Make your own remote glow-plug lighter

Model Airplane News, Jun 2001 by Mosher, Vance

MODEL AIRPLANE NEWS

HOW TO

Safer models in minutes

Alot of people use remote glow-plug lighters these days; they look better and they are safer, and installing one is easier than cutting a hole in the cowl in exactly the right place over the glow plug. This simple and effective technique makes them cheaper, too. Total cost is about $1, and the process is so easy that you can make one in minutes.

THE REMOTE END

Split the lamp-cord wires about 2 inches at one end and 3 inches at the other end. Shorten one of the 2-inch wires by about 3/4 inch. Strip 1/4 inch of insulation off both ends of both wires.

Clamp the no. 6 nut in a vise with the back face showing so that you can solder the long wire from the 2-inch end of the chord to the nut. Use resin-core solder; acid-core solders will eventually eat the wires. Use glass cleaner to clean off excess resin. Be careful not to cover the hole, and don't linger with the soldering iron, or you'll melt the nylon in the nut. Keep the solder off the sides of the nut; they need to be clean to fit your glow-plug lighter. Thread the hard piece of insulated house wire into the back of the no. 6 nut so that about 1/4 inch sticks out the top. Cut 1/8 inch of insulation off the top and 1/4 inch off the bottom end. Drill out the center of the nut to 1/8 inch if you can't thread the insulated wire into it. Glue the wire into the nut and into its own insulation with thin CA. Solder the remaining lamp-- cord wire (the shorter wire) to the hard house-wire end. Fit the wires together smoothly.

Glue this assembly Into the plywood so that the wires go through the hole. Leave a space between the nut and the plywood. Attach this plywood, or any platform that is suitable, to the airplane where you can reach it with your glowplug lighter. Cover all the solder joints with Goop or silicone sealant.

THE ENGINE END

Take the side of the snap link with the pin in it, and cut the rest of the link off near the rolled tube base. You can cut the snap link easily with a cutoff disc on a rotary tool, with the snap link held in a vise. Drill out the hole in the remaining blade to 3/32 inch (or however large your glow-plug post is). From the remaining end of the lamp cord (with the 3-inch split), identify which wire is connected to the plug post (the one soldered to the house wire) and which is soldered to the nut. Push the wire whose other end is soldered to the plug post into the pushrod hole in the bottom of the snap link, and push 14 inch of the 0.032-- inch wire into the blade end. The 0.032 wire goes over the hole in the blade and touches the blade near the hole; cut off any excess wire. Solder this assembly inside the snap-link tube, and shrink the shrink tube over it so that only about 4 inch of the snap link is showing (get as close to the hole in the blade as you can). To finish the engine end of your remote plug lighter, simply crimp or solder the no. 6 ring connector to the loose end of the lamp-cord wire that is soldered to the nut.

INSTALLATION

The hole in the snap link fits over the glow-plug post, and tension from the 0.032 wire holds it on, even under severe vibration. The shrink tube insulates the clip from the cylinder head and from the glow-plug base. Attach the lead with the no. 6 ring connector under a motor-- mounting bolt to ground the glow plug. Use larger ring connectors for larger motor-mounting bolts, if needed. You can modify the ply mounting piece to any shape or size that is convenient for installation on your model.

When installed, this simple remote glow lighter will help protect both you and your model. It will allow you to start your engine with your hands well away from the prop, and it will eliminate the need for cutting unsightly and inconvenient holes in your cowl.

Hangar 9; distributed by Horizon Hobby Inc., 4105 Fieldstone Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; (217) 355-- 9511; www.horizonhobby.com.