Seems like almost everyone missed the whole point of this video. Sure you can clean spark plugs with a wire brush, gasoline etc or carry spare plugs. This video is just showing another way to clean a plug. If you don't like it, then you make a video showing how you prefer to clean a spark plug, or a video on how to always carry a spare spark plug. Really. . . the number of different, good, alternate ways to clean a plug in the thousand plus comments below could be counted on two hands.
I use carb cleaner and an old toothbrush. Any small engine that has 2 cycle mix always ends up like that after a while. It happens to my snowblower and chainsaw all the time. That torch clean is an interesting method and probably cleans better that my toothbrush lol.
@@cavemandan Shouldn't clean your parts in gasoline because of the risk of fire, you use Kerosine ! & For cleaning plugs till read hot: yeah it works but heating the plug till it's red hot 1/gives the ceramic/ porcelain centre electrode a fright & 2/ it changes the plugs HEAT range...Trev New Zealand 🇳🇿 home of the world's fastest old Indian & lndy/Daytona winner Scott Dickson 😇🇳🇿
I've done this many, many times. It definitely works. Note, don't just take the flame off all at once; back it off slow to avoid temperature shock on the porcelain. That is what cracks them.
I have been using wire brush,sand paper and carburetor cleaner to restore spark plugs since I was 12 years old and still do. Cool technique,I will try it.
Yup, I cleaned Champion M-1's for flathead Ford's that way in the mid 1960's when I worked pumping gas! Smart car owners wouldn't let us use the abrasive blaster on plugs, as getting ALL the abrasive out of the plugs is darn-near impossible, so you sand-blast your cylinders. I always tried to talk people into new .29 cent plugs, but some of the "two-stroke oil burners" wouldn't spring for the "BIG BUCKS"! We had an old-fashioned brass bodied blowtorch that burned "white" gas, we used for heat-vintage 1930's. I soldered radiators, broke-loose rusted bolts, sealed the asphalt battery tops, fixed inner tubes (hot patches) and more with that old blowtorch. BTW, the cheapest "regular" gas I ever pumped was 17.5 cents a gallon including 10.5 cents a gallon Oklahoma State Tax when we were selling off the remains of the "high-lead" (9.5 grams of tetraethyl lead per gallon) gasoline stocks in Fall of 1976.
I am appreciative for people like you. This is what RUclips is for. But sadly, a lot of people here don't seem to understand that. But that's ok as I have a saying for people like that.... Light is faster than sound. This explains why some people appear bright until you hear them speak 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Great video demonstrating how a fouled plug will stop something running, and that cleaning it off is a viable alternative to either A / Sticking in a new one or B/ Thinking Sod It, giving up and not getting the job done. Yes lots of ways to clean them up, the key thing is - Give it a go
Great stuff.....I'm 62 now, been fixing small engines for 50+ years, My Dad showed me the torch trick when I was about 6 or 7, been doing it ever since. Never seems to fail. Let's show these greenhorns what time it is, Brother. Good job. -Smythie
has any plug exploded in engine after using the torch method. People told me the ceramic part can crack from overheating. Very scared to put in my $8K dirt bike. Please advise. Thanks.
@@robertlingg8939 Right. You can probably replace the plug for less than $10 bucks and protect your machinery that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. You can roll the dice and take your chances. You decide which is best. Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya?
Vinegar, that’s right, I keep a little jar of vinegar on my tool bench and dunk the plug in it for around 24 hours and it comes out clean as a new one.
So now we all need to carry a jar of vinegar, a new plug, materials to light a bonfire, a blowtorch, a mapp gas tank, a propane tank, some fine emery and a wire wheel. Got it.
Good for plugs that haven't reached temp after too many short runs. No need to get red hot as the electrode expands and cracks the porcelain, engine don't like that.
This spark plug ruclips.net/user/postUgkx-6W-PtUzBRTmACHywsECak2ToY2OpjxN is a quality made replacement for the old Briggs and Stratton 799876 which has been discontinued. This plug fits most Briggs and Stratton 625 engines made since 2011. Most of these engines also have the air gap set to .020, but it is highly recommended to check in your user manual for actual application.
I'm watching this video to fix the fouled plugs on my 1986 Mercedes 300se, it fouled my brand new spark plugs and i ain't givin it new ones until it behaves itself. I think its got worn out valve stem seals, it wouldn't start and the spark plugs looked like they had been dunked in used motor oil.
Used that method of cleaning plugs back in 1962 to get the old snowmobiles running, they would use a 20:1 oil and gas mix. Back then you had to carry a half a dozen new plugs all the time to keep them running. We would clean them up by throwing them in a campfire. This was way back in the bush, miles away from dealers and spark plug retailers.
Bro how old are you 85 - 90 ? i was in my terrible two's LOL. you look great plus i see you're also a project Farm fan. my dad is 87, mind was a bit slow LOL. raises beer "stay thirsty my friend"
I have ran the same spark plug in my lawnmower for 5 years with no loss of power or effect, I just clean it nicely after a couple mows and put it back in.
I use this method too but I soak the plug in a bit of gas for awhile when it's really filthy before torching it. My gramps used to cook them on the stove too when he didn't have a torch, works but takes forever. Good video!
My dad showed me this same trick as a kid. Although we didn't leave the torch on so long, and also added a wire brush and a shot of starting fluid. It works.
I used brake cleaner to get stains out of the wall to wall carpet when we bought our last house. Nothing else worked. Eventually we put in wood floors.
My Dad showed me that same trick! He said he would heat up red-hot the fouled plugs on the fighter planes and bombers when he was in Air Corps in North Africa during WW2.
Your father is a good man. I hope he's still with you. I'm gonna say a little prayer for him. Intelligence is why this country exists, not today's cry babies.
