RC Model Reviews

Another quick question

How many hours of operation before you shoudl change it out. Should you change it out?

Ian

A good quality glowplug (OS or Enya) should last years.

The engine you use to break-in your engine however, may not last nearly that long. That's because during the break-in process, tiny particles of metal are "polished" off the moving parts as they develop a working fit. Some of those particles will end up being deposited on the glowplug element which will make it "cold" and less capable of igniting the fuel.

If you notice that the engine looses RPMs when you remove the glow-heater or stops unexpectedly then chances are that your break-in plug has gotten too cold due to this contamination.

Almost all of the metal-shedding happens during the first hour or so of running so you can safely change to a new plug after that, safe in the knowledge that it should last a long, long time.

Bugger, that plug cost me 12 bucks i wish i would have used a cheap plug now :}.

Yep, I always use an old plug for running in a new engine.

$12 !!! What kind of plug was it? Even the four stroke plugs at Merlin are only $9. I must be spoiled.

The very best plug for all the 4-strokes I've used has been the OS-F

There are other brands (Merlin, Fox, etc) but the OS-F gives best power, best idle, best transition and longest life.

My Saitos are still using the original OS-Fs I fitted after I broke them in and they're *years* old now.

My experience with the Fox Miracle plug is that it was colder than the OS and gave a rougher idle with less RPMs. It also seemed to wear out pretty quick -- getting increasingly colder over 10-15 tanks of fuel until it would no longer idle reliably.

Haven't actually tried the Merlin 4-stroke plugs but the 2-stroke ones I tried were pretty "average", not as good as the OS or Enya equivalents.