stitchiyalo

Have you ever burnt out your last glow plug while the fun just started or maybe your igniter has lost its fizz or better still, ever wanted to use ordinary AA batteries to start the glow motor??... well i've found a simple fix to make a lasting glow plug from your old one and best of all its all green.

Here's what u'll need

> solid insulated conductor ( insulation must be heat resistant and fairly thin)
> steel putty
> 1 old glow plug
> metal file
> pliers
> click pen with spring (make sure spring is not too fat)
> lighter
> drill

Firstly u'll need to prepare your old glow plug by filing the top off (see attached pics)

Once the top is off, resonably enlarge the bore of the plug.

Now u'll need to prepare the glow filamet and this is were the click pen comes in. all you need off the pen is the spring inside and once you have it u'll need to burn it then unravel it properly.

Now make a tiny coil with the spring wire and make it small enough for it to fit into the new bore without touching off the plug's walls.

The glow plug needs to be wired up like an ordinary light bulb which has two lead wires at either end of the coil and the lead wires are the solid insulated conducor. (see pics)

If wired correctly when you connect the lead wires to a 3v supply you should get a bright glow which i'd say is better than what you get from a commercial plug. But you are not finished yet, you now need to make the whole assembly fit into the old glow plug casing and this is where you need the steel putty. use the putty as shown in the images below and when it sets make sure the coil still works and if so insert the filament into the glow plug and seal it with more putty and you are ready to try it out!!

It works for me so don't discourage

Anthoop

[&:]Really?
Never mind about an ordinary glow plug wire is not made of steel like a pen spring, do you think anyone would want to let some metal part drop into their engine?
Glow plugs are cheap compared to engines.

Snook Man

Sorry no pics on my end...

Your plug would also require a constant electrical source to power the plug.

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

This is some strange kind of spam...

Anyways, its a horrible horrible idea. The element in a glow plug is usually nickel or platinum based... a click spring would burn up as soon as you tried heating it up, then degrade after a while and destroy your engine (if it would even keep it running). I wish the picture showed up so I could really see what this thing looked like...

jatoracing33

It is easier to just go to the hobby shop or order new plugs online. Also, I don't have all the necessary parts, so I would be able to do it anyways. I think this is more of a joke than a scam.

Sorry to bash you but this doesn't seem plausible at all.

stitchiyalo

I will have pics to prove it works in a while, NO JOKE

stitchiyalo

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

You realize with the effort it would take to MacGuyver a glow plug, you could easily just like...have three of them in your toolbox, right?

So, there's kinda no point in any of this.

mazdaprotege4

My Feedback: (32)

I bet they don't have many hobbyshops in Zimbabwe, so this must be his only option

stitchiyalo

I know they are not the best quality pics but there ye are. For you saying the filament burns out quick or needs a constant power source, it works just as good as a commercial plug

DaveG55

Well, a lot of this hobby is, or used to be, based on people doing things themselves and creating new solutions for unique and difficult problems. And because of that I will give you creative props.
However, whether it works or not, I would not trust that with my engines. I'm not going to tear into your idea or methods but, if I were you, I would not expect a lot of enthusism for your idea. Glow plugs are cheap and not that hard to find. If you can get a nitro vehicle, you can get the GPs. IMHO, glow plugs are too vital a part to take a shortcut/rsik using dicey materials and methods like this.

But again, good job on at least trying to think outside the box...

stitchiyalo

Fair enough comment unlike others who just like bashing you out of it. cheers!!

jatoracing33

That's the way I see it.

supertib

A glowplug fires the nitro based off a catalytic reaction with the platinum in the coil.....I applaud you for your efforts in making a plug, that is fantastic...But everything I know says it will not work correctly inside a engine......However if it does you will have me baffled and impressed.......

Gankenz

I would actually be willing to buy one of these off you if you would make me one. I could even send you some good wire that won't burn up. Or you can find it at any e-cig/vap store. They usually have different gauges of wire and usually nickel and titanium

A glow plug does not need to be made from thin wire like they are. It's simply more power efficient. But I would rather charge a battery more than have to ever replace a glow plug.

Darkharts

I have two burnt plugs here I'm going to make a coil from some of my vape wire ( titanium ) and will take pictures of each step and the final results down to tunability and idle

oneblueyedog

I read somewhere that it’s a Rhodium shortage that is making glow plug prices skyrocket and scarce.

I thought glow plugs used nichrome until then.

I tried a foray into Diesel RC engines and have to say that although quirky and dirty, they were pretty efficient and powerful.

I’m sure that one can make a glow plug last forever. A DIYer will do it. It will be cheaper than any other option, like gas conversions or diesel.

I’m not sure if a company will explore this need since it’s a finite declining customer base.

if someone finds the element that will replace the failed one, you’ll have to micro spot weld it to the isolated terminal in the core inside the bore, dodge the idle bar and spot weld it to the rim, never touching the sides of the bore.

I imagine when a glow plug burns out that metal debris can send it into the combustion chamber, scoring things.

Today it’s easier to try this. Sacrificial swap meet engines? Micro spot welders? Microscope cameras like some people use for surface mount component repair on things the size of an infant’s fingernail. You got this!

1QwkSport2.5r

I buy glow plugs on the secondary market all the time. In fact, I just scored a card of 12 O’Donnell’s #2 medium plugs for $45 shipped. Just gotta keep your eyes open for good deals. eBay is asininely priced, so avoid eBay. And avoid the pen spring glow plug. That is a ludicrous idea to use in an engine. I’ve had a commercial plug drop an element into the engine, and it chipped the edge of the piston in my $400 Dub Jett BSE .35 engine. No way in hell would I ever try a DIY glow plug.

Bobbybushroot

Would it be cheaper and easier even safer all-around just to order ur plugs online and wait or go to the store and get new ones yes . That being said bravo brother!! Im impressed because I've researched this same idea alot and I wanna metion ur post is one of the very few out there period. Some people don't understand the enjoyment of making ur own whatever it maybe even if it cost u double and it's only half as good u still built it and if ur like me and u wanted one of these trucks ur hole life and finally manage to get one that is gonna winda up sittting for months because the struggle is real and u cant spend the $10 for a new plug either way update some pictures and videos if u would .