Altered1

Hi all,

I'm going to get a glow starter, cordless.

Do I go for AA, SubC, C or D Cell ?

They are all around the same price, some are rechargeable, some with charger, some without...... I'm leaning towards a D Cell starter for the longer life a larger capacity will give, but am considering an AA unit for size and weight advantages.

What have you got, and what should you have got ? !

I'll be using to start my Enya 60X and ASP52

Thanks

1QwkSport2.5r

Rechargeable is the way to go. I have two different kinds - One from Tower hobbies and one from Dynamite. Both are Sub C NiCd powered. The Tower one gets the plug hotter than the Dynamite one does (on a full charge), but the Dynamite one has a meter in it. I have a 2100mAh cell in the Dynamite one, which lasts forever. Sub C will have a bigger capacity than the AA one will..
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXLN89&P=SM
http://www.rcracer.com/general-artic...-from-dynamite

Being able to change the cells is a nice feature, as NiCd's kinda suck IMO.

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

I have been using this rechargeable LiPo glow driver and it works well:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...harger-DYN1927

It is only $19.99. I charge it and can then use it for two/three or more trips to the field. Being LiPo it does not self discharge much over time.

Bruce

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

I would suggest that you consider going to a "D" cell alkaline battery starter. You can solder several of them together in parallel, but what I do is use Radio Shack D cell snap-in battery holders. I solder 2 holders in parallel (still gives you 1.5 volts or a little more just doubles the capacity). Then when they get a little weak I just snap out the old batteries and sanp in a couple new ones. I buy the glow clip that I want to use without a battery/charger etc - just the clip and wires.

I used to use Hobbico hobby batteries but they are no longer made.

Ed

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Go lipo.
I made my own by taking the one good cell from a puffed pack.

It works awesome!

Altered1

After reading the suggestions, and checking out the output from various sites, I'm leaning towards the D Cell, with either alkaline or NIMH battery.

This is due to the unit having the highest mAh as well a good 1.5V

The Sub C rechargeables seem to have a trickle charge over 10 hours, 1.2V and 1800 mAh

AA Alkaline is 2700 mAh

C Alkaline is 8000 mAh, NiMH is up to 6000 mAh

D Alkaline and NiMH are about 12000 mAh

If get a NiMH, I can always top up the charge it on my flight panel

No special charger required for these like Lipo.

I much rather a good strong battery for longer.

Cheers

earlwb

I have a couple of the C or D size battery cell glow starters as a backup, but I have been very satisfied with the McDaniel Glow Ni-Starters which use a sub-C nicad inside. The McDaniel starter seems to last a very long time at the flying field and it lasts long enough to eventually wear out the glow plug clip unit before the Nicad battery fails.
Some other guys just use some AA or C or D size alkaline or nicad cells in parallel with a glow plug clip too.

flybyjohn

My Feedback: (2)

I have used the ones that you put your own battery in. Mine is c size. In a pinch I can use AA batteries, just wrap them in tape to the c size and it holds them in the middle. I have nimh cells in mine most of the time but sometimes I forget to charge them so I go to AA batteries.

Mikecam

I've had the Hotshot for 3 years and still working but one with a meter on it is nice because you can tell without removing the glow plug that it is burned out.

1QwkSport2.5r

Or if the Glow driver is dead

I put a new cell in my Dynamite driver w/ meter with a cell from batteries plus. I think its 2100mA NiCd. I can charge it once and run it for a whole weekend after letting it sit for a month. I charge both of my drivers slow - maybe 200mAh or so. The glow of a MC59 with a fresh charged driver is like looking at a mini Sun... Makes starting a glow engine in cold weather a breeze with a good priming.

I like Sub-C drivers - small enough to not bother me if its in my back pocket but enough capacity to last through the weekend without needing a recharge.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Why in the world would you want to use older battery technology that has problems that could ruin a fly day?
Alkaline? Seriously?? Buying a new battery every few visits to the field? Thats just crazy!
Nicad and Nimh are what are easily available but have memory and discharge problems.
Nevermind what cold does to all three.

I'm speaking from experience of bringing several hot shots to a race or practice day and having them all lay down at some point.
After I made the change to Lipo I really only need to charge for an event since the battery lasts so long and doesn't auto discharge enough to think about.

Charley

My Feedback: (2)

Some guys just have to have the latest in technology. If you don't show up at a event with at least two fully charged glow drivers then you're asking for problems.

I use a remote clip with the wires soldered to a couple of Copper Top D-cells in parallel as a back up to my nicad/nimh glow starters. The D-cells last all season and don't self discharge appreciably over a year's time.

Why use NiCd/NIMH glow drivers? Because they can be fast charged with no problems and with any fast field charger as long as you have the required cable. Plus, I have 3 - 4 wall wart chargers, that I accumulated over the years, on hand for overnight charging. Nothing wrong with ols tech if it works.

