Glow driver keeps coming off

[kevin king]

Why is it all my glow drivers don't stay on the plug, keep falling off? Did glow plugs get smaller? Is there a fix? What is the best & safest one?
Kevin.

[Walter Hicks]

Kevin are you using Enya #3 glow plugs? My Sonic Tronics glow drive does that with Enya Glow plugs.

[Dave_Trible]

That is an issue with certain plugs.  The shank has needs to be made to a certain narrow dimension for the glow driver to hang on.   The Enya plugs are hit or miss depending on manufacturing tolerance of both the plugs and the driver.   I have a bunch of new but very old Glo Devils that won’t hang on at all.  I will use those on airplanes that I can use my old Quick Clip battery and cable with.  Alligator clips are an alternative.

Dave

[Dan McEntee]

    Some of the "push and twist" glow drivers get worn from vibration, and then that makes the misfit issue that Dave and Walt mentioned worse. I don't know if the little "teeth" the make it grab can be refreshed or not. There are styles that grab the plug, that require two fingers and a thumb to operate. Dubro and Dynamite brands work like this. I don't use a glow driver, and prefer to use a power panel and the Dubro gripper glow clip in cowled engines and alligator type clips on profile engines or anything with an exposed cylinder. Dubro used to make these funky looking spring loaded clips that have been discounted, but I had a few in my stuff and decided to try the small one for 1/2A engines and once I got it figure out and used to it, I kind of prefer that now on 1/2A engines. I'll have to put one of the larger ones together to try on exposed engines cylinders.
   Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

[EricV]

That is an issue with certain plugs.  The shank has needs to be made to a certain narrow dimension for the glow driver to hang on.   The Enya plugs are hit or miss depending on manufacturing tolerance of both the plugs and the driver.   I have a bunch of new but very old Glo Devils that won’t hang on at all.  I will use those on airplanes that I can use my old Quick Clip battery and cable with.  Alligator clips are an alternative.

Dave

Boy isn't that the truth! I had a batch of Enya 3's that I didn't find out until I had put in a freshie to practice with AT THE NATS that the glow driver would go on fine to start it, but once the engine was running, the combination of vibrations and oversized plug hex with burrs on it made it scary to remove! It is amazing how your adrenaline can shoot up when something upsets your routine like that. It's not like you want to point the nose down to kill it with a glow driver dangling above a spinning carbon 3 blade. I had to cover the vent and let it die lean pointing up, not my favorite way to shut one down. It even fought me coming off after the engine quit. I was quite upset because I really liked the runs I was getting of the Enya 3, and didn't want to go back to the TT Big idle bar, ended up switching drivers from my Sonic Tronic to my spare Hot Shot instead if I remember correctly.
EricV

[Tom Luciano]

Thats why I went back to the clothes pin style

[Ken Culbertson]

Never had my arming plug fall out, even once. 

Ken

[Dan McEntee]

Never had my arming plug fall out, even once. 

Ken

   But I have seen some fall apart and get weak, and I have fixed them and the wiring for a few people!! I have seen timers and speed controllers loose their smoke!! That is one problem with electric, newbies that can't and/or won't learn how to solder properly. This creates problems. I have let the smoke out of my starter box before when I dropped my glow clip on wet grass,  but easily fixed on the spot, but only ever had 1 engine failure when the Fox .35 in my Dragon threw a rod after putting in 300 point OTS flight!!! I've seen batteries fly out of airplanes also. Lots of ways to screw the pooch!
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee
.

[kevin king]

Thanks for the feedback guys. It's only a matter of time my luck will run out when the driver falls off into the prop. My friend that flys both RC & CL has a remote glow plug starter on his SV 11. That may be the safest way to go. Can anyone think of a reason not to use one on a stunt ship?

[Colin McRae]

I use an RC Cats glow driver w/ clip-on. My Sonic Tronic unit is my backup.

Side benefit is the voltage of the RC Cats unit is 1.55V versus 1.35V for the Sonic unit. Hotter plug start which helps.

[kenneth cook]

             I love my RCAT but the case keeps breaking. I have the protective outside on mine like yours but for some reason, the area around the recharge jack breaks constantly.

[Motorman]

It's only a matter of time my luck will run out when the driver falls off into the prop.

If you position the battery behind so if the clip falls off it can't reach the prop.

[Colin McRae]

             I love my RCAT but the case keeps breaking. I have the protective outside on mine like yours but for some reason, the area around the recharge jack breaks constantly.

I have had mine for 3 years. No breakage issues to date.

But I did build a simple holder using zip ties to mount the unit to the side of my field box so it is not dragged around or stepped on at my flying field.

[Mark Gerber]

I have found that often the reason the glow driver falls off is dirt inside the sleeve.  I clean it with Q-tips dipped in alcohol.  Push down hard on the center contact to force it to retract so you can clean more of the inside of the cylinder.  Also, Joe Gilbert gave me  a few glow plug washers that have a slightly smaller outer diameter than those that come with the plug.  These allow the glow driver to close better over the plug, especially short ones like the Enyas.