140 octane mil spec "fuel" NOT TODAYS CHEMICALS & " MOONSHINE" ( IMITATION~ " ETHONOL ") it just fouls carburetor, fuel systems ,h yjr H²O it attracts: invented $$$$ plastic jet cartridges & rusts metal tanks, fuel lines & more! Not yo mention what they tell farmers to pour on the corn n beets to make the grow faster & bigger? " Don't worry , ain't no body gonna eat them!?!🥴" BUT we're all going to breath it, drink it & eat anything the fumes fall on + the ANIMALS THE CONSUME ALL THAT! THE GERMANS? ARE MAKING BRIGGS & STRATTON ENGINE THAT WILL RUN CLEAN ON PURE 80 OCTANE ( WWII ' PETROL!) & ADDED A RECHARGABLE BATTERY TO SAVE SHOULDERS & ELBOWS! BUT😊😅😂❤ THEY USE SODIUM- ION BATTERYS ~ 5,000 - 10,000+ RECHARGES! RECYCABLE! NON- TOXIC! ~~ OR YOU CAN USE : LITHIUM-ION EXPLOSIVE , FLAMABLE IF THEY GET HOT OR WET & CANT RECHARGE IN THE COLD! They have a toxic 1/2 life almost as much as plutonium?☠️💀⚰️🪦 BET THEY ARE ILLEGAL TO IMPORT OR THE ADAPTOR PLATES TI REPLACE THE CHINESE KNOCK OFFS OF SEARS ( RIP) THEY MURDERED TO GET THE NAME AND CALL THEM :" CRAFTSMAN" ? Also illegal to import or process = Joey Robinette BUYDUMB JR and Hunter LLC all electric world & soon $5.00 a gallon imported from 1/2 way around the world = using fuel to get it here or cleaning up after the :" Exon Valdez " spill & bury the fish & birds ! Or we can demand they cut off the pipeline lock : JOEY ROBINETTE put on thru the Native American & Canadian land : Trump agreed to pay for every drop that came thru & guard & protect the pipeline! Or Just pump it from under our feet & watch : " PAY OER VIEW WHILE THEY BANRUPT THE PLANED OR POLUTE THE WORLD PROCESSING LITHIUM-ION BATTERYS, PROPELLERS & CHINESE SOLOR CELLS? FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN & FAMILIES! BUT THEN THERE IS 9/ 10 OF THIS PLANET CIVERED WITH WATER = H²O = STEAM& ZERO EMMISIONS WITH NO POLLUTION BY USINING & REUSING WITH CONDENSERS! JUST FIGURE OUT A SMALL SAFE REACTOR FOR A HEAT SOURCE: IF NOT ANY COMBUSTABLE : WOOD, PAPER, CHARCOAL OR EVEN PURE PETROLEUM & " NATURAL GAS" from the earth ~ cows , pigs or even us? But no spark plugs necessary? Long life 1892? After diesel? Now diesel transports ~ "fuel" to " gas" stations ???
Great Tip! My dad always took a brass wire brush to them gently, and took some emory cloth and sanded lightly on the center electrode and side electrode, then re-gap it. Usually always worked : )
a brush dont get down in the plug where the mess is you need to blast it out with harbor freights plug blaster does aperfect job and its cheap if you try you want do it any other way it the only to realy clean one like new
@@frankdavidson9675 Cocktail stick or gentle picker between down in the insulator gap & outer .swill with petrol & wipe with rag after using wire brush & Emory .No need for fancy smancy plug blasters or cleaners .I have been doing it for 50 years even on mucky 2 pre mix 2 stroke plugs .4 stroke plugs shouldn’t be getting very dirty if your engines tuned correctly .The plug should be a nice tan colour if it’s too light your running too lean & hot ,if it’s dark your running too rich wasting fuel & diluting the oil in your engine ,both not good for engine longevity ..We don’t have those tacky Harbour freight gaffs flogging cheapo tat tools in the U.K. Our cheap stores sell slightly better cheap tat tools than in the USA ,but we are slowly getting there & no doubt end up with our own Harbour freight type gaffs .God help us .
@@maskedavenger2578 do know how o read a ohm meter i can see the path to ground down around the post you can not geta brush down in this area my meter tells me when its clean that high voltage take path of least resistance in stead of jump ing the gap on the plug i was cleaning plugs when you were born im 87 set your meter on highest ohms scale read from top of plug to the threads any reading here says its still dirty causing miss fire random
@@frankdavidson9675 Your being too fussy if your going to that trouble why not just buy another plug .A few seconds after you have cleaned every bit of crap off your plug & refit it & start your engine up it will be same as if you had only cleaned 90 % of the muck off the plug anyway .It’s surprising how bad a plug has to get on a 4 stroke before performance is reduced .I use my multimeter for fault tracing & checking my battery charging circuits .I change my plugs at half the milage again of what the manufacturer states & clean my plugs once in between ,the old school method & never have any engine probs & first time starts in damp old England in winter .The more you unscrew a plug the more risk of damaging the weak alloy cylinder head plug threads requiring heli coiling ,if it ain’t broke don’t fix it .
Yep; my dad was a mechanic and 50 years ago, he showed me how to clean spark plug with gasoline and a piece of wire; then gap them. I maintained my 1970 Volkswagen Beetle that way for 5 years and I replaced plug once.
I'm a professional Faller , I always roll a set of acetylene torches with me into the woods , Been doing it like that for the past 45 years , Your idea seems more practical Definitely gonna have to give it a try.
Pulling an oxy/acetylene torch through the woods be be harder than dragging a fallen buck out of the woods. I'll stick to carrying a Zippo lighter around. You'll never know when you may cross a bear in the woods looking to share a blunt with you if you have a light. I've been hearing about bears in the woods snorting cocaine. It must be true. They made a movie about it.
I typically knock off the excess, and use a cigar lighter (butane torch) to burn off the moisture and whatever debris remains. I’ll put the flame to it for about 15-20 seconds and it always works for me. Never thought about getting out a propane tank and heating the tip until the ring below the threads was glowing red hot. Neat-O
I've used this method. Its actually THE BEST WAY to clean a fouled plug. But I got caught up in conversation one time while doing this, and believe me when I tell you that THEY WILL EXPLODE. 😁 Great video and right to the point. 👍
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 probably not but it usually gets the machine running. If it's a customer they get a new plug. I was a little worried that you heated that plug until it was red but it did look mighty clean. I know a guy that used to sand blast them but IDK if that's a good idea?
One winter I watched these guys work on a 70's Civic for several days. Crank crank crank and no start. They had no money so they didn't try too many things. We went over to stick our nose it it and found that it probably only needed plugs. We pulled them out, cranked the engine to pump out the flood of gasoline in the cylinders, then blew air into the holes to dry it out. We built a small fire and put the tips of the plugs into the flame. Once the plugs were dry, we screwed them in hot and the car fired right up.
