Advice on glow plugs

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dirko
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Advice on glow plugs

Post by dirko »

Which glow plugs are you guys using on:

O.S. 15LA?

Magnum 15XLS?

O.S. 25FX?
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Ed Kettler
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Post by Ed Kettler »

OS #8 on my 25fx and 15LAs.
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

A3 for the LA and R5 for the FX.
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Blue Note
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Post by Blue Note »

<font color="blue">I have run O.S. #8s and A3s on the <b>Magnum 15XLS</b>s. Both have given me reliable runs and idles, but you'll get about a 150rpm drop with the A3's - at least I do - your mileage may vary.

I have only run the O.S. A3's in my <b>O.S. 15LA</b>s. They run very well without issue and seem to last a very long time.

I have had the best luck running the O.S. #8s in my <b>O.S. 25FX</b> engines.

There are many plugs out there that I have not tried yet, in part due to availability.</font id="blue">
EK
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Post by EK »

K&B1L for 15la and 25fx. If they ping a K&BHP
gsjames
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Post by gsjames »

I have to SLOW my Magnum .15 XLS down to 17,500 so I use an OS A3 since it has the WORST performance. In my OS 25FX for OpenB and Pylon racing I use a KB 1L or a Merlin 2016 for max performance. I haven't tried them in a 2548 yet, but will base my plug on the rpm needed.

I ran a test of over 10 plugs on the OS 25FX and found the A3 to be the worst and the KB 1L and Merlin 2016 to be the best. All the others were inbetween
sgilkey
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Post by sgilkey »

Gary, Merlin lists the 2016 as Glo-bee style. Does that plug throttle and idle well? How is the durability?

I use OS A3 and 8 mostly because I have a bunch of them. They are very durable and throttle well, which is important to me. I have stripped a couple of heads due to the short thread engagement of the OS plugs. They do not perform as well as some other plugs, rpm wise, but due to their durability and reliability I still like them.

I like the K&B 1L, it seems to be a good all-around performer and reasonably durable too.
gsjames
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Post by gsjames »

Scott: The Merlin 2016 is in fact a GloBee style plug. It doesn't idle well, but throttles reasonably well once the engine is heated up. I wouldn't recommend it in an engine that needs to idle. I run them WFO in my Q-25/Club 40/424 racers and in OpenB where idling is not a significant need. They are good for about 200-300 rpm more than the KB-1L which is an EXCELLENT all-round plug (unless you are trying to decrease the performance of the Magnum .15 XLS)
sgilkey
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Post by sgilkey »

Thanks Gary. I've had some cold plugs like the Nelson and MC-8 that just don't throttle worth beans, too cold! If the 2016 at least throttles down to maybe 25% that might work. We do sometimes cut to idle for those times when we try to get folks to fly past us! But usually it's just a cut to maybe 25% Also, we need to idle/throttle for spot landings, which are popular at the local contests. Think the 2016, once launched and warmed up, might work for that? Thanks again.
gsjames
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Post by gsjames »

Yeah, that would probably work, but I'd still use a KB 1L for anything that I needed to idle or throttle down significantly, the extra 200-300 isn't necessary in OpenB or in spot landing. It's only worth it for racing.

In spot landing and 2 minute timed flight stuff at the local "fun flies", I use one of my OpenB planes and I just kill the engine and land dead stick because the other guys in WAMS aren't very good pilots and this gives them a better chance.
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boiler
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Re: Advice on glow plugs

Post by boiler »

I've seen Fireball glow plugs advertised in MA. They are really cheap. I flew them in CL Combat 40 years ago and they worked great. Does anyone have recent experience with them?
Bob (Longhaul) Loescher
rcca# 621 RC Combat Geezer
Bring those planes in closer where I can see them.
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