Tell me all about glow plug Igniters

[MONSTER]

More of my longwinded ramblings...

We are starting to run Nitro Vehicles more and more, and the Glow Plug Igniter seems to give us the most "road blocks". So, we need to know a little more about them. We have 2 different ones. One is a Regular C-Cell Type, but I use a Rechargeable Sub C-Cell in it. The other appears to be "Disposable". The Sub C-Cell looks like its shrink wrapped on. I found a second Sub C today that seemed to be ok, but didnt have time to give it an overnight charge with the wall chargers we have. So, here are a few questions:

When using Regular C-Cells, I get VERY few starts. Some seem to be great on my Battery Tester, but will BARELY warm a Glow Plug. Why do they even make these, if they dont work any better than that?

How many Starts should we expect from a Sub C-Cell Igniter?

How long should a Sub C-Cell Take to be fully charged, using a Wall Charger that plugs into the Igniter like a Glow Plug? They only have a Red Light that indicates they are charging, nothing to say ther are Fully Charged.

Is there one that will work with a Stick Pack? Im sure hooking up a regular Stick Pack would burn up a Glow Plug, but I thought maybe there was one that had some sort of "Regulator" to keep that from happening.

Just looking for the most convenient way to be able to Start Up as many times/vehicles as we want in one day.

Any of that make sense?

[Brandon G]

Go buy a glowbee or a dynamite quick charger for your rechargeable ignitors. I think they do a 20 min peak charge, and then go to trickle mode after. I have been using one of the dynamite chargers for about 6 months now with much success. You will need the spring lock type ignitors for these chargers, the twist lock type tear the glow plug dummy in the chargers up. Most ignitors off the shelf have a 1200mah battery in them, but if you peak charge them, they should last most of the day. If not, drop in any nicd or nimh with a higher mah rating for more life. Try the charger first.....
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJ481&P=ML

[Erich Reichert]

There was an airplane company called RCCatz (maybe RCKatz) that made a lipo started... the plugs glow MUCH brighter with it and its lasted me about 4 years. Those c cell ones are ok, i just leave those on the charger perm when not in use.They should last about one day of running give or take.

[purpletimbo]

You can get 12v ones with a dropper, I always carry one just in case clips onto a full size car battery, or some chargers like the one I got the other day will charge a glow starter at high current if you ahve a big battery in it, I have two which are aluminium bodied and unscrew to take a 3300 sub c nimh.
http://www.ripmax.com/item.asp?itemid=O-SUNG-RP5000&ItemsPerPage=100&selectedtab=070&Category=070
very useful charger up to 11 cells and Tx Rx and a glow plug socket.

runs 12v and you can adjust output to glow realy well

[justinspeed79]

I beleive it is the charging that makes the difference. I always use sub-c starters, with a good charge they will last at least a good day of running. There have been times when I have used mine several days without charging. Of coarse it varies how much you will actually use one in a day, but you definately shouldn't have to worry about it going dead before the day is up. I always peak charge them, and occasionally I will even cycle them a couple of times. Most of them are rated for 1200mah, but usually they will peak quite a bit higher than that. Most of the wall chargers have a rated output of 120ma, at that rate you can expect it to take at least 10-12 hours for a good charge, you could easily leave it charging for 14-16 hours if you want to make sure it is completely full.

[Halgar]

I beleive it is the charging that makes the difference. I always use sub-c starters, with a good charge they will last at least a good day of running. There have been times when I have used mine several days without charging. Of coarse it varies how much you will actually use one in a day, but you definately shouldn't have to worry about it going dead before the day is up. I always peak charge them, and occasionally I will even cycle them a couple of times. Most of them are rated for 1200mah, but usually they will peak quite a bit higher than that. Most of the wall chargers have a rated output of 120ma, at that rate you can expect it to take at least 10-12 hours for a good charge, you could easily leave it charging for 14-16 hours if you want to make sure it is completely full.

That's what mine were, wall chargers and they recommended at least 10 hours, but not more than 14 hours of charge. I could get a good outing on a single charge, but because my Maxx spent more time on the tail gate than the ground, I could burn through an igniter pretty quickly. I also had two igniters so that I'd always have a hot one, depending on how finicky the Maxx was being.

[Tadracket]

Can't go wrong here:

APP $20


+

APP $20


+

APP $40


+

APP $13


You would need a few other things like alligator clips and fuel tubing.
But this is a great start. This is what I used for years.
Still got most of it, just have to get another box and battery.

[MONSTER]

Can't go wrong here:

APP $20


+

APP $20


+

APP $40


+

APP $13


You would need a few other things like alligator clips and fuel tubing.
But this is a great start. This is what I used for years.
Still got most of it, just have to get another box and battery.

Icant see anything.

[Tadracket]

They are pics from Tower Hobbies. The cool thing about this set up, you can go from street to air field and not miss a beat. But even if you do not fly (planes anyway ) this set up will give you days of countless use and fun. Here are the links:

Fuel Pump: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVZ41&P=ML

Power Panel: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXACW7&P=ML

Field Box: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPS86&P=ML

Battery: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXL370&P=M

You can find better prices on some of this stuff. And Tower does combo deals. Most may find this over kill but I have seen what some of you bring to the party and over kill is definitely up some of you guys alley