😮😊 boy, I never seen a spark plug cleaned like that before. That's a new one to me. I won't heat that up too much with that. Torch that plug is going to get red hot. That's a new idea that I'm watching now. Thank you.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 well yeah that's true. I'll agree with you on that. But I never seen a clean like that cleaning it with a torch. Someone told me it can still do damage to the plug cleaning it like that. This is just what I heard from someone. That's all. Thanks for the response back. Good luck to you.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 I'll agree with your friend. Yeah, plug does get hotter inside of an engine. I was talking about cleaning it that way if the plug was going to be good people do what they want. That's all right. I enjoy the video though. Thank you.
Thanks man, i'll be trying this on my 2 stroke bicycle engine! its not exactly a stihl but thanks, I think this should do the trick if I find myself stranded.
My papaw always cleaned his after every use,this became my job and I've continued it.he would dip the cool plug in a lil gas a then light it and let it burn,only difference now is instead of a Bic I use one of the small torch lighters,loved the video,many thanks.
My brother's shop had a small sandblaster designed for sparkplugs. Stick the plug in the hole, turn the air valve on and it recirculated the shot blast material. A rubber boot kept the shot blast material in the box and you just rolled the plug the around with your fingers. Those spark plug cleaning machines were common in automotive and truck repair shops 50 years ago. Once the plug was clean to the eye, you hit it with the parts cleaning machine solution to get the grit off it, dried it with shop air, re-gapped the plug to specs and reinstalled. Once the electrode got too short, or the ground got burned off too much, the plug got discarded. Most plugs were good for one or two cleanings before they got too worn. I've used carb cleaner and the wire wheel for years, but there is the problem with the deep deposits of carbon up in recess around the electrode base. Picking it away takes time and if you don't get all of it, it will break off in the cylinder head and the deposits will act as a cutting/ grinding agent on the cylinder walls and around the piston rings. Fire might be a very good thing to rid the plug of ALL the deposits. I might try setting the plug up vertically, the tip in the vise, and filling it with carb cleaner, letting it set for awhile and then boiling it off with the propane and continuing until clean. A tiny shot of carb cleaner when the plug is near red hot, creating that white steam effect, throwing out the tiny chunks of gunk. KA-FUUUM ! Fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole! Sizzle pop, szsszszzszzzssz kapow !!
The old days of snowmobiling............I remember doing this all the time. It also helps to get it in the cylinder while the plug is hot, warms the cylinder area and helps the startup.
I know there's a million ways to clean a spark plug but considering I don't always have carburetor cleaner on hand and sometimes the wire brush can be hard to find a blow towards she always seems readily available in that case even a gas stove I really appreciate you making this video and sharing this information with us thank you and have a wonderful wonderful life
I've used this trick before on newish plugs that got oil fouled and spent too much time idling and I didn't have time to grab new plugs before I needed it. It definitely has it's applications.
Very nice. Back in the 60's we had professional sand blasting plug machines. They left the surface more prone to collect new fowling & bits of sand may be logged deep around the insulator after air blowing clean. Thank you.
That was kinda of a trick we used to get a piece of metal preheated to gas weld was to set the flame to carbon up the metal then set it up for welding when the carbon disappeared it was to temp. Nice fix to remember though for removing carbon deposits on a spark plug..👍
Let us know when the ground electrode breaks off the end of the spark plug and hits your piston ..how that works out for you..?? If the insulator or electrode doesn't fall out first
You do know that the operating temperature of the plug is considerably higher than the propane so a propane cleaning is almost non destructive. Oil fouling that does not get cleared from a plug under normal operation is indicative of worn rings and the kyanite in the ceramic insulator in the plug is form stable for several thousand degrees. If the electrode breaks off, it was more likely due to mechanical damage, dropping, wrench/ socket misalignment, over torqueing, cracking the insulators, but not by the relatively low heat of MAPP or propane. Oxy-acetylene? Yes, possible damage to the metal by de tempering and softening and loss of toughness, though the insulators will hold up to a simple cleaning by heat.
@@mikegrant8490 No it's not. The plug does not glow red hot during operation. If it did, it would burn off all the deposits just like the torch did. Use your head.
@@davelowets That's NOT what I said. Reread it and get back to me. The spark itself, meaning that the point at which it is firing, is much hotter. The spark is intermittent and of short duration. The spark is only in that gap. Surely you've seen thermography of flame spread for mapping fuel injection, haven't you? Putting in stepped heat range plugs from cooler to hotter and observing the values under various engine loads gives you the data to extrapolate best performance and maximum mpgs with the cleanest burn for the longest engine life. I worked at a machine shop that had an engineer that was tasked with building an assembly machine for tube bending for multi point injection on 4.3 GM V-6's back in the 80s. GM sent reams of thermography so that engineer could design the tubing bender assembler based on that data. Six tubes, different lengths and bends, all flowing sequentially, all bent to fit within parameters preestablished by GM to fit around the engine, per the mapping, with equal firing on all cylinders for smooth running and "cool runnings" as they say in Jamaica, mon... As you know, if the spark plug glowed red hot all the time, you could not have ignition of the atomized combustible fuel as it would pre-ignite, predetonation being the bane of any internal combustion engine. The engine would not run well, if at all. ( I agree with you, I too would just change the damn 2 buck plug... )
Another old trick for an engine playing hard to start is to heat the plug on a gas flame, screw it home and guarantee you it’ll start first pull, which is sometimes all you need to tweak the mixture to get it back to being reliable.
Yea my friend would take a bunch off fouled plugs and put it in a coke can ripped in half put gas in it then light it on fire.. In fact people say in the field, well if you are in the fiiels and your plug looks like that one your Idea is best. Becaue I dont have a torch or a heat gun when im out cutting.
I have always used a mini hand-held sand blaster, with Glass Beads as the medium. Of course, you have to scrub the plug with spray-solvent (brake cleaner, or carb cleaner, ect.) and a nylon brush, to make certain that all of the abrasive medium is removed, before reinstalling the plug. This method only requires about 2-3 minutes, and the plug appears brand new. Edit: My concern, with using a flame torch to heat the plug to high temperatures, is the possibility of creating micro-cracks in the ceramic insulator of the plug. Later, after starting the engine, small pieces of the damaged ceramic insulator may enter the cylinder, and score the cylinder bore.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 , You've got a point there. Too many engines are operated by the mentally deficient. If they operated the engine for 500 hours, with the carburetor mis-adjusted, running excessively rich, washing the oil from the cylinder walls, and diluting the lube in the sump ... (the reason that the plug was excessively fouled in the first place) - then, there is a good chance that they might not possess the mechanical aptitude, to clean the glass beads from the plug, before reinstalling it.
