Glow Plugs

[Paul Taylor]

OK, I tried searching and looking for info on plugs.

What is the best plug to use in a OS .40

[Phil Smith]

Thunderbolt R/C long with idle bar is my favorite, works reliably on 5% in all my  LAs.

[peabody]

Yup...the Thunderbolt works great....although....mayhaps next time I'll try some of Rich Oliver's....

[Regina Kelly]

Paul,

I have been testing several plugs made by Al Kelly and marketed under the trade name Merlin Gow Plugs.  Al has sold many thousand plugs for the RC car guys and has a variety of plugs for CLPA use.  So far, all his plugs which I have used have been very satisfactory.

Brodak lists some of Al's plugs and Al can be reached at 708-246-3730.

I am at my daughter's for Christmas so I don't have the ID numbers of the plugs handy.   Tell Al that Jim Oliver sent you!!

Merry Christmas.

Jim

[Dennis Moritz]

Enya #3s have become a fetish in FP and LA 40s. Pricey. But keep everything lit. Even calm some engines down. Don't think I've had an engine cut out when using one of these plugs. I always burn %5. Be careful with them when installing. Bump the front end and chances are you'll have to throw the plug away. They're soldered right along the outside rim. Perhaps the forward element contributes to their effectiveness. My carelessness has destroyed more than one of these up scale darlings. I've zitsed a few with the power panel. Dropped them. Easy to tell when you've got one in the engine. That waterfall ribbing on the center electrode looks nice when I wear my glasses and get up close. The helicopter guys use a lot of these. Price is almost reasonable when you mail order them there. Helio engines go through lots of stress, need an excellent plug to keep on twirling.

[Ward Van Duzer]

We went through this excercise years ago when we started running the pipes in Georgia. Looking for long lasting, dependable plugs, at any price, that wouldn't get blown out or cause flame outs! We spent a lot of $ on high zoot plugs and found the cheep-O T'bolt R/C longs and the Glo-Bee 300's as good (or better) than most $10.00 plugs.

 

[Larry Wong]

I found that Thunder bolt 4-Stroke works great for control line flying , I use them on my P A'S and O S and 4- Stroke's

[Bill Little]

Always have haad great success running the Thunderbolt plugs.  Although I got a "high Rhodium" plug at Huntersville that did some amazing things to the engine run.........all good things!

Bill <><

[john e. holliday]

Nobody has mentioned the SIG MFG glo plug #003.  My flying partner has turned me onto them.  Not all that expensive either in the long run.  DOC Holliday

[Bob Reeves]

I have mostly used the Thunderbolt RC like everyone else but it seems Hobby People no longer offers the 10 pack deal so I ordered a dozen SIG's through a local dealer. I would almost bet they are exactly the same plug.

[Bill Little]

I used to use the Sig plug a lot, but just switched to the T-Bolt.  Lots of good plugs out there, but I use what's readily availble which I usually buy at contests.

[Louis Rankin]

Paul,

Jim and I use the SIG R/C Long  plugs.  You have heard our engines run and have seen our planes fly.  Enough said!

[John Paris]

For what it is worth, I have had pretty good luck with the Tower Hobbies RC plug without the idle bar (I don't think that the idle bar version is available anymore anyway).  Looks amazingly like the OS plugs and is quite a bit less.  Works quite well in my Fox 35s and was the only one I found that would stay lit well in all cases for the dreaded burp.  They have worked well in almost all of my engines as well.  A nice option that is readily available.
John

[L0U CRANE]

Paul, and all in on this one...

Believe it or not, I've had great service from possibly the least expensive plugs available. Swanson's Fireball hot range plugs, both idle bar and open, do well on the medium-high RPM mode many of us use nowadays.

Yes, they had a reputation for blowing the seals a while back, but the uses where this came up were racing and combat. MUCH higher plug load conditions than stunt. And, being inexpensive, it is much easier to pull a plug and chuck it if there's any question about how it looks.

Sure, high priced plugs - OS #3 or certain ENYAs - may do as well, and for a longer time, but where I am, they are not all that available. Fireballs are easily found, at good prices.

(FYI: Swanson is one of the oldest glow plug manufacturers, and still makes them here in the USA.)

[Dick Fowler]

OK... memory test. Back in the 60's I used an RC plug in My Fox .36X combat motors. It had a stamped, flat plate over the glow element as opposed to the typical rectangular bar found on most RC plugs. These plugs were much more durable than the typical glow plug which might last two flights... if that.

Problem is I can't remember who made them... anyone every use them?

[Arlan McKee]

I bought a card of Fireballs and I believe Paul did , as well.
Never again! I have had blown seals and deformed elements, one or the other, after just a couple of flights, with the first 6 I have tried.
 
I hate this buying glowplug business. Duke Fox gave me 6 cards of 4-cycle and 4 cards of RC longs at the '86 Nats in Lake Charles. We just ran out this past spring.
If I remember correctly, he also gave us an Eagle .60, a .40 BB deluxe, a .40 bushing, and 2 gallons of Missle Mist.

[Kreth]

OK... memory test. Back in the 60's I used an RC plug in My Fox .36X combat motors. It had a stamped, flat plate over the glow element as opposed to the typical rectangular bar found on most RC plugs. These plugs were much more durable than the typical glow plug which might last two flights... if that.

Problem is I can't remember who made them... anyone every use them?

I think those were K&B plugs.

Kreth

[RandySmith]

OK, I tried searching and looking for info on plugs.

What is the best plug to use in a OS .40

HI Paul

I routinely  buy  most all plugs out there and test  them. My finding are the best ones for Our uses in CL  Stunt  are
Glo Devil 300
Enya 3 and  4
T Bolt  Big Bore 
T Bolt RC Long
T Bolt 4 cycle
T Bolt #3
Merlin  2004
Merlin 2007
Merlin 2009
I hear very good results from people using OS  plugs although I never  seem to get as good a results as they do with them
The SIG RC long plug seems  to work OK also

Regards

Randy