How many amps will a 1.5V glo tolerate?

If voltage is controlled at 1.5V the plug will draw only what it is going to draw.

V=I*R

Phil

pkrankow wrote:If voltage is controlled at 1.5V the plug will draw only what it is going to draw.  

V=I*R

Phil

Meaning, check your voltage with a meter with the leads open and turn it up or down to 1.5v before connecting it to the plug.

Best is to check how much it glows, start low and increase for orange/yellow colour.[/quote]

Surfer_kris sez it best. "It's so simple "even a caveman could do it". (Apologies to GEICO Insurance)   

SD

RknRusty wrote:

pkrankow wrote:If voltage is controlled at 1.5V the plug will draw only what it is going to draw.  

V=I*R

Phil

Meaning, check your voltage with a meter with the leads open and turn it up or down to 1.5v before connecting it to the plug.

If you have the available capacity then yes, having the ideal voltage and not caring much about the amps is best.

There is a wrench in the works though.

The coils are platinum plated or platinum because of the favorable interaction between fuel and platinum as a catalyst. The platinum catalyst lowers the ignition temperature of the fuel and makes the flame start both easier and in a specific location. The coil also retains heat (glow) as part of this process, and residues burn on the wire between strokes.

Platinum is also a very temperature sensitive material regarding conductivity. This means that the draw of the glow plug will change with the temperature of the element.

If you pass the current over a low resistance shunt, then measured the voltage across the shunt you can figure the draw of the plug, and determine if it is flooded or clear. (I do not know how the various panels determine amperage though)

If it is flooded then added voltage would increase the energy into the excess fuel and clear the flooded state faster, but added voltage without the excess fuel cooling the plug risks burning out the plug.

I choose to use a small pile of 1.5V batteries because it is inexpensive, reliable, and not likely to accidentally damage my glow plug. I do have to wait a minute or two if I flood the engine though.

Phil

pkrankow wrote:

If you have the available capacity then yes, having the ideal voltage and not caring much about the amps is best....

Phil

Understood. I was just going on the assumption that a glow panel made for that purpose would have the horsepower to maintain the voltage even if an unusually high conductive load socked it.
The simple visual check is safe enough too, if you start low.
Rusty

The Deluxe Power Panel II is a current controlled circuit with constant voltage

With a 12vdc source, usually a 7 to 9 amp hour gel cell battery, the 13.4VDC (fully charged) to 10vdc (depleted needing re-charge) is held constant at 1.2VDC on the glow plug output. A trim pot and meter provide a 0 to 5 amp source to the load (glow coil)

I use mine to pre condition all my glow plugs for 15 seconds and see if any are blown or weak.

Each plug in a series ...Example 10 new Nelson plugs, are attached and raised from 0amps to bright red and noted at what Amps the bright red was, say 3.5 Amps and returned to my small bag with a note. Any that lite bright red under 2 amps are suspicious and go in a separate bag for practice or bench run only

SD.... I tested a few cox heads and some typical plugs like McCoy 59 or Fireball and blowing them with high current (over 4 amps) is possible but is time dependent...In other words I can take any plug and run it up to full 5 amps (very very bright RED, nearly white) and instantly back down and it does not seem to hurt the plug....but linger at full power for more than a few seconds and the coil either melts and distorts or it just blows like a light bulb filament. I Noted this behavior so I only go above 4 amps with a wet plug needing to clear a flood

Good info, Fred!

Thank you muchly,

SD