@@marshalllhiepler there is no sump on a 2-cycle mixed fuel engine. You’re not going to wash the lube off the cylinder walls unless it’s not being fed any fuel while the engine is forced to to go; that’s why 2-cycle engines are no good for vehicles capable of ‘jake-braking’. Nobody thinks about that; the engine has to be disengaged and idling while letting the brakes do their job. Downshifting and allowing the engine to slow down a motorcycle is what causes the most engine damage because without the fuel there is no lubrication. Using a propane torch to clean the plug is a trick used out in the field when you don’t have a spare but like the man said- you can crack the porcelain VERY EASILY and end up with a destroyed engine! I’ll continue to use a wire brush to get me out of a jam and put down a couple of spare plugs on my list of things to pickup after work.
I've always used a blast cabinet and performed glass bead peening for dirty 2 stroke spark plugs. It's a bit cleaner than sand blasting . Good video . Good luck .
I just put a dirty plug into my spark plug cleaner. It grit blasts the plug, cost me about £5 or $7.00 to buy in 1975 and runs off any 12v supply (as in battery). Insert plug, press a button. Wait 30 seconds and out comes a clean plug. Have never changed the grit inside it. I have no idea how it keeps cleaning so well but it is brilliant.
I have used my old timer pocket knife many times just to keep it running. Then replace it when I am back home. Extra plug is the best way to keep it going when you’re out in the field.
I keep a spare one wrapped in a condom tied to string then wrapped in rag to give to a tight push fit in the weed wacker handle [other orifices can be similarly stuffed] ;
My dad taught me to half fill one of those old metal castella cigar tubes with sand, hold the plug in the end and shake it up and down. In other words, gently sandblast it.
When I was a kid the corner gas station had a spark plug cleaning machine. Screw it in, give it a blast and it came out clean. Very handy for our mini-bikes.
This is a very effective method. I’ve done it for years. Be carful not to get the ceramic part of the plug too hot. You will have a mini explosion and to plug will be in two pieces.
When I am out there in the field cutting woods, I pull out the propane blowtorch out of my left pocket, a 30 pound steel vice out of the right pocket, a piece of fine sandpaper out of my shirt pocket and there I go. Ohhh I forgot my sparkplug wrench at home. The moral of the story is... Don't forget that wrench! Cleaning/scratching the carbon from the electrode can be done with your pocket knife bro!
But you are needing to finish a job and you’re 30 miles from the nearest store and the store closes in 10 minutes what do you do? You don’t have a spare plug with you this is the best method ever
Used that trick quite often. Especially on 2trokes. My dad taught it to me. Didn’t get it that hot though. Sometimes dropped some gas into it. 2 stroke plugs usually had oil in them that would burn off.
Wipe clean and wire brush , job done . I dont like bagging people with good intentions but you you seriously complicated the most basic of service jobs and now have clueless people running around flamables with a blow torch and cherry red spark plugs ! Good job .....
Cost more for the propane than the plug would have cost. I've used a 'hot rod' trick. Scrape most fouling off with a knife then restart and dribble some water down the carb while reving it. Steam cleans the plug nicely !
after you clean a plug with a blaster you flush it out in a small can of gas so there is nothing left in the plug to get in your eng i clean my plugs with a blaster from H F using about 90 -100 psi air.the flush takes less than 2 mins.
The torch is the BEST way to do it. I have several old farm tractors that have plugs made from Unobtanium. This works because it gets the oil out of the porcelain insulator INSIDE the plug. You MIGHT have a spark in the open but under compression, it won't fire. Seriously, I have a few spark plugs that are 50 years old still working.
When I began my apprenticeship as a mechanic back in 1970 we had what was basically a sand blaster that cleaned the plugs. It was part of the regular service routines for those older vehicles. As long as there was material to gap them with back in they went until the next service. Technology now allows them to last a hell of a lot longer with less maintenance.
The sand leads to sand left in the plug that gets in engines. Briggs and Stratton had to study engine failures. They traced it to sand. The blaster was the source in shops. Bad practices of incomplete cleaning after blasting. The wet method also keeps all of it from becoming airborne. Today the customer is trained to call the mechanic a crook. Now he has to buy everything new every time because patience is a gift. Cost exceeds value. Then China sells him a new one that needs to be thrown away. Progressive ideas from the CCP Rules for shop survival
@@dannylinc6247 I can’t argue that sand can destroy an engine. But from the number of vehicles that had their spark plugs cleaned that way over the years and didn’t suffer premature engine failure I’d say it was a satisfactory method of cleaning. The cleaning unit was designed by Champion Spark Plug Company, if it was to be proven that plug cleaning sand was detrimental to engines and could lead to law suits from premature engine failure caused by sandblasted plugs Champion would not have continued with its use. However today, technically advanced plugs do not require such cleaning methods.
@@richardshort4587 during that time, of the Briggs and Stratton study, so many engines were affected, they called for them and tore them down. Then took the blasters out of the shops because the wet method is keeping the particulate matter out of workers lungs and helping keep it out of engines due to bad practices trying to save time. I still have a blaster for plugs. But carb spray and tapping before gapping can show the particles of sand. Briggs and Stratton imploded and took the riches of their company and allowed their designs to go foreign and be copied. Nowadays you use different parts. But cleaning can still save a plug. I just did that the other day to a new mower for a friend. His fuel practices lead to problems. He doesn't buy it right. Its price has been driven up. He doesn't run them out. He let's them sit. He overfills his oil. So clean them is his answer to get the grass cut.
This is a VERY GOOD way to clean your plugs. And i know people are gonna talk trash. But as a Racer. Who raced for a living for 3.5 years before opening my machine shop. We did this very same trick. Yes a set of plugs on hand is great. But if you have a carburetor/ fuel pump, regulator issue and things get fouled. Now your in the finals or your Grudge Race is coming up next. You need a fix like NOW !! And this works great. Most cylinder Temps out of the header is in the 1260 to 1350 range. If you use a temp gun like we check tires, track and sooo on. You'll see the plugs start burning clean around 900. Well in order of the heat range under The Load. 💪 this is a trick when in a pinch . I personally run a Blown Alcohol Rail.... and Alcohol can be slightly problematic in cooler weather... So don't beat on our Guy to hard here. He's really sharing a helpful tip. Be blessed my friends in all you do. 👍
Propane $, mapp gas $, carrying it all or just pack a $3 plug. Another theory is use good fuel, a good quality mix at THE PROPER %, and not have to worry about it
The plug was dirty for sure but the engine was starting in one pull🤔 cleaning with wire brush and couple dip of dirty spark plug in gasoline works for me.
