Compact Glowhead Clip

944_Jim wrote:I do like the concept! But I think the wires are too thin, thus impeding current flow. Consider how thick the original clip wires are, and try to match them.

944_Jim might be right.
With those small gage wires, you are probably getting too much resistance.
Those wire look to be about 22ga.?
Look to use maybe a 18ga wire if possible.

If you have a buddy that flies electric (park flier) ask him for a couple of short wires from his old airborne battery that he no longer needs. The wires from that motor battery pack maybe long enough for you?
The reason I suggesting that is, the wire on those battery packs are multistring copper (lower resistance)
and the outer casing (insulation) is silicon and not vinyl, so it's more flexible and the silicon doesn't get brittle with age and it is not bothered with the different fuels like the vinyl would (especially the glow fuel).
Also, with the opening and closing of the clip, it might be a better idea to use the silicon coated wire ( for flexibility?)

Take it from who flies both electric, glow, diesel, and gas.
I usually change the vinyl wires over to silicon wiring (with multistring copper wires).
Especially on my remote starter wire for my Enya 4-strokes.

sosam117 wrote:

944_Jim wrote:I do like the concept! But I think the wires are too thin, thus impeding current flow. Consider how thick the original clip wires are, and try to match them.

944_Jim might be right.
With those small gage wires, you are probably getting too much resistance.
Those wire look to be about 22ga.?
Look to use maybe a 18ga wire if possible.

If you have a buddy that flies electric (park flier) ask him for a couple of short wires from his old airborne battery that he no longer needs. The wires from that motor battery pack maybe long enough for you?
The reason I suggesting that is, the wire on those battery packs are multistring copper (lower resistance)
and the outer casing (insulation) is silicon and not vinyl, so it's more flexible and the silicon doesn't get brittle with age and it is not bothered with the different fuels like the vinyl would (especially the glow fuel).
Also, with the opening and closing of the clip, it might be a better idea to use the silicon coated wire ( for flexibility?)

Take it from who flies both electric, glow, diesel, and gas.
I usually change the vinyl wires over to silicon wiring (with multistring copper wires).
Especially on my remote starter wire for my Enya 4-strokes.

sosam117:  and remember most people use 2x D cells now and they are rated at about 5,000mAhr to 10,000mAhr depending on brand used. In parallel. I use the old Cox wires x2 or replace them with wire from an AC plug not used any longer. At least quadruple the wire area, 4x, reducing the loss in the wire to almost nothing. The glow head is using Amps to get it hot. So the more the better.

The glow head should be the limiting resistance here, not the connecting wires.

Happydad

It worked! That cheap Battery box is faulty, terminal isn't connected! I am going to change battery box. With long and thin cables I can get a good glow.

You are right about wire gauge. I will change those thin cables with thicker gauge. Thank you at all

happydad wrote:

sosam117 wrote:

944_Jim wrote:I do like the concept! But I think the wires are too thin, thus impeding current flow. Consider how thick the original clip wires are, and try to match them.

944_Jim might be right.
With those small gage wires, you are probably getting too much resistance.
Those wire look to be about 22ga.?
Look to use maybe a 18ga wire if possible.

If you have a buddy that flies electric (park flier) ask him for a couple of short wires from his old airborne battery that he no longer needs. The wires from that motor battery pack maybe long enough for you?
The reason I suggesting that is, the wire on those battery packs are multistring copper (lower resistance)
and the outer casing (insulation) is silicon and not vinyl, so it's more flexible and the silicon doesn't get brittle with age and it is not bothered with the different fuels like the vinyl would (especially the glow fuel).
Also, with the opening and closing of the clip, it might be a better idea to use the silicon coated wire ( for flexibility?)

Take it from who flies both electric, glow, diesel, and gas.
I usually change the vinyl wires over to silicon wiring (with multistring copper wires).
Especially on my remote starter wire for my Enya 4-strokes.

sosam117:  and remember most people use 2x D cells now and they are rated at about 5,000mAhr to 10,000mAhr depending on brand used. In parallel. I use the old Cox wires x2 or replace them with wire from an AC plug not used any longer. At least quadruple the wire area, 4x, reducing the loss in the wire to almost nothing. The glow head is using Amps to get it hot. So the more the better.

The glow head should be the limiting resistance here, not the connecting wires.

