dump load

[windspeed]

Has anyone tried glow plugs from a deisel engine I have hooked up two 12 V in series but the wind has gone away

I assume hey must be prety tough to live inside a combustion chamber.

As there is only one connection I solder a wire onto a nut and thread it up on the plug it just needs a cuple of threads as they probably wont match

windspeed

[RogerAS]

Windspeed,

While your idea might work in a doubled series setup I have my doubts.

I have a small Kubota and it has a glow plug. I first had this set up with a single pole single throw on/off switch as part of the remote control from the house. I forgot to turn it off and it burned out quite quickly. These are made to operate for a few seconds and then turn off. Granted this was glowing at 12V inside a combustion chamber but it didn't survive.

Nichrome wire is easy to come by. Look for a hair drier or toaster for salvage wire. Even automotive cigarette lighters have this in a coiled up form. I would think this stuff would be better suited for a dump load. Glow plugs, at least for my Kubota, are pricey and unless you have a source the experiment might get costly real fast.

Good luck.

[zeusmorg]

 Glow plugs used as a dump load would probably burn up pretty rapidly, they are designed for short cycle heating. and not being encapsulated in a heavy steel chamber would probably even decrease that.

 It would be an expensive way if you bought them at retail to build a dump load.

[windspeed]

glow plugs are ten a penny in breakers  I was cosidering as an experiment (while being near to the shorting switch) fixing some of them into a pipe with water circulating through

windspeed

[blueyonder]

  glow plugs .as a dump load .possible.

  why and how.  using wvo or veg oil to run in a heavy oil engine .

 guys have been using glow plugs to preheat the oil before it gos to the pump.

   it is allways in oil and never air.

   thay use a big lump of ally . like a block . drill all the holes and chambers .

  and it works very well.

   in the past ive burned out glow plugs just testing them.

    but thay can go open circuit  .  you could use them to light your cigarettes

  at a push.

    i also used them to burn wood. make rustic looking placks etc  .

   interesting thoughts.   just like a heavy duty soldering iron.

     

[JimB]

I recently made a dump load using 3 glow plugs from my VW Rabbits. I picked 3 because I have a 50 amp battery charger and the dump load uses 60 amps at maximum. A Xantrex C60 switches the load to my control box. I have pictures that I would like to post sometime but here is the gist. Using 3/8 inch pipe tees I made a manifold that is in a vertical line on the side of my water heater preheat tank. 3/8 by 1/8 inch bushings mount the plugs. The glow plugs are submerged in water continuously and heat by thermosiphon. They should last a very long time as they are cooled by slowly flowing water. The tank also has a parallel thermosiphon loop heated by my wood furnace plenum. The battery bank that this controls is to be powered by a Listeroid system that is nearly complete.

[zeusmorg]

 Very good usage of them. Heating water with them they would be likely to last much longer and transfer that extra energy.

[windspeed]

this is exactly my plan I was considering mounting the glow plugs on a verticle run of pipe by soldering a suitable nut over a hole drilled in the pipe and screwing in the glow plug

would like to see the pics Jim b

windspeed

[TheCasualTraveler]

I found this link.

http://www.beru.com/english/produkte/gluehkerzen/gn.php

Looks like what you guys are talking about.