Why are glow plugs getting so dear?

coxxoc Thu May 24, 2012 9:00 pm

Hi friends,

I`m running very short on glow plugs for my tee dee .010 and pee wee .020 engines.
I`ve been looking for new plugs online and they`re getting very expensive!
Can anyone tell me why glow plugs are so dear these days? Crying or Very sad

Mr G

microflitedude Thu May 24, 2012 9:11 pm

The ones from Bernie and Matt are current production. Long story short, it costs a lot to manufacture them in small batches, so thus the "high" price.

coxxoc Thu May 24, 2012 9:14 pm

Gotcha!

Mr G Flying

**Cribbs74** Thu May 24, 2012 11:38 pm

coxxoc wrote: Hi friends,

I`m running very short on glow plugs for my tee dee .010 and pee wee .020 engines.
I`ve been looking for new plugs online and they`re getting very expensive!
Can anyone tell me why glow plugs are so dear these days?

Mr G

You can find them for a respectable price now and then on Ebay if that's your thing. Keep in mind ones from CI and Exmodel are guaranteed to work and if they don't they are replaced. I learned that the hard way.

coxxoc Fri May 25, 2012 1:10 am

I`ve bought glow plugs on ebay and nearly all of them have been duds even advertised as new.
There`s a lot of shonky operators out there.

Mr G Flying

Kim Fri May 25, 2012 8:32 am

All of the gear I've gotten from Bernie and Matt have been top-notch, with no need for me to even use their excellent guarantees. You could also consider their adapters for standard plugs in you're building hard runners.

microflitedude Fri May 25, 2012 9:17 am

Kim wrote:All of the gear I've gotten from Bernie and Matt have been top-notch, with no need for me to even use their excellent guarantees. You could also consider their adapters for standard plugs in you're building hard runners.

+1 again!

Cox International Fri May 25, 2012 9:19 am

coxxoc wrote: Hi friends,

I`m running very short on glow plugs for my tee dee .010 and pee wee .020 engines.
I`ve been looking for new plugs online and they`re getting very expensive!
Can anyone tell me why glow plugs are so dear these days?

Mr G

The 010 ones we have are OEM Cox and are pricey, yes. The reason is that we only have a finite # left and will not be manufacturing any ourselves.

The 020 ones cost us $4 to manufacture + shipping. Our resellers get a 40% discount and for retail buyers we have to pay 4% CC / PP fees and on eBay a whopping 13% for FVF / PP fees.

Add to that the odd defective one (we test them before shipping), goodwill and marketing costs......

The real problem is the low runs (1,000) but we can't really take more at a time as we need to allocate resources to other products as well.

Ivanhoe Fri May 25, 2012 10:35 am

Cox International wrote:
coxxoc wrote: Hi friends,

I`m running very short on glow plugs for my tee dee .010 and pee wee .020 engines.
I`ve been looking for new plugs online and they`re getting very expensive!
Can anyone tell me why glow plugs are so dear these days?

Mr G

The 010 ones we have are OEM Cox and are pricey, yes. The reason is that we only have a finite # left and will not be manufacturing any ourselves.

The 020 ones cost us $4 to manufacture + shipping. Our resellers get a 40% discount and for retail buyers we have to pay 4% CC / PP fees and on eBay a whopping 13% for FVF / PP fees.

Add to that the odd defective one (we test them before shipping), goodwill and marketing costs......

The real problem is the low runs (1,000) but we can't really take more at a time as we need to allocate resources to other products as well.

Reading this, and the other comments, for the first time I'm actually glad I never managed to get an .010!
Very Happy

Ken Cook Fri May 25, 2012 2:30 pm

Basically all around the block regardless of manufacturer, glow plugs have gone ballistic in cost. Platinum and rhodium which are two elements used in the plug have become very expensive. These precious metals are used in the manufacturing of catalytic control devices world wide. I have one particular engine that ate up 6 plugs one afternoon at $10.00 a piece. These are the pitfalls when one is in search of the need for speed. Enya which makes in my opinion some of the finest glow plugs available actually offered a return policy on burnt out plugs. There is still some platinum left within the plug which is removed and recycled. I believe for every 4 burnt out plugs you received a new one. Platinum when exposed to alcohol will catalyze and glow. I've had several engines start on me without the battery connected and this is the reasoning for it. Ken

**RknRusty** Fri May 25, 2012 2:55 pm

shawn cook wrote:Platinum when exposed to alcohol will catalyze and glow. I've had several engines start on me without the battery connected and this is the reasoning for it. Ken

You must be refueling really fast because platinum has to be really hot before alcohol will react and keep it glowing.