Happydad

Hi Happydad,
You can get by with one cell ("AA" , "C" , or "D") dry cell battery. it just won't last for hours.
The more important thing to remember is the voltage.
The 1.5 volts is the good voltage to have for a good glow on your plug.
3 volts and puff   Your glow plug is fried!

The nickel metal hydride cell he is using only generates 1.24volts, which is a little on the low side.
I saw the voltage in his photo. Which 1.24volts is the correct for nickel metal hydride cells.
So, when we use to use nickel metal hydride for our receiver packs, we used "five" cell to get the voltage up, compaired to the "four" when we use Nicads for our receiver packs.

Now I use a 2 cell lipo pack with a voltage regulator to kick the voltage down to 6 volts for my reciever.

Nicads have a voltage of 1.4 volts per cell.
So, he could use a one cell nicad in his compact glow head clip with a mah of 3300mah or so to light up his glow plugs ( on a few engines.)

I never liked the "factory" wiring and "crimping".
Most of the time I redo the work the way I like it. Which by the "factory" would cost too much.

So, I would get some heavier wire that has silicon insulation.
Rough up the contact points where the factory crimped wires were.
Solder my new multi-strain copper wire in silicon insulation to the contact points on the glowhead clip.

And I would use a single cell nicad cell of about 2700mah.
That would last for a few starts on the glow engine. Not long constant flipping, but two or three flips of the prop (spring starter!).

The nickel metal hydride cell he is using only generates 1.24volts, which is a little on the low side.
I saw the voltage in his photo. Which 1.24volts is the correct for nickel metal hydride cells.
So, when we use to use nickel metal hydride for our receiver packs, we used "five" cell to get the voltage up, compaired to the "four" when we use Nicads for our receiver packs.
.....
Nicads have a voltage of 1.4 volts per cell.
So, he could use a one cell nicad in his compact glow head clip with a mah of 3300mah or so to light up his glow plugs ( on a few engines.)

But I checked Ni-Mh voltage and it is 1.4 Volt.

Levent Suberk wrote:

The nickel metal hydride cell he is using only generates 1.24volts, which is a little on the low side.
I saw the voltage in his photo. Which 1.24volts is the correct for nickel metal hydride cells.
So, when we use to use nickel metal hydride for our receiver packs, we used "five" cell to get the voltage up, compaired to the "four" when we use Nicads for our receiver packs.
.....
Nicads have a voltage of 1.4 volts per cell.
So, he could use a one cell nicad in his compact glow head clip with a mah of 3300mah or so to light up his glow plugs ( on a few engines.)

But I checked Ni-Mh voltage and it is 1.4 Volt.

Laven: Is the voltage measured on the NiMh or the NiCd measured under load, or no load?

   also check to see how much current your NiMh battery was made to provide. Many of the small NiMh batteries were made to provide 100 to 200mAhr for a smoke detector or some small device similar to it. Check the maximum current rating. It is usually shown on the device or in the literature. The old D cells we used in the past and still do today were used 2x in parallel and that combination provided many, many AMPS of maximum current for minutes. The small NiMh batteries were not intended for this kind of use, but may work for short periods of time.

Happydad.

I will check the current.

This one is very handy because no long glow head clip cables.

Of course D size batteries have more ampere hours.

sosam117 wrote:

happydad wrote:

sosam117 wrote:

944_Jim wrote:I do like the concept! But I think the wires are too thin, thus impeding current flow. Consider how thick the original clip wires are, and try to match them.

944_Jim might be right.
With those small gage wires, you are probably getting too much resistance.
Those wire look to be about 22ga.?
Look to use maybe a 18ga wire if possible.

If you have a buddy that flies electric (park flier) ask him for a couple of short wires from his old airborne battery that he no longer needs. The wires from that motor battery pack maybe long enough for you?
The reason I suggesting that is, the wire on those battery packs are multistring copper (lower resistance)
and the outer casing (insulation) is silicon and not vinyl, so it's more flexible and the silicon doesn't get brittle with age and it is not bothered with the different fuels like the vinyl would (especially the glow fuel).
Also, with the opening and closing of the clip, it might be a better idea to use the silicon coated wire ( for flexibility?)

Take it from who flies both electric, glow, diesel, and gas.
I usually change the vinyl wires over to silicon wiring (with multistring copper wires).
Especially on my remote starter wire for my Enya 4-strokes.

sosam117:  and remember most people use 2x D cells now and they are rated at about 5,000mAhr to 10,000mAhr depending on brand used. In parallel. I use the old Cox wires x2 or replace them with wire from an AC plug not used any longer. At least quadruple the wire area, 4x, reducing the loss in the wire to almost nothing. The glow head is using Amps to get it hot. So the more the better.

