Glow plug ignition battery removal is where I have seen many accidents. DO NOT reach over or around the prop while removing. Many will say I have been doing it for years, but be warned that it will eventually bite you!  I have also seen many people bitten by needle valve adjustment. Always stand behind the spinning prop. Respect it as if it were a table saw blade. Never take your eyes off it while working around a running engine.

I have quite a few stories about this subject.

Good advise. I would add to have the battery cord stretched out so if it pops off the engine it won't go in the prop.

MM

If there is another way to get bitten by the prop I haven't found it yet. Give me time. My favorite is the wood prop, it's not as bad as the plastic ones. I also got whacked by a table saw blade. If I'm not bleeding I'm not having fun.

Especially for inverted engines, we should all be using remote glow igniter leads that position the attachment for the glow ignitor far away from the engine and prop. Hanger 9, Dubro, SonicTronics and others supply them, for around $10-20. A lot cheaper than a trip to the emergency room. I also remind myself to move like a sloth when reaching under the PA40 with a carbon 3-blade to release the igniter from the plug. This is not a time to be in a big hurry.

Another factor that many of us have to deal with is advancing age. At 77 I am not as spry as I used to be and my balance when kneeling down in front of a running engine is not what it used to be. We need to take precautions that we never used to think necessary.

And its not always the big-block motors that bite us. The worst cut I ever got was from a TeeDee .020 on a vintage FF model. When starting the timer just behind the engine I let my left hand swing through the prop arc. A tiny prop at 25,000 rpm does real damage.

If there is another way to get bitten by the prop I haven't found it yet. Give me time. My favorite is the wood prop, it's not as bad as the plastic ones. I also got whacked by a table saw blade. If I'm not bleeding I'm not having fun.

Mickey "Three Fingers"....is that you??

Steve

Thanks for the information. The Hangar 9 one seems to be easily available over here so will get that one.

Those remote glow things look like something that will break at worst possible moment and ruin your contest. Keep it simple.
Propably famous last words, but I never use any safety measures, like glove or chicken stick, with my .77.

     Right, I cannot see using something like that, if nothing else, you have to take the cowl off to change the glow plug. I also don't use a chicken stick or glove, after 20,000 times without it makes me very uncomfortable and awkward, and I can barely even manage it.

 

It’s just about knowing the engine, how to prime it and to have the plug glowing in the correct way. I usually flip it over the compression.

       I almost never try that!  I always back-bump it with the spinner or the root of the prop, no chance of getting cut since it's the leading edge of the prop and my hand is nowhere near it when it comes up on compression.  I see people with rubber tubes winding up and whacking it like they are chopping wood, I have no idea where that comes from, but if you are going to do that, yes, I wouldn't use my finger, either. Combat guys used to do that, maybe it is necessary with a Fox Combat special and a 8-8 prop, but not a big old lazy stunt engine.

 On those *very rare occasions* I flip it forward with the battery on, I am extremely careful about sliding my finger along the prop, which is how you get cut. The other issues are still possible, but I have a routine and I am not changing it. BTW, I remove the battery and adjust the needle with my left hand ,which is already on that side of the prop and so I don't have to reach across.

    BTW, apropos of the other thread, also do not reach through the prop disc to *attach* the battery unless you are holding the prop to keep it off compression. That is far and away the most likely time for it to start unexpectedly. If it is on compression when you put the battery on, it can easily bump enough to whack you right in the wrist with whatever effect. 

    Brett