Great old trick sir ty for sharing!! Excellent!! JUST A NOTE ______as we all know you can use a sandblaster spark plug cleaner apparatus and clean off all the old oil and carbon deposits within the plug and on the porcelain ,Looks like NEW right?? ok, we also has to Remember we can only sand blast any spark plug a few times because as we sand blast it, we also do remove porcelain each time we sandblast any plug. so what happens if we unintentionally remove porcelain?? the spark plug center firing tip can and will overheat and cause pre-ignition and as we know because of this porcelain is now less then it was and now the "heat range" of that specific plug has now changed because of this.... so it nice to note all side effects of what we do as Mechanics .Even as simple as a plug Cleaning ty
Or, switch to Diesel. I am trying to eliminate ALL Gas Burning ANYTHING in my life. Of course a Diesel Chainsaw might be a little heavy. When they quit making McCullough Chainsaws that was the end of Low cost reliable chainsaws. I just bought a Brand New Stihl chainsaw, I don't like them, they are the hardest to start chainsaws made, but the other brands have other problems The last NEW Gasoline Truck I bought was in 1978, I bought a New Ford F-250. Lost the engine on it at 30,000 miles. It had a 12 month warranty. Had to buy a Wrecking Yard motor to get it running again. It came from the factory getting hot for NO APPARENT reason. Never did find out what caused that. Started buying diesel pickup trucks as soon as they became available. I would have a Diesel WATCH if I could get one. There is NO COMPARISON between a diesel and a gas engine. That is the reason they do NOT make Bulldozers, Farm Tractors, most any construction kind of equipment, it is ALL DIESEL. I drove long haul trucks for years, only way to go. I do NOT understand why the USA was so slow to go diesel. IN Europe most cars sold are Diesel. Hitler's TANKS in WW II were all diesel, so were the Soviets. But American Tanks, the "Sherman Tanks" were GASOLINE, aka "Rolling Crematoriums". It is probably the Government making it hard on diesel equipment.
Seems like almost everyone missed the whole point of this video. Sure you can clean spark plugs with a wire brush, gasoline etc or carry spare plugs. This video is just showing another way to clean a plug. If you don't like it, then you make a video showing how you prefer to clean a spark plug, or a video on how to always carry a spare spark plug. Really. . . the number of different, good, alternate ways to clean a plug in the thousand plus comments below could be counted on two hands.
😉 ur my new favorite commenter!
Someone's feathers got ruffled. Can't take good jokes or can't handle people's opinions? Which is it?
I use carb cleaner and an old toothbrush. Any small engine that has 2 cycle mix always ends up like that after a while. It happens to my snowblower and chainsaw all the time. That torch clean is an interesting method and probably cleans better that my toothbrush lol.
i have alot of plugs to do this new way...worth investing a 1/4 to a whole tank of gas for the ease and results
@@cavemandan Shouldn't clean your parts in gasoline because of the risk of fire, you use Kerosine ! & For cleaning plugs till read hot: yeah it works but heating the plug till it's red hot 1/gives the ceramic/ porcelain centre electrode a fright & 2/ it changes the plugs HEAT range...Trev New Zealand 🇳🇿 home of the world's fastest old Indian & lndy/Daytona winner Scott Dickson 😇🇳🇿
A shot or two of Carb Cleaner & a wire brush has always worked for me, & I've been wrenching 52+ years!
Never said it didn’t work
@@RY4NP 3 hours?
I was thinking about back in the 60s with the sulfur and the lead fouling. We sand blasted them and reinstalled on a V8 for 0.9 hours flat rate.
It’s very efficient
THANKS FOR THE INFO. ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I APPRECIATE NEW STUFF. BEST OF LUCK
I've done this many, many times. It definitely works. Note, don't just take the flame off all at once; back it off slow to avoid temperature shock on the porcelain. That is what cracks them.
Right on
I have been using wire brush,sand paper and carburetor cleaner to restore spark plugs since I was 12 years old and still do. Cool technique,I will try it.
Very critical comments for a man trying to help people
I've been at this for 65 years but never saw this fix. Cool.
Yup, I cleaned Champion M-1's for flathead Ford's that way in the mid 1960's when I worked pumping gas! Smart car owners wouldn't let us use the abrasive blaster on plugs, as getting ALL the abrasive out of the plugs is darn-near impossible, so you sand-blast your cylinders. I always tried to talk people into new .29 cent plugs, but some of the "two-stroke oil burners" wouldn't spring for the "BIG BUCKS"! We had an old-fashioned brass bodied blowtorch that burned "white" gas, we used for heat-vintage 1930's. I soldered radiators, broke-loose rusted bolts, sealed the asphalt battery tops, fixed inner tubes (hot patches) and more with that old blowtorch. BTW, the cheapest "regular" gas I ever pumped was 17.5 cents a gallon including 10.5 cents a gallon Oklahoma State Tax when we were selling off the remains of the "high-lead" (9.5 grams of tetraethyl lead per gallon) gasoline stocks in Fall of 1976.
Thanks for the 'picture' of those times mate.
I am appreciative for people like you. This is what RUclips is for. But sadly, a lot of people here don't seem to understand that. But that's ok as I have a saying for people like that.... Light is faster than sound. This explains why some people appear bright until you hear them speak 🤦♂️🤦♂️
Great video demonstrating how a fouled plug will stop something running, and that cleaning it off is a viable alternative to either A / Sticking in a new one or B/ Thinking Sod It, giving up and not getting the job done. Yes lots of ways to clean them up, the key thing is - Give it a go
Great stuff.....I'm 62 now, been fixing small engines for 50+ years, My Dad showed me the torch trick when I was about 6 or 7, been doing it ever since. Never seems to fail. Let's show these greenhorns what time it is, Brother. Good job. -Smythie
has any plug exploded in engine after using the torch method. People told me the ceramic part can crack from overheating. Very scared to put in my $8K dirt bike. Please advise. Thanks.