CR

aspeed

The nicad, and nimh are 1.2 volts. I like 1.5 volts for a glow plug.The C or D cell nicad battery is really just a sub C battery inside a plastic case. It is really just taking up space. All of my rechargeable batteries (sub C ) seem to lose the charge between uses. I hate that, and just use the corded one with the adjustable power panel and the needle guage to see if theplug is dead. I won't say what to do, but a couple of parallel D alkalines sounds like a thing for me to try for a dead plane on the field, or for a pit stop. It might be hard to make a light compact unit without a cord though. I'll keep looking here for more ideas.

ZAGNUT

My Feedback: (1)

only when they're dead, hot of the charger they will usually be over 1.4V.

i use a sub-C nicad cell (think it's 2/3 size) for starting and it usually lasts all day...and if i need to i just plug it into the fast charger and in 15 minutes it's ready. it can last that long because i rarely have it hooked up for more than a few seconds. i do all my priming and foreplay flipping without power to the plug...really annoys me to see guys attach the plug driver and then start putzing around and even turning the prop over slowly by hand...and then once running leave it on for five minutes while they tune the engine...

also important to me is the attachment method, i absolutely HATE the ones with the spring loaded collar that has to be pulled up. IMO the twist on ones are far easier to handle and therefore safer.

1QwkSport2.5r

I think sub-c drivers are more than adequate. All you really need to do is charge them the night before. I have a power panel driver too, but I mainly use the NiCd drivers.

Mr Cox

The Lipo driver from Dynamite is the best driver I've ever had. It always gives you 1.5V, independent of the charge left in the battery. The NiMh ones have to be absolutely fully charged, and even then they can't compete...

Cosmicwind

I strongly recommend the SonicTronics Ni-Starter. I've used many of the other brands, and always had the best luck with the Ni-Starter. I am just replacing one after nine seasons of use. Get one with the meter. A LiPo battery is great, except that you need to step down the voltage to drive a glow plug. This makes the glo driver bigger and more complicated. Hard to beat a simple, high quality glow driver.

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

I see this thread is revived. You can now buy 1.5 volt "hobby" batteries again from the big hobby suppliers. This battery is the same size as a lantern battery and will last for years. At least mine have for the last 5+ years- I have only bought three in the last five years and still have one spare sitting on the shelf in my airplane assembly room. I NEVER recharge them. Easy and no issues - actually the only time I've had a problem is when one finally died after a couple of years and I didn't have a spare with me.

My message above said they were no longer available but a couple months after that they reappeared - must have been some bureaucratic snafu or something.

By the way these batteries are $7 or $8 - way cheaper than a glow driver.

Ed

1QwkSport2.5r

I just don't see the need to use LiPo or to get carried away with a glow driver. If you're killing a NiMH or NiCd in a few hours or within one day, something's wrong. I run cars and airboats and soon a couple planes and I have yet to kill a driver battery, even during engine break-in. My NiCd driver batteries are over 5 years old and one will glow a plug hot enough to burn my finger after 5hrs of use. Maybe I got some 'super' sub-c cells. Hell, they're only 1600MAh even.

aspeed

My Dubro quickclip never lasted more than 1 or two starts.  Maybe it was on the shelf too long when I bought it.  I have replaced the battery, but the charger takes overnight , .......  I just don't bother anymore.  I use the one on the panel.  The Lipo sounds interesting.  Maybe I will try my Red Devil dry cell battery again and see if it still holds a charge.

Mr Cox

With the NiMh and NiCd batteries the problem is that they need to be fully charged, you can't just charge it one week and then use it another week. That's where the Lipo has its strength. Charge it once and use it for several weekends, with several weeks in between, you'll always get the a full 1.5V over plug until the battery is fully discharged (since the output is regulated). This means that you'll have that extra boost to start even a slightly too much primed engine on a cold day. Take a look at any of the discharge curves for the NiMh batteries and you'll see the problem, you never get 1.5V and the voltage drops quite quickly with the discharge (starting from fully charged).

As for the bulkiness, yes it is a little larger but the weight is about the same. For those that are a little fed up with the low shelf-life of the NiMh battery-charge and their lower voltage, then the Lipo ones are worth a try, that's all.

The performance of the 1.5V dry-cell batteries are also good, I just can't find them locally anymore.

1QwkSport2.5r

Yeah, LiPo is great for some folks... Just not me. $40 for a glow driver is just insane.


BUT, to each their own.

Mr Cox

They cost about $27 with the charger, and then you do get a glowdriver and not just a battery. A better comparison would be to a regular 12V glowdriver (or an onboard system) and those are around $28 and up, without any battery or charger. So the price is actually very competitive.

1QwkSport2.5r

The cost has come down a little from the last time I looked at them. They were $35 + shipping a year ago or so for the dynamite one.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Check out the RCAT system you won't be dissappointed.