ORIGINAL: TommyWatson
Can someone tell me why the plug makers don't make a special "Turbine Only" plug. Normal glow plugs are made using Platinum that reacts with the methanol in the fuel. We don't need platinum just a nice hot element. It can be anything just as long as it can stsnd up to the heat in the combustion chamber.
They could be made cheaper and made of thicker wire with the coils already exposed.
Just my 2 cents worth.
My guess would be economics... Fact is we can survive on any glow plug without an idle bar, and get decent life on most with well managed plug voltage (although the thicker the element the better). If a glow plug manufacturer were to start up production of a turbine only plug, they would have to know before hand that it wouldn't be a business venture with the intent to make a profit... If they didn't realise that, chances are the business wouldn't be around long anyway. The production volume is simply nowhere near what it needs to be for the price that we as customers would expect, even with cheaper materials.
Kelly