@@robertlingg8939 Right. You can probably replace the plug for less than $10 bucks and protect your machinery that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars. You can roll the dice and take your chances. You decide which is best. Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya?
@@1notgilty you tell'm Harry!!!
I mean Mr. Callahan
@@unimpressed.. I'm glad you got that joke!
@@1notgilty I thought it was Great! I've always been a fan of his "Protect and Serve" method
In all my years i never cleaned plugs this way... how simple and very effective...thanks
Vinegar, that’s right, I keep a little jar of vinegar on my tool bench and dunk the plug in it for around 24 hours and it comes out clean as a new one.
So now we all need to carry a jar of vinegar, a new plug, materials to light a bonfire, a blowtorch, a mapp gas tank, a propane tank, some fine emery and a wire wheel. Got it.
I always take my generator my spark plug sandblaster and air compressor everywhere in case I need to clean a spark plug!
@@robertthayer5779 each one gets better and better ;)
Good for plugs that haven't reached temp after too many short runs. No need to get red hot as the electrode expands and cracks the porcelain, engine don't like that.
This spark plug ruclips.net/user/postUgkx-6W-PtUzBRTmACHywsECak2ToY2OpjxN is a quality made replacement for the old Briggs and Stratton 799876 which has been discontinued. This plug fits most Briggs and Stratton 625 engines made since 2011. Most of these engines also have the air gap set to .020, but it is highly recommended to check in your user manual for actual application.
Whenever I’m stuck in a field, I give thanks for bringing along my blow torch.
😁
Lol
Colin - If you are in the back woods always carry extra gas and a plug in a little sparkplug case. Not a good idea firing a plug .
You can make a campfire to get the end red hot...
You sarco.
I watched this like a hawk, right till the end.
EXCELLENT.
I used to do this when I was 12 years old. I also used a pick to get into the insides. This worked very well on our 1986 Mercedes 200e.
I'm watching this video to fix the fouled plugs on my 1986 Mercedes 300se, it fouled my brand new spark plugs and i ain't givin it new ones until it behaves itself. I think its got worn out valve stem seals, it wouldn't start and the spark plugs looked like they had been dunked in used motor oil.
Wire brush, fine pick and a fine file then check/regap.
Back in the 1970s .we had 2 stroke bikes.we were kids with no cash.we did that shit and it worked.thank for the memory
Used that method of cleaning plugs back in 1962 to get the old snowmobiles running, they would use a 20:1 oil and gas mix. Back then you had to carry a half a dozen new plugs all the time to keep them running. We would clean them up by throwing them in a campfire. This was way back in the bush, miles away from dealers and spark plug retailers.
Bro how old are you 85 - 90 ? i was in my terrible two's LOL. you look great plus i see you're also a project Farm fan. my dad is 87, mind was a bit slow LOL. raises beer "stay thirsty my friend"
@@fvrrljr I’ll be 70 in a week, I’ve been fooling around with snowmobiles since 1962. My hard drive is slowing down but the data is still there:-)
I have ran the same spark plug in my lawnmower for 5 years with no loss of power or effect, I just clean it nicely after a couple mows and put it back in.
Ok, that worked REALLY well. That plug looks like it’s been run once and the mixture was perfect 👌 I will try this on the really stubborn ones
I use this method too but I soak the plug in a bit of gas for awhile when it's really filthy before torching it. My gramps used to cook them on the stove too when he didn't have a torch, works but takes forever. Good video!
My dad showed me this same trick as a kid.
Although we didn't leave the torch on so long, and also added a wire brush and a shot of starting fluid.
It works.
Brake Clean always did the job for me! Carb cleaner, Brake Clean, WD-40 and Perma-Tex are the chems you never want to be without!
I used brake cleaner to get stains out of the wall to wall carpet when we bought our last house. Nothing else worked. Eventually we put in wood floors.
My Dad showed me that same trick! He said he would heat up red-hot the fouled plugs on the fighter planes and bombers when he was in Air Corps in North Africa during WW2.
Your father is a good man. I hope he's still with you. I'm gonna say a little prayer for him. Intelligence is why this country exists, not today's cry babies.
@@nothankyou5524
And balls.
140 octane mil spec "fuel" NOT TODAYS CHEMICALS & " MOONSHINE" ( IMITATION~ " ETHONOL ") it just fouls carburetor, fuel systems ,h yjr H²O it attracts: invented $$$$ plastic jet cartridges & rusts metal tanks, fuel lines & more!
Not yo mention what they tell farmers to pour on the corn n beets to make the grow faster & bigger? " Don't worry , ain't no body gonna eat them!?!🥴" BUT we're all going to breath it, drink it & eat anything the fumes fall on + the ANIMALS THE CONSUME ALL THAT!
THE GERMANS? ARE MAKING BRIGGS & STRATTON ENGINE THAT WILL RUN CLEAN ON PURE 80 OCTANE ( WWII ' PETROL!) & ADDED A RECHARGABLE BATTERY TO SAVE SHOULDERS & ELBOWS! BUT😊😅😂❤ THEY USE SODIUM- ION BATTERYS ~ 5,000 - 10,000+ RECHARGES! RECYCABLE! NON- TOXIC! ~~ OR YOU CAN USE : LITHIUM-ION EXPLOSIVE , FLAMABLE IF THEY GET HOT OR WET & CANT RECHARGE IN THE COLD! They have a toxic 1/2 life almost as much as plutonium?☠️💀⚰️🪦 BET THEY ARE ILLEGAL TO IMPORT OR THE ADAPTOR PLATES TI REPLACE THE CHINESE KNOCK OFFS OF SEARS ( RIP) THEY MURDERED TO GET THE NAME AND CALL THEM :" CRAFTSMAN" ? Also illegal to import or process = Joey Robinette BUYDUMB JR and Hunter LLC all electric world & soon $5.00 a gallon imported from 1/2 way around the world = using fuel to get it here or cleaning up after the :" Exon Valdez " spill & bury the fish & birds ! Or we can demand they cut off the pipeline lock : JOEY ROBINETTE put on thru the Native American & Canadian land : Trump agreed to pay for every drop that came thru & guard & protect the pipeline!
Or
Just pump it from under our feet & watch : " PAY OER VIEW WHILE THEY BANRUPT THE PLANED OR POLUTE THE WORLD PROCESSING LITHIUM-ION BATTERYS, PROPELLERS & CHINESE SOLOR CELLS? FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN & FAMILIES!
