Taking the Mystery out of the RC Glow Plug.How they work and which glow plug is the correct one to use.
Let us explore the crazy world of the rc glow plug. What makes them work and how to choose the right one for your application. As long as I have been using glow plugs it is one of the hardest things for me to get a handle on. Each manufacturer of rc glow plugs numbers their plugs in there on unique way. I do wish that there was an industry standard for numbering a glow plug. It would make it so much easier for all of use if it was that way. But, they do not, so that brings use here to learn more about them. 
First thing we need to understand is what makes up a rc glow plug. There are five basic parts to a rc glow plug. We are going to look at a glow plug from the top to the bottom. 1. The post that sticks out of the top of the glow plug, the positive connection. 2. The heating coil is connected to the positive connection making these two items are one piece. The coil is made out of platinum and some makers use rhodium. 3. The post and coil are separated from the plug body by a washer. The washer is called an insulator. The insulator is most often made of "mica", which is a non-conductive material. The insulator prevents electricity from bypassing the coil to find a ground. Plus, it can withstand extreme heat. 4. The plug body, this is the part that screws into the head of the engine. Usually made of steel, for two reasons, it is cheap and makes a good ground for the coil. 5. On the top of the body is a crimp washer, this holds all the parts together. Almost all glow plugs use a crimp washer. The only exception is O'Donnell™ glow plugs. They have a different design and do not use a crimp washer. Put those five parts together and you have a rc glow plug. How does a RC Glow Plug work you ask? To start at the basics the glow plug is what makes your nitro engine run. First off the glow plug is heated by an external power source. A glow plug igniter. The igniter heats the element, causing it to glow. This starts the chain reaction of igniting the fuel on the compression stroke and starting the internal- combustion cycle. The glow plug igniter can be removed and your nitro engine is running at idle. This is where science comes into play. There is heat generated in the combustion cycle. This heat is called "the catalytic reaction". A catalytic reaction occurs causing platinum to glow in the presence of "methyl-alcohol," or "methanol". This catalytic reaction will occur on it's own without any outside power source. All of this only comes onto play during low rpm and when there is not enough heat being generated to burn all the fuel vapor. The catalytic reaction changes as rpms and temperature rise. This has just been a very basic explanation of how a glow plug works at low rpm or idle. Learn how to Read your RC Glow Plug!
We are getting to what you are looking for. What rc glow plug is right for me? In my honest opinion this can get very confusing. There are many myths and facts running around out there. So, I am going to give it to you plain and simple. Some say that outside temperature or ambient temperature affects performance. If temperature does affect your rc glow plug it is very minute. It all comes down to the fuel you use and which engine you run. Plus, if you are running on-road or off-road. On-road guidelines 1- .12 to .18 engines using 20-percent nitro fuel need a medium glow plug 2- .21 engines using 30-percent nitro fuel need a medium-cold glow plug Off-road guidelines 1- .12 to .18 engines using 20-percent nitro fuel need a hot or medium glow plug 2- .18 to .21 and up engines using 30-percent fuel need a medium glow plug These guidelines are for factory stock engines that are unmodified. Engines that are modified in anyway may require different glow plugs be used. Now comes the very confusing part of glow plugs. Trying to understand how a rc glow plug is numbered or labeled, so we know what heat range it is. This is the area that most of us have a very hard time. There is no industry standard for marking glow plugs. I wish that glow plug manufactures would some how come up with a standard for marking glow plugs. My best advice is to always keep your glow plugs in their original packaging. This is good way for you to keep track of your glow plugs. Also, throw away your old and used glow plugs. If you are thinking of reusing a rc glow plug you do need to come up with a system to organize them. There some cool little rc glow plug holders on the market, but be creative come up with your own system. Just remember to label each container or holder as to which glow plugs are in it or on it. 
Sidebar========================== Something that I find to be very helpful for me is to keep a log of every time I take my RC vehicles out. I keep track of weather conditions, to help with carburetor tuning. Surface conditions to help with tire selection and chassis setup. If I change chassis setup I log that and how it reacted to the surface. I also keep track of what glow plug I am running. I keep notes on the times I just go bashing, race practice and racing. Here is just a short list of some of the things I keep track of: 1. Weather (overcast, clear sky's)- Temperature and Humidity 2. Surface conditions 3. Tire selections 4. Shocks - Oil weight and Shock Angle 5. Chassis - highlights of any changes made - toe in, toe out, camber, caster, wheel base, ride height, and anything else that pertains. 6. Carburetor tuning - richened or leaned and how much. I keep track of even the smallest adjustment to the carb. I use fractions, like 1/16 rich or 1/8 lean. This is just an example, but do come up with a system that works for you. This is a very important point. 7. What glow plug I am running. 8. Any gearing change. 9. Any change to differential oil weight. This is just an example of some of the notes I keep. Depending on the situation there maybe a lot of notes or very few. If I have made a lot of changes there is going to be more notes and few or no changes very few notes. I have found that just keeping a few notes has helped me get much more out of my RC experience. My vehicles run better, handle better and are heck of a lot more fun. That is what it is all about the FUN. ================================================================= 
With so many different types and kinds of glow plugs it can and will be mind boggling trying to keep track of all of them. I could come close to writing a book just on glow plugs and all the different labeling for each manufacture. My best advice is to choose one glow plug manufacturer and stick with them. This way you will not have to re-tune your engine each time you change a glow plug. If you do have some old glow plugs rolling around in your tool box and are wondering what they are? There is one general rule with all glow plugs the thinner the coil wire the hotter the glow plug and the thicker the coil wire the colder the plug is. There is one last thing to learn about glow plugs. That being how to read them. Reading a glow plug can tell you if you are running too rich or too lean. Plus, if your plug is still operating correctly, going bad or is bad. Knowing how to read your rc glow plugs is a very important item. To learn how to read your glow plugs check out my page on reading glow plugs. Learn how to Read your Rc Glow Plugs check out the Rc Truck n Car Tuning swicki at eurekster.com Return from Glow Plugs to Rc-TrucknCar-Tuning.com
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Ok, so now we know what type of rc glow plug we need to be using. 
