Hi All, what type of glow plugs do you recommend for the following engines?

1. Wren 44, 54?

2. JetCat P60, P80, and P120?

3. Artes Super Bee?

It seems to me sometimes I can get good starts when I place some plugs over the other, but I don't have records of what types of glow plugs that mine are.

Any special care do we need to do?

Mike

I like the MC9 or Hanger 9 Plugs. Very good plugs IMHO.

I am sure others have there favs as well.

I use Mccoy #9 in my Wren engines. I just make sure I have two full coils pulled out. The Mccoy seems to have a thicker element.

Regards

I now use the ROSSI Turbine plug from Dreamworks. It seems to be tough and durable. It also reaches well in tohe combustion chamber.

DW_Crash

I'm using 2V Fox plugs. The current one has been in for 13 months and 44 flights.....

I 'm using a NGK 44. with a diamond tip from my chevy. took some modification to work and only added 4 pounds in weight .

I use mccoy 9 plugs with the coil pulled out. They last a long time and work great

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.

Well, for starters, they wouldn't make any money off me......


Has anybody actually asked ???

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

Well, my 2 volt Fox glow plug finally failed after 49 flights and almost 14 months in the engine... This plug is a champ in my books.....but I only have a couple more left....

Hi Tom, I've had my first turbine hell for about 5 months now and it's recently been hard to start. It spins up and you can hear fuel being added but it never gets going after that. I assume it's something to do with the glow plug. I was wondering, where do you source plugs and is there anything in particular I should be looking for (size shape etc). I have a Pahl GPH turbine.

Thanks in advance.

I use various gas start turbines and have always had great success with Rossi #5 or #8 plugs. I get mine from AMT Netherlands Turbines.

Cheers,

Jan

McCoy MC9

Tommy,
Actually a "Turbine Only" glowplug is made Aldon Kelly, aka Merlin Glow Plugs, Inc. in the USA. This plug has an extended nose to position the element deep within the combustion chamber of model turbines. It is available with either platinum or nichrome elements. They were sold some time back by Carlos V. and DreamWorks. I've had best success with the nichrome element in my FTE and RAM turbines and having Al produce some more for me.
Rgds,
Art ARRO

Thanks Jan,

Are plugs pretty much universal with model turbines? In other words, are they a standard fit from one brand to another?

Thanks

Craig

Craig,
Most gas start model turbines use a standard 1/4 x 32 thread glowplug developed for model glow fueled engines. Artes/Jet Central utilize an internal ignitor to initially ignite the gas for the turbine start process. Some specialty glow engines use- ie, Nelson, a non-standard thread or a retainer nut to secure the plug to the engine. I don't know if any of these special plugs used in model gas turbines. With the advent of kero starting, most turbine manufactures developed their own ignitors, either internal, like JetCat or external like the early Wrens. Trust this answers your questions.
Rgds,
Art ARRO

Wren has a ceramic plug that works if you can up the voltage far enough. Think it needs 6V rather than 2V for a normal plug.

When I was running propane start on my jet cats my go to plug was the Rossi R8. Toughest filament on the market. It will handle a higher glow voltage too for better ignition.
Vin...

I use Rossi R-8 plugs.
See the attached photo for the modified element. Apply 1 1/2 volts until it is bright orange,(to anneal it) remove the voltage, then using a straight pin, tease the element out until it looks like the one in the photo.

I use a 4 stroke plug myself, in my Wren and my JetCat. They are longer anyway, and just pull out 2 coils.

Steve