into the charge
entirely dissolved AN has been mixed with wax coated aluminium (for sensitivity), recalling this is what 'daisy cutter's are made of, not entirely
sure and i dont have link to anything about this as my main computer broke down, supposing my HDD havent deleted itself
of all energetics NM is quite stable although a liquid, but ive never heard anything about this shelf-time about NM so im quite sure its not about the
pure NM but rather the RC fuel mixture
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Wild Bill
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Thankyou woelen and antiswat. All the talk of shelf life seems to be within the RC car and race car groups. I have often felt that spilling water in
the pure NM would have little effect provided the right initiator was used.
I think the point raised by our friend "mynameisuneccesarilylong" regarding the methanol drawing mositure in...plus the car folks are paranoid
regarding moisture, understandably so.
many thanks for the input on this matter. Some of mine is in it's original container, sealed with tape, the rest is in a 5L metal fuel can, and is
rarely opened.
Should I discover more I will let you all know.
Thankyou friends.
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