We want plugs with engines

[Peter Miller]

In the old days all engines came with plugs. The Japanese and now Chinese don't provide them.

From time to time over the years I have complained about this. Manufacturers/importers have said "it is to make the engines more competitive in price" and even "It is so people can choose their own plug"

If you bought a car or motorcycle or even a mower or chain saw you would get a plug with it.

A model engine sold without a plug is not sutable for purpose because it will not run. Let's take them back to the shop and demand that they get the engine running at NO EXTRA  cost to us. I.E FIT A PLUG!

Lets complain, let's get engines that will run out of the box.

And full marks tothose manufacturers who do supply a plug.

[Tim Mackey]

Electric "engines" very often come with plugs peter  - sorry..... couldnt resist

You are right of course, and it is penny pinching in the extreme. 

[Bob Cotsford]

I bought 3 engines off e-bay recently, the first engines I've bought since an SC65FS in the early '90s. My first thought was that the seller had removed the plugs for his own use, then I found out that engines don't come with plugs any longer. What next, no prop nut, as they're standard threads and often swapped for locking or domed units? "It allows the purchaser to use their favoured brand2 doesn't cut it.

[Myron Beaumont]

Timbo   Typical you   I have to agree with Peter The only comment I have to make is that the grade of heat that a particular model installation requires varies according to cowling etc With a 'lectric motor of course it catches fire anyway eventually until maybe in a week or so someone brings out another version of a battery that is "safe" (with various plugs that is even more confusing of course ) I have read various comments --If only I had your pension I would give up PROPER engines & start trying to go 'lectric.& stop wasting money on my food & other un-nessecary requisits once a week

[Tim Mackey]

LOL, nice to see you back on top grumpy form Myron

[Willow]

I too have had the big 'plug missing' surprise and cannot see ANY justification for such an ommission. The engine should come standard with a 'standard' plug i.e. buy an OS46LA and a A3 plug would suit to majority of applications...if you plan on doing anything else then supply your own and keep the supplied item as a spare. Would you consider buying a car without plugs?...of course not!!

Perhaps a campaign of complaint from the modelling community may encourage a change of heart from the offending manufacturers/agencies involved.

[Peter Miller]

I have had companies in the past tell me that the modeller will want to fit their own plug.

I always say that would inidcate that the modeller knows better than the manufacturer as to what plug to fit.

The answer is an embarrased silence.

[flytilbroke]

My latest, an OS46ax came with a plug. As did my last Irvine.

[Peter Miller]

Great! They are improving. Of course Super Tigre come with plugs, or they did when made in Italy.

[Statto]

My OS 46 LA came with a plug.  Given that they typically only cost a couple of quid i don't understand the excuse given by the manufacturers. 

[Willow]

Same here...if it's OK for OS to include them then surely to stay competitive it would be a good tactic.

[Allan Jordan]

Hi all, I wonder if any of our modelling friends across the pond have this problem with plugs? Allan J..

[Bladerunner]

All my Saito's came with plugs (apparantly not all Japanese brands suffer from this problem)...I love Japanese engines

[christopher small]

My Magnum never came with a plug nor my ASP.

[Mike Rolls]

I have a small degree of understanding of the manufacturers' claim - but I don't agree with it for 99% of users. Yes, there will be the very occassional user who will put a motor into an application, and under conditions, where a 'one size fits all' plug coming with the engine might be inappropriate - but about the only folk who might fit that bill to my mind are C/L speed and R/C pylon racing types, or someone in a very hot, high altitude location.

I was, however, surprised at people saying 'motors used to come with plugs'. From memory, I am pretty sure that the only new engine I have bought which came with a plug was my Supre Tigre 51 (Italian made) - and over the years I must have bought a good 50 or 60 glow motors - but I haven't bought one for about ten years now.

 Mike

[Mike Stevens]

I have recently bought two OS46AX's from models shops and both came with plugs.

Mike

[Peter Miller]

Mike Rolls

Back in the days when we had Mercos and American engines, they all came with plugs. The first Enya engines inthe country around the mid/late 50s came with no plugs. It is only inthe recent past the O>S> have started supplying plugs.

I actually asked Irvine engines when it WAS Irvine Engines why? They said that it would add to the cost and make them non competitive. I couldn't understand the logic. The modeller still had to buy a plug. Maybe they think modelers are stupid.

Of course we could buy a Taylor plug. One of the best plugs available at a fraction of the price of an O.S. or Enya plug. I still use Taylor plugs in everything. They last longer, give a perfect idle, good response. all for about £2.50 or less. I use the Taylor long reach standard plug.

[Mike Rolls]

Peter

Yes, good plugs - I used to use the idle bar version on stunters when I ran them 4-2-4. When I changed to a rich 2 stroke I used the standard long reach Taylors. For some reason I didn't get on with them quite so well when I took up using throttled motors in R/C, so virtually all my IC R/C flying was done with Enya No. 3 plugs (except the ST I mentioned, of course).

When I typed my earlier reply I was guilty of pretty serious brain fade.

For a start, my 50-60 new motors included a fair number of diesels (none of which came with a plug!), and I clean forgot the little Coxes with their integral heads. I did, however, buy about 20 new glow motors in the late 70s through to the first half of the 90s - Fuji, Enya, OS, Merco, MDS, K&B that I remember off hand - which came without plugs (the Merco was a very late 40).

Still - more important than my ramblings and faulty memory - I agree 100% that to supply a motor without a plug is irritating in the extreme.

Mike

[Mark Lubbock]

I think the real reason is that they make more money from selling us a plug for around £3+ when they only cost (probably) 50p to make, a very short sighted view IMHO.

At least OS seem to be getting the message now.

I remember choosing a DC Sabre as my first engine over an OS Pet in the early '70s purely because I couldn't afford the extra cost of the plug in those impoverished days!

In later years I used to use Fox engines which came with plugs, but Fox plugs didn't last very long & 2 engines had blown plugs from the factory test run! i think the Aeromodeller test for the Fox .19 also had this problem-I cured this tendency by always running with 2 plug washers fitted.

[Mike Rolls]

Mark 

That's interesting - do you remeber what fuel you were using? Duke's engines were mostly (not always) expected to run on quite high nitro contents - a favourit in the 50s and 60s in the States for Fox 35s and the like was Missile Mist, which IIRC was 15% nitro.

Mike

[Mark Lubbock]

That's right Mike-I used KK Nitrex 15 when I could afford it but I bought a gallon of Methanol from the local Speedway (Cradley Heath) & used to make up a pint using a 200ml bottle of castor oil from Boots, the cost escapes me but it must have been cheap on a schoolboys pocket money, but my Fox .19 (still got it!) ran like a train on this in my KK Spectre. Perhaps the .19 had a higher comp. ratio, I seem to remember some Foxes, definitely the .15 had a removable head shim to increase compression. Missile mist was definitely unaffordable exotica at the time!!

[Mike Rolls]

I remember about 30 years or so ago, when high nitro fuels were common place in the States, one of their combat fliers - I think it was Howard Rush - had his fuel in a bottle which he marked '10% more nitro than YOUR fuel'. Saw a photo in one of the Yankee mags and had to chuckle.

Mike