4 ms·

from the article it seems it's not a true "glow plug" heating element like one may use to start a diesel engine. my impression was the engine is so small the ra

from the article it seems it's not a true "glow plug" heating element like one may use to start a diesel engine. my impression was the engine is so small the radiant heat of the engine is what causes the fuel to ignite in the chamber - seems tough to start cold

zabzonk 4y ago
diesels don't have a glow plug. a glow plug has a radiant coil that ignites the fuel, and then the heat of the engine keeps it firing, which is different from diesel fuel.a diesel engine depends on heating the fuel via compression with the energy being provided by the human flicking it. there is no battery input to a model aero diesel engine. a car diesel engine uses a starter motor to provide the initial compression.
- stonogo 4y ago
  Just about every single automotive diesel engine sold since the 1950s is equipped with glow plugs, so the above post might be confusing. Automotive diesel glow plugs do not ignite the fuel; they lower the required compression in cold weather by warming up the air going into the combustion chamber. They're not the same things as glow plugs found in methanol-fueled model engines, which also do not ignite the fuel directly, but serve as a catalyst so the methanol can combust via compression instead of electric ignition. When talking about glow plugs, it's important to specity the sort you're talking about and the context in which your discussion is taking place.
  - zabzonk 4y ago
    i admit i am not an expert on modern auto diesels (i remember my brother muttering about having problems with this on his Merc). but 1960's model diesel engines did not require a battery to start them.
    - stonogo 4y ago
      Mercedes diesels were push-startable well into the 1980s. They still had glowplugs (even in the 60s) and if you did have a battery they would heat up the precombustion chamber to lighten the load on the starter motor.

zabzonk 4y ago

diesels don't have a glow plug. a glow plug has a radiant coil that ignites the fuel, and then the heat of the engine keeps it firing, which is different from diesel fuel.a diesel engine depends on heating the fuel via compression with the energy being provided by the human flicking it. there is no battery input to a model aero diesel engine. a car diesel engine uses a starter motor to provide the initial compression.

stonogo 4y ago
Just about every single automotive diesel engine sold since the 1950s is equipped with glow plugs, so the above post might be confusing. Automotive diesel glow plugs do not ignite the fuel; they lower the required compression in cold weather by warming up the air going into the combustion chamber. They're not the same things as glow plugs found in methanol-fueled model engines, which also do not ignite the fuel directly, but serve as a catalyst so the methanol can combust via compression instead of electric ignition. When talking about glow plugs, it's important to specity the sort you're talking about and the context in which your discussion is taking place.
- zabzonk 4y ago
  i admit i am not an expert on modern auto diesels (i remember my brother muttering about having problems with this on his Merc). but 1960's model diesel engines did not require a battery to start them.
  - stonogo 4y ago
    Mercedes diesels were push-startable well into the 1980s. They still had glowplugs (even in the 60s) and if you did have a battery they would heat up the precombustion chamber to lighten the load on the starter motor.