How the element stays hot after the glow plug ignitor is removed all hinges on the fuel we use in glow engines and on the material the element is made of. The fuel contains methanol, which is a type of alcohol. The element is made of several different metals, which when alloyed together, make it strong enough to handle the heat and vibration. But one of the metals, platinum, is special. When the platinum in the element comes in contact with the methanol in the fuel, there is a catalytic reaction between the two. This heats the platinum while causing the methanol to ignite. This is the foundation upon which the entire nitro hobby is built. The catalytic reaction depends on two things to work: heat and pressure. The hotter the element is, the easier it will ignite. Similarly, the higher the pressure inside the combustion chamber, the easier things will ignite.

Apparently there’s no top on the engine and a large arrow shoots out of the top? And the fuel goes directly through the walls of the cylinder, now it’s all so clear!

Very few nitro engines have piston rings. ... but it's a crap animation, it doesn't show intake, crankcase compression, transfer ports etc 1/10

you could have explained a little bit

@mAdAsZaC The fuel cannot explode with compression alone in nitro engine. The fuel ignites when it comes in contact with the heating element of the glow plug. Between strokes of the engine, the wire remains hot, continuing to glow partly due to thermal inertia, allowing it to ignite the next charge, thus sustaining the power cycle. A diesel power stroke is just - diesel fuel injected into hot(550 °C) compressed (40 bar) air.

@Superfreday Yeah, but i have one Enya 50. When i disassemble the engine, it has no piston rings too. Called ABC.

@Isjix It's just an animation.MANY animations like this sometimes don't show the rings.

@TheSierra1983 it ignites it only to start it and then you take of the power to the glowplug and it works like a diesel (ignited from compression)

The groove is to hold oil for proper lubrication.

Two stroke engine but glow plug ignites it. No spark plug.

So are they single cylinder engines? :)

And don't even think about countering my previous comment, because I'm holding a nitro piston in my hand right now and there are no ring or slots for rings!

SWEEEET!

Mabey you guys should go brushless for awhile...

@RadioTechSk8 You Idea would not work because "spark" plugs need electricity to spark the plug. These engines are 2 stroke and have a glow plug that works like a diesel engine as well. The nitro is so combustable that it ignites by compression not a spark. Maybe rc enignes with more than a couple horse power would just need regular gas and a spark plug, but i disgress, would only add weight (distributer/extra battary weight, more wires ect) and not as fun as nitro. dont call people fuckingstupid

Does the engine work by air flowing through the heat sink top. THANK YOU NOW I KNOW!

This explanation is horrible as fuck. the air fins only cool the motor and have nothing to do with combustion.