Ken Cook Fri May 25, 2012 3:44 pm

Rusty, I always contributed the startup to my explanation above. In the event that isn't the cause, something is responsible for it. This is happening on cold engines. Recently at one of our combat contests one of the flyers had a blackened fingernail. This was due to an engine firing with the battery detached. I used to think this would only happen while using my higher quality engines. I've had this happen with a Fox.35 several times and one time it broke the prop over my finger. I have one Supertigre.29 that I use for racing that 2 out of 10 times this will occur you need to be very cautious while it has a prime in the engine or it will kick. Nonetheless we certainly can't enjoy the hobby without glow plugs. I remember back in the day were several could be purchased for very little. Who would think we would be paying as much as we do now for the plugs . Ken

coxxoc Fri May 25, 2012 8:12 pm

Yes, I agree with you Ken. Yesterday I tried to remove one of my tee dee .010 plugs
to inspect and while I turned the cox wrench to remove it from the cylinder one side
of the plug broke off like cheese. Thank God it still works!..but eventually I will have to
remove it to replace with a new plug. Does anyone know how to remove these soft little
babies without breaking them and other pieces of the engine?..because they do become
pretty tight fits over time and use.

Mr G Flying

**Cribbs74** Fri May 25, 2012 9:28 pm

coxxoc wrote: Yes, I agree with you Ken. Yesterday I tried to remove one of my tee dee .010 plugs
to inspect and while I turned the cox wrench to remove it from the cylinder one side
of the plug broke off like cheese. Thank God it still works!..but eventually I will have to
remove it to replace with a new plug. Does anyone know how to remove these soft little
babies without breaking them and other pieces of the engine?..because they do become
pretty tight fits over time and use.

Mr G

A tiny bit of heat helps. I find the best prevention of stuck parts is to clean and dissassemble every so often. This keeps the engine running at it's peak and does not allow buildup of castor to tighten things up. Just my thoughts anyway.

coxxoc Sat May 26, 2012 12:20 am

Yes that is good thinking Cribbs. If I store away an engine for some time, I check it,
clean it throughly and change parts if they need replacing; then lightly oil it and
loosen glow plug and cylinder so they`re just hand tight.
This is the first time I started my tee dee .010. I tried to remove glow plug but a little
piece on top broke off, so I checked glow by removing cylinder and looking through it
when I connected plug t0 1.5V batt. of course!

My tee dee engine started and ran for 30 secs then stopped. This is the first time I
have used an external tank and when I turned compression a number of times so the
fuel from tank would pump through to engine, it didn`t have enough pressure to move
the fuel. I connected another fuel line to the other tank pipe (the top air one) and blew
through it and pushed the fuel to the engine carb that way. Oh by the way, my tank
was situated lower than my carby at first attempt. Then I put tank above carby level.
I`m just wondering if I used the tank correctly, or is my fuel needle causing the problem
of the engine shutting off?..OR perhaps my glow plug was too weak to keep the engine running?

Mr G Flying

Ivanhoe Sat May 26, 2012 12:44 am

coxxoc wrote: Yes that is good thinking Cribbs. If I store away an engine for some time, I check it,
clean it throughly and change parts if they need replacing; then lightly oil it and
loosen glow plug and cylinder so they`re just hand tight.
This is the first time I started my tee dee .010. I tried to remove glow plug but a little
piece on top broke off, so I checked glow by removing cylinder and looking through it
when I connected plug t0 1.5V batt. of course!

My tee dee engine started and ran for 30 secs then stopped. This is the first time I
have used an external tank and when I turned compression a number of times so the
fuel from tank would pump through to engine, it didn`t have enough pressure to move
the fuel. I connected another fuel line to the other tank pipe (the top air one) and blew
through it and pushed the fuel to the engine carb that way. Oh by the way, my tank
was situated lower than my carby at first attempt. Then I put tank above carby level.
I`m just wondering if I used the tank correctly, or is my fuel needle causing the problem
of the engine shutting off?..OR perhaps my glow plug was too weak to keep the engine running?

Mr G

The tank outlet connection should be level with the spraybar, not above, not below, above will flood the engine, below will starve it of fuel.

coxxoc Sat May 26, 2012 2:29 am

I have never changed a spray bar, but the spray bar seal is the round hole on the back of backplate correct?
So the tank outlet should be level with this seal area?
Also, should the outlet pipe be blocked or free for air to enter?

Mr G confused

coxxoc Sat May 26, 2012 2:37 am

Hi Cribbs, I just checked my batt. and it was under 1.5V
That was the reason for the low orange glow.

Mr G Flying

coxxoc Sat May 26, 2012 2:41 am

Thanks Bernie, I understand

Mr G Flying

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Why are glow plugs getting so dear?