BUT THEN THERE IS 9/ 10 OF THIS PLANET CIVERED WITH WATER = H²O = STEAM& ZERO EMMISIONS WITH NO POLLUTION BY USINING & REUSING WITH CONDENSERS!
JUST FIGURE OUT A SMALL SAFE REACTOR FOR A HEAT SOURCE: IF NOT ANY COMBUSTABLE : WOOD, PAPER, CHARCOAL OR EVEN PURE PETROLEUM & " NATURAL GAS" from the earth ~ cows , pigs or even us?
But no spark plugs necessary?
Long life 1892? After diesel?
Now diesel transports ~ "fuel" to " gas" stations ???
Our old shop teacher taught us this nearly 40 years ago. Get it red hot for a minute, brush it off, like new.
Great Tip! My dad always took a brass wire brush to them gently, and took some emory cloth and sanded lightly on the center electrode and side electrode, then re-gap it. Usually always worked : )
a brush dont get down in the plug where the mess is you need to blast it out with harbor freights plug blaster does aperfect job and its cheap if you try you want do it any other way it the only to realy clean one like new
That’s what I have been doing for around 50 years use brass wire brush & Emory cloth re gap & sorted .No need for blowtorch
@@frankdavidson9675 Cocktail stick or gentle picker between down in the insulator gap & outer .swill with petrol & wipe with rag after using wire brush & Emory .No need for fancy smancy plug blasters or cleaners .I have been doing it for 50 years even on mucky 2 pre mix 2 stroke plugs .4 stroke plugs shouldn’t be getting very dirty if your engines tuned correctly .The plug should be a nice tan colour if it’s too light your running too lean & hot ,if it’s dark your running too rich wasting fuel & diluting the oil in your engine ,both not good for engine longevity ..We don’t have those tacky Harbour freight gaffs flogging cheapo tat tools in the U.K. Our cheap stores sell slightly better cheap tat tools than in the USA ,but we are slowly getting there & no doubt end up with our own Harbour freight type gaffs .God help us .
@@maskedavenger2578 do know how o read a ohm meter i can see the path to ground down around the post you can not geta brush down in this area my meter tells me when its clean that high voltage take path of least resistance in stead of jump ing the gap on the plug i was cleaning plugs when you were born im 87 set your meter on highest ohms scale read from top of plug to the threads any reading here says its still dirty causing miss fire random
@@frankdavidson9675 Your being too fussy if your going to that trouble why not just buy another plug .A few seconds after you have cleaned every bit of crap off your plug & refit it & start your engine up it will be same as if you had only cleaned 90 % of the muck off the plug anyway .It’s surprising how bad a plug has to get on a 4 stroke before performance is reduced .I use my multimeter for fault tracing & checking my battery charging circuits .I change my plugs at half the milage again of what the manufacturer states & clean my plugs once in between ,the old school method & never have any engine probs & first time starts in damp old England in winter .The more you unscrew a plug the more risk of damaging the weak alloy cylinder head plug threads requiring heli coiling ,if it ain’t broke don’t fix it .
I dip in gasoline and and metal brush to scrub plug clean, usually works.
Yep; my dad was a mechanic and 50 years ago, he showed me how to clean spark plug with gasoline and a piece of wire; then gap them. I maintained my 1970 Volkswagen Beetle that way for 5 years and I replaced plug once.
The problem with using a steel brush is that it deposits steel particles on the ceramic part , turning it into a semi conductor.
@@quartusbuys6831 not if you rinse it off after with gas or a decent solvent of choice
Been doing it that way for 50 years, always works for me.
I’d dip the end of that plug into petrol then set fire to it . That’ll burn all the sh!t of . Works every time .
I still have a wall mounted, spark plug cleaner from the 70's........Now that's the old mechanics trick.
Is it the one that sort or sand blasts it
You can still buy those on ebay for $20
I want one. Very nice to have
They take the glaze off the porcelain but standard practice back then,
@David Tucker Mine uses a super fine sand..............
I'm a professional Faller , I always roll a set of acetylene torches with me into the woods , Been doing it like that for the past 45 years , Your idea seems more practical
Definitely gonna have to give it a try.
How's the body holding up after nearly a half century of hard physical labor?
@@muziklvr7776
A little skin cancer , A bad back but still getting around.
Thanks for your concern.
@@muziklvr7776 You don't live 45 years in that occupation without having a brain between your ears.
Pulling an oxy/acetylene torch through the woods be be harder than dragging a fallen buck out of the woods. I'll stick to carrying a Zippo lighter around. You'll never know when you may cross a bear in the woods looking to share a blunt with you if you have a light. I've been hearing about bears in the woods snorting cocaine. It must be true. They made a movie about it.
Neat idea ,all I use to clean my plugs is a wire wheel on a bench grinder. Fast easy and also effective
The way I clean them is to hold them up to the light examine them and look at the deposits and drop into the garbage can for further cleaning
😄😄😄
Best cleaning method IMO
Lol
Shit I charge $100.00 an hour!! Don't have time to waste on that..should of just been replaced from the get go!
You got that right !!!!!
learned that trick in the Navy serving on a tin can in the early 70s as a machinist's mate.. Works great.
I’ve been doing it for 35 yrs., I learned it from my grandfather. Except it does not need to get red, just burn off the crap.
I bet your really tired now!!
@@richardtemby4358
I c what u did there
Same here, I saw my father do that many times when I was a kid but like your grandfather he never let it get cherry red.
I typically knock off the excess, and use a cigar lighter (butane torch) to burn off the moisture and whatever debris remains. I’ll put the flame to it for about 15-20 seconds and it always works for me. Never thought about getting out a propane tank and heating the tip until the ring below the threads was glowing red hot.
Neat-O
Don't heat up to cherry red since the porcelain insulator can crack
I've used this method. Its actually THE BEST WAY to clean a fouled plug. But I got caught up in conversation one time while doing this, and believe me when I tell you that THEY WILL EXPLODE. 😁 Great video and right to the point. 👍
This trick actually really works. I do this everytime one of my plugs gets fouled and this fixes just as good as new every single time.
I've always used a dremel with a wire brush. Works for me.
I have good luck with brake cleaner, brass wire brush, and my air compressor.
