I'm starting my engine with the glow plug heater connected to a battery. I saw some guys using something cordless the heat the glowplug and would like to buy it also. What's it called so I can search for one online?

Glow plug driver

Glow ignitor, take your pick.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...or&FVPROFIL=++

Besides these few there are many more available. I have a few & just the other day bought the kind you're talking about that plugs into my power panel. I kind of like it better, especially on a cold morning bcause you can adjust the heat from the meter on the power panel. My engines were starting up faster with that little extra heat. Just keep it in the green zone & out of the red, I assume that might burn up a good plug. I don't know that for sure but the fact that it is red leads to me to believe I'd be getting out of the safe zone. But the top half of the green zone was firing them right off.

I use a rechargable glow driver, but I keep a corded one that plugs into my power panel around for the days that the battery in the rechargable dies.

Ken

There are a lot of different types and some use different types of internal batteries. Prices can run from @$20 up to $100+ for the type with high life batteries and built in power regulation. Any of them perform the basic function.

I actually prefer the ones that plug into the power panel because you can adjust the amount of heat. But hey that's just me.

I use one of these - [link=http://rcatsystems.com/electronics/ligd.php]RCAT Lithium Glow Driver[/link]. I've had it almost a year and have only had to charge it once

Thanks, I'll look into it. I'm tired of the battery and that wire dangling scares me a little bit.

Alladin,
Back to the subject at hand for a second, I really like having the smaller rechargeable driver for one very important reason. After I start my engine I put my chicken stick and the glow driver in my back pocket (don't put the driver in your front pocket with keys or change. They can and will short out and can catch fire). That way if I have an engine die on the runway, or a deadstick landing, I have what I need to restart the engine without having to haul the plane back to the pits and my flight box.

Ken

If you're talking about those big 1.5v dry cells, I stopped using them years ago. However, I prefer not to use the glow ignitors. Instead, I use a power panel that's supplied by a 12v battery. From the panel I have a wire that runs to the glow plug. The reason I prefer this is I find the adjustable output from the panel gives me better control over how bright the plug glows. Since I nearly always start my plane engines by hand, this works better for me. The extra weight of the 12V battery isn't much, I need it for the electric fuel pump that I use for my boats.

To help with the wire, put the battery behind the wing rather than in front of it. This way the wire will be heading back instead of beside the prop. I keep my flight box to my left when I start the plane and I always run the glow wire under the wing and then over the top. This keeps it clear of the prop and ensures that when I take it off the engine, from behind the plane, it won't get tangled up in anything else.

On the subject of power panels, plugs can vary wildly in how much current they need to get them to glow. With some plugs I have the meter reading maybe 1/3rd scale while others need it almost all the way up. I prefer to start off with just an orange glow so before fitting a plug to an engine I'll always connect it up to the power panel (on it's lowest setting) then wind it up until I have the brightness I want then make a note where the needle is on the scale. If the engine is hard to hand start then I'll wind it up a little more. This can't be done with a glow ignitor so if you happen to be using a plug that needs a lot of power it may not be glowing bright enough and may be the cause of a lot of hard starting troubles.