cox motors and the ambient temperature...

Hey beez,

If your engine was "Cold Soaked"..left outside to chill for a long period...it might be hesitant to start. If you have a source of heat you can aim at the engine for a while, it ought to start. Also, keeping it wrapped as you leave your house for the field will help, along with returning it to a warm vehicle between flights. In '"The Old Days" we'd slide a big hose onto my van's exhaust pipe, point the other end at our engines a few moments from starting, wipe off the moisture, and crank them up.

As SD pointed out, you DO need good power to the glowhead...a Power Panel will help you make sure you've got the amps you need.

Most air-cooled engines LOVE cold air...once they're started. It's the PILOTS that wilt in the heat and freeze in the cold!

Cold air is usually dense air, so you were probably lean on the setting. Nitro carries it's own oxygen, so, double lean.

High compression head would be your best bet, that will add more heat to the chamber on the power stroke.

And Preheat as well.

I have ran nitro burners down to 18°F, but it required removing 1 head gasket (tightening the squish band, rasing compression), a hot glow plug, rich needle setting.

They are stubborn at those temps, but they will run. Once you get it right, they are rip snorting with that cold air and high nitro content .

yeah, i do remember my battery not giving out the best current that day...but thanks for your tips, guys!
now my neighbours won't even be safe from the engines in the winter! ha!

Well engines are harder to start as they get hotter because they have less compression this is more of a problem with diesels because they rely on compression to ignite the mixture.