Mark Gerber

[kevin king]

@Walt, The plugs are not enya, but I appreciate the tip! In this case they are Fox plugs. The engine is mounted on a profile, so I assume the weight of the glow driver is contributing to the problem. The other engine is on a Bi Slob mounted upright, but that too shakes it loose.

[Dan McEntee]

@Walt, The plugs are not enya, but I appreciate the tip! In this case they are fix plugs. The engine is mounted on a profile, so I assume the weight of the glow driver is contributing to the problem. The other engine is on a Bi Slob mounted upright, but that too shakes it loose.

      On those two application, a "gripper" style glow driver would be better but still suffer some in the long run from the weight issue. I have seen some guys take a lead from an old glow driver charger, cut it off about two foot long, and attach to some sort of glow clip and you have the best of both worlds.

    Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Joe Gilbert]

My guess is it is a washer problem if more than one glow driver has the problem.

[Steve Helmick]

One of the guys had engine problems last Sunday. Engine started, got in the air, but the .46LA ran 'funny' and quit after maybe a dozen laps. While it was still gliding, I said the glowplug came out. I was almost right...it was about 3 turns from falling out. The guy uses a SonicTronic twist/lock ignitor. I've always used DuBro ignitors.

I fumbled the ignitor into an APC on my piped .46VF. Destroyed the ignitor and prop, as you might expect. Knowing how to shut off the engine QUICKLY is crucial. I put my thumb on the open end of the rubber ducky. Slight burn, NBD.

Onboard wiring the plug to a mini-phone jack is the safest way to go. Alan Resinger gave me a clip that he made from small piano wire...weighs almost nothing. Finding the mini-phone jack isn't easy since Radio Shack went Tango Utah, but they should be available online easy enough.  Steve

[Dan McEntee]

One of the guys had engine problems last Sunday. Engine started, got in the air, but the .46LA ran 'funny' and quit after maybe a dozen laps. While it was still gliding, I said the glowplug came out. I was almost right...it was about 3 turns from falling out. The guy uses a SonicTronic twist/lock ignitor. I've always used DuBro ignitors.

I fumbled the ignitor into an APC on my piped .46VF. Destroyed the ignitor and prop, as you might expect. Knowing how to shut off the engine QUICKLY is crucial. I put my thumb on the open end of the rubber ducky. Slight burn, NBD.

Onboard wiring the plug to a mini-phone jack is the safest way to go. Alan Resinger gave me a clip that he made from small piano wire...weighs almost nothing. Finding the mini-phone jack isn't easy since Radio Shack went Tango Utah, but they should be available online easy enough.  Steve

  I have the Hawker Typhoon that the late Walt Brownell built about the same time that Windy built his and it was powered by a OS.70? four stroke engine and he had a commercial remote glow plug adapter on that and it worked quite well. Four strokes have the glow plug in a really awkward locations and this helps immensely when you just have s socket on the side of the nose to plug into. I forget which brand it was, but I bought a couple of the Sonic Tronic units for whenever I get around to recovering my TF Score with the Saito .56 in the nose. I would consider it for any engine with a tightly cowled engine and you don't have to worry about getting a nice, concentric hole in the cowl around the glow plug!!

  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Ken Culbertson]

...this helps immensely when you just have s socket on the side of the nose to plug into....

I made one from a busted pocket radio and headset back in the 70's.  Worked well and I think I remember some others, so I probably copied them.  With the mini batteries available today wouldn't a microswitch to an onboard battery work?  "Switch On / Contact".  Nose weight doesn't have to be lead.

Ken

ps - is there perhaps a reason that there can't be constant current to a glow plug?

[Peter in Fairfax, VA]

Just spoke with the Sonic-Tronics factory.  I've had this same problem and fixed it with their advice, which is what Joe Gilbert mentioned above.

Try flipping the glow plug washer.  It may be concave due to enthusiastic torquing.

best,

Peter

[Steve Helmick]

I made one from a busted pocket radio and headset back in the 70's.  Worked well and I think I remember some others, so I probably copied them.  With the mini batteries available today wouldn't a microswitch to an onboard battery work?  "Switch On / Contact".  Nose weight doesn't have to be lead.

Ken

ps - is there perhaps a reason that there can't be constant current to a glow plug?

I'm sure a constant current to the glowplug would be fine, but would take a big battery for even one flight. Can't abide that! It would be cool beans to have an arming plug on the side of a glow powered model, though...extra AP! Steve

[Steve Helmick]

  I have the Hawker Typhoon that the late Walt Brownell built about the same time that Windy built his and it was powered by a OS.70? four stroke engine and he had a commercial remote glow plug adapter on that and it worked quite well. Four strokes have the glow plug in a really awkward locations and this helps immensely when you just have s socket on the side of the nose to plug into. I forget which brand it was, but I bought a couple of the Sonic Tronic units for whenever I get around to recovering my TF Score with the Saito .56 in the nose. I would consider it for any engine with a tightly cowled engine and you don't have to worry about getting a nice, concentric hole in the cowl around the glow plug!!

  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

The commercial remote glow plug adapters are great for R/C, but really heavy for CL Stunt use. I weighed one once but don't recall what it weighed. But I guess if you already have a Saito in the nose, what's another two ounces? Steve