Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 06:10:21 -0500
Reply-To: John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject: Re: vanagon single electrode plugs
In-Reply-To: <BAY22-F166fMzmLYQGF000f691a@hotmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Yeh!!
False advertising! Amen!!
I used to run Fine-Wire Platinum Plugs (2 electrode wires per plug) in
my 7-cylinder Jacobs R-755-A2 300 HP engine that was in my Cessna 195.
But that was mainly because the Shakey Jake engines - as with most
radial engine - were designed as oil burners, and plug fouling was as
common as sunrise. The fine wire platinum plugs pretty much eliminated
that, although they were mighty expensive as I recall something like
$20-25 each way back when. Don't know how much now. And there were 14 of
them - two per cylinder. Each row of plus had it's own ignition system.
Of course like all piston aircraft engines the two plugs per cylinder
ensured efficient engine operation as well as ensure you got to
destination. Multi-electrode plugs provide no particular performance
advantage, but TWO plugs firing gave a better burn pattern that a
single plug and thus better performance.
I sure wouldn't want to have to park that Cessna 195 on the nearest
cloud somewhere. Redundency, redundency, all is redundency. But in the
name of safety.
BTW, the Jacobs engine ignition systems, unlike most engines which had
dual magnetos, had a split system......one magneto and one Automotive
type distributor. The engine was started on the distributor, and once
started the second mag was switched on. The reason for this was that
with an automotive distributor, it was easier to retard the spark for
easy starting ignition.
There may be others, but the Shakey Jake was the only engine I evey knew
that used that magneto/distributor combination.
I wonder how the WBX would perform with dual plugs and dual ignition??
Regards,
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Mark Seifert wrote:
> I agree that multi-electrode plugs will last longer, but provide no
> increase
> in performance. They have to be used in aircraft engines to provide
> reliability. You don't want your engine to misfire when its up in the
> air.
> Some people seem to think that a plug with 2 electrodes will make 2
> sparks,
> but this is not possible. Those Split-fire plugs are no better than
> anything
> else. They have 1 electrode that kind of splits into a Y-shape, and the
> picture on the box shows the spark splitting to contact both tips.
> This is
> false advertising, meant to sell crap products to people who don't
> know any
> better.
>
> Mark
>
