Nitro - is an onboard glow ignitor a good idea?

[Sheldrake]

Hi looking for advice on the benefits (cons) of having an onboard glow ignitor. Would appreciate any advice personal thoughts on this.

Thanks for your contributions.

[LaurenceGough]

Yes it is!

Main advantages: No messing around with remote glow wires, no glow starters to have to keep charged. No forgetting the glow starter and also no need to carry the glow starter around with you. I also think the Switchglo/Pushglo are better for the glow plugs too.

The only drawback is a tiny bit of extra weight, but these things weigh nothing really...

[jimmyhorns]

Pros:

You dont need to remember your glow starter
You dont need to remember to charger your glow starter

Cons:

They go wrong
They run off your receiver battery (usually), so is another thing that can short or discharge your battery when you are not paying attention
Its a tiny bit of added weight
Its difficult to check that your glow is ok if you cant get it started (some starters will detect this though)

Personally I think they are more hassle then they are worth, I prefer having a hand-held glow start. They often appeal though, as they are a little bit 'cooler'.

[tonystevens]

im using a pushglo, nifty bit of kit and as lawrence said saves messing with ignighters and taking the cano on and off.

[nickwap]

What he said apart from the weight statement, according to PushGlo the weight is less than a remote glow extension, PushGlow also tells you when your plug has blown.

Nick

[LaurenceGough]

What he said apart from the weight statement, according to PushGlo the weight is less than a remote glow extension, PushGlow also tells you when your plug has blown.

Nick

The G4 has a nice canopy cutout for an extended glowplug starter I have seen a few helis like this, but either way the weight is very little.

[Sheldrake]

Thank you for all the quick replies! Brilliant forum this.

Can you give me a link to a good first pushglow please?

[trillian]

They're great if you only have one or two nitro helis and can then completely abandon the rechargeable glow lighters or power panel etc. I had one on a heli (switchglo) and it worked very well. Actually the 2nd one I got worked very well, the first one didn't work at all and I had to send it back.

But my situation was that I had too many helis to justify the cost of onboard glow for all of them, so I still had to have the glow lighter anyway.

[tonystevens]

PushGlow Onboard Glow Driver Igniter with Alligator Pigtail PG-A

[pchristy]

I always use an external glow battery, with an ammeter in series. It does more than tell you when the plug has blown - it can tell you instantly if the engine is flooded or dry, or if the battery is flat!

If the engine is set up correctly, you shouldn't need a supply to the glow once the engine is running, and indeed leaving the glow ignitor connected whilst the engine is running can substantially shorten the life of a plug.

You can get 5 amp ammeters from Maplins (originally intended for car batter chargers). An OS8 will normally draw just over 3 amps. If its drawing 4 or more, the engine is flooded. If the current drops when you crank it over, it is dry! The current consumption of other plugs will vary, and you will have to learn what your chosen plugs draw, but you get the idea!

You can't do that with an onboard glow!

[jimmyhorns]

Thanks Pete, thats good advice.

I use a handheld glow, but have the backup of a wired one into my flightbox which will tell me current e.t.c. I dont like having the wires trailing any more, hence the hand held, but the wired one is always good as a backup.

If you do go with an onboard glow, you are still going to need to take a glow start with you of some description, if only to rule out that its not your push-glo thats not getting your engine going

Id hate to travel 40 mins to find I couldnt fly because it was faulty.

[Sheldrake]

Thank you all I have a lot of good info here to consider. I certainly take on board your point Jimmy about a backup (I currently carry 3X glowsticks Just in case) which is why I was tempted by the onboard option in the first place!

Pete I really appreciate your point about the meter and the info it may provide because as a newbie to all this I find knowing what is happening when starting really baffling ( is the glow dead or flooded etc.) This seems the best way forward for me at the moment so a trip to my local Maplins tomorrow.

Thanks

Ewan