The glow head should be the limiting resistance here, not the connecting wires.

Happydad

Hi Happydad,
You can get by with one cell ("AA" , "C" , or "D") dry cell battery. it just won't last for hours.
The more important thing to remember is the voltage.
The 1.5 volts is the good voltage to have for a good glow on your plug.
3 volts and puff   Your glow plug is fried!

The nickel metal hydride cell he is using only generates 1.24volts, which is a little on the low side.
I saw the voltage in his photo. Which 1.24volts is the correct for nickel metal hydride cells.
So, when we use to use nickel metal hydride for our receiver packs, we used "five" cell to get the voltage up, compaired to the "four" when we use Nicads for our receiver packs.

Now I use a 2 cell lipo pack with a voltage regulator to kick the voltage down to 6 volts for my reciever.

Nicads have a voltage of 1.4 volts per cell.
So, he could use a one cell nicad in his compact glow head clip with a mah of 3300mah or so to light up his glow plugs ( on a few engines.)

sosam117: left out the words “in parallel”. Oops. Oh I see now I used the words “in parallel” after the D cell ratings. The D cell battery holders that coxengines.ca sells are connected in parallel. I thought everyone took that for granted. And NiCd batteries are rated at 1.2volts, the minimum voltage.

Hd

I still prefer my power panel, as there are a very few rare plugs that will blow at 1.5 and higher voltage!

Case in point are Gilbert glow heads. I have Gilbert 11 engines that work well at half the panel current setting of a normal plug, but don't last long at the standard setting I use for modern plugs!

The Gilbert 07 heads I have will not last as long at the same setting used on the Gilbert 11 heads, but the 07 heads also don't last as long bench running. I have a few 07 heads rebuilt by the late Merlin guy (RIP), but won't use them for playing on the engine run bench. As far as I know Dan Sitter has no more.

I now test all new (to me) plugs by turning the power panel all the way down and advancing the knob  slowly, while observing the plug element for a healthy orange glow. You might be surprised at the difference between brands of modern plugs!

Bill

smooth_bill wrote:I still prefer my power panel, as there are a very few rare plugs that will blow at 1.5 and higher voltage!

Case in point are Gilbert glow heads. I have Gilbert 11 engines that work well at half the panel current setting of a normal plug, but don't last long at the standard setting I use for modern plugs!

The Gilbert 07 heads I have will not last as long at the same setting used on the Gilbert 11 heads, but the 07 heads also don't last as long bench running. I have a few 07 heads rebuilt by the late Merlin guy (RIP), but won't use them for playing on the engine run bench. As far as I know Dan Sitter has no more.

I now test all new (to me) plugs by turning the power panel all the way down and advancing the knob  slowly, while observing the plug element for a healthy orange glow. You might be surprised at the difference between brands of modern plugs!

Bill

But Bill, this is the CoxEngineForum  
   and we only talk about Cox engines don’t we.

Just keeding. We talk about whatever we want, and we use whatever we NEED to use to get the job done. That is what it is what this forum is about.

Happydad

Levent Suberk wrote:You are right about wire gauge. I will change those thin cables with thicker gauge. Thank you at all

The "Sig Manufacturing Co." in Montezuma, Iowa (USA) sells a 1/2A starter kit which includes a similar glow-clip with a small coil of 18GA "lamp-wire" (2 conductor) and terminals. Lamp-wire insulation is vinyl but the wire inside will pass more current/amperes than the thin wire on your battery-holder. Soldered connections with strain-reliefs are superior.. if you can provide them.

I've bought two of these kits over the last 30 years. Comes with a pt. of "Champion 25" (Cox approved) glow fuel, the clip/wire, Dacron flying-line, a 1/2A C/L handle and a fueling-syringe. Having only one pint of fuel; it probably would ship anywhere in the world without a hazardous material concern. 

I changed cables with 18 gauge cable. New Cox glowhead draws 1.7 Ampere. Ni-Mh battery voltage is 1.383 Volt. Under load battery voltage drops to 0.985 Volt. Got a good glow. Removed glowhead clip and checked battery voltage again, it is 1.280 Volt. Attached clip again and got a good glow.

Woo Hoo! Good job!