So how do u get the deposits off the insulator down deep in the plug?
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 probably not but it usually gets the machine running. If it's a customer they get a new plug. I was a little worried that you heated that plug until it was red but it did look mighty clean. I know a guy that used to sand blast them but IDK if that's a good idea?
It’s fine to blast them but most ppl are careless and don’t get all the blasting media out of the plug
Is this for real like how stuo9d can u he to not know how to brush off a spark plug if u know to brush your teath
@@davidreali9642 Can't get deep inside with a brush
It's probably easier to carry a spare spark plug out in the field then it is a propane torch
He used MAPP gas. Pay attention.
One winter I watched these guys work on a 70's Civic for several days. Crank crank crank and no start. They had no money so they didn't try too many things. We went over to stick our nose it it and found that it probably only needed plugs. We pulled them out, cranked the engine to pump out the flood of gasoline in the cylinders, then blew air into the holes to dry it out. We built a small fire and put the tips of the plugs into the flame. Once the plugs were dry, we screwed them in hot and the car fired right up.
@@SA-iw4ci your point is? I know, a map gas tank will fit in your pocket much easier than a propane tank.
@@fuckjoebiden1435 It's spelled with two p's ....Mapp.
Scott,
I agree, seems like a waste of time as well.
At home I use a wire wheel
😮😊 boy, I never seen a spark plug cleaned like that before. That's a new one to me. I won't heat that up too much with that. Torch that plug is going to get red hot. That's a new idea that I'm watching now. Thank you.
Why not the plug gets hotter inside of a running engine.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 well yeah that's true. I'll agree with you on that. But I never seen a clean like that cleaning it with a torch. Someone told me it can still do damage to the plug cleaning it like that. This is just what I heard from someone. That's all. Thanks for the response back. Good luck to you.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 I'll agree with your friend. Yeah, plug does get hotter inside of an engine. I was talking about cleaning it that way if the plug was going to be good people do what they want. That's all right. I enjoy the video though. Thank you.
As much as I hate to see a plug heated so much the results speak for itself. The plug looked very clean and it working fine. Good Video.
I learned something new today...thank you!!😁👍👍👍
Thanks man, i'll be trying this on my 2 stroke bicycle engine! its not exactly a stihl but thanks, I think this should do the trick if I find myself stranded.
I clean mine all the time with a wire wheel on my bench grinder. Never tried it your way.. I’ll give it a go next time thanks. Subbed and liked.
It got like new again, even the porcelain got White again! Very effective method. Subscribed.
My papaw always cleaned his after every use,this became my job and I've continued it.he would dip the cool plug in a lil gas a then light it and let it burn,only difference now is instead of a Bic I use one of the small torch lighters,loved the video,many thanks.
My brother's shop had a small sandblaster designed for sparkplugs. Stick the plug in the hole, turn the air valve on and it recirculated the shot blast material. A rubber boot kept the shot blast material in the box and you just rolled the plug the around with your fingers. Those spark plug cleaning machines were common in automotive and truck repair shops 50 years ago. Once the plug was clean to the eye, you hit it with the parts cleaning machine solution to get the grit off it, dried it with shop air, re-gapped the plug to specs and reinstalled. Once the electrode got too short, or the ground got burned off too much, the plug got discarded. Most plugs were good for one or two cleanings before they got too worn. I've used carb cleaner and the wire wheel for years, but there is the problem with the deep deposits of carbon up in recess around the electrode base. Picking it away takes time and if you don't get all of it, it will break off in the cylinder head and the deposits will act as a cutting/ grinding agent on the cylinder walls and around the piston rings. Fire might be a very good thing to rid the plug of ALL the deposits. I might try setting the plug up vertically, the tip in the vise, and filling it with carb cleaner, letting it set for awhile and then boiling it off with the propane and continuing until clean. A tiny shot of carb cleaner when the plug is near red hot, creating that white steam effect, throwing out the tiny chunks of gunk. KA-FUUUM ! Fire in the hole, fire in the hole, fire in the hole! Sizzle pop, szsszszzszzzssz kapow !!
The old days of snowmobiling............I remember doing this all the time.
It also helps to get it in the cylinder while the plug is hot, warms the cylinder area and helps the startup.
I am a user of the glass bead bag and I love it! Use air after you won’t have a problem. Nice videos
I know there's a million ways to clean a spark plug but considering I don't always have carburetor cleaner on hand and sometimes the wire brush can be hard to find a blow towards she always seems readily available in that case even a gas stove I really appreciate you making this video and sharing this information with us thank you and have a wonderful wonderful life
I've used this trick before on newish plugs that got oil fouled and spent too much time idling and I didn't have time to grab new plugs before I needed it. It definitely has it's applications.
Always good to have another way to get it running again. Because you never know what materials you might have available.
Very nice. Back in the 60's we had professional sand blasting plug machines. They left the surface more prone to collect new fowling & bits of sand may be logged deep around the insulator after air blowing clean. Thank you.
You are the first person that agrees that sand can get stuck in there down deep
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 That's why Champion etc rec to give them a clean with shop air after....not Rocket Science.Cheers from New Zealand.Bye
They still sale them at H.Freight"
A lighter and a wire brush works just as well. I never had to get it cherry red.
Yes simple lighter and safety-pin is enough. Safety-pin is also easy to carry with
A
Lighter dosnt get hot enough
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 It isn't needed to be burned "reddish" really just burn the oil off and then use safety-pin to remove the junk from the plug
@@aris95 awesome. You do you and I’ll do it
Right
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 It is also easier to handle when not burned reddish
Used to do that 55 years ago with plugs out of my Lambretta and Vespa, I used to use my Mum's gas ring in the kitchen,😁
I've used that method for cleaning plugs since about 1979! 😊👍
That was kinda of a trick we used to get a piece of metal preheated to gas weld was to set the flame to carbon up the metal then set it up for welding when the carbon disappeared it was to temp. Nice fix to remember though for removing carbon deposits on a spark plug..👍
On motorbike rides around Australia back in the seventies we used to plonk the fouled plugs in the campfire along with the mufflers.
Let us know when the ground electrode breaks off the end of the spark plug and hits your piston ..how that works out for you..?? If the insulator or electrode doesn't fall out first
Yep. For 2 bucks, I'll just replace it
You do know that the operating temperature of the plug is considerably higher than the propane so a propane cleaning is almost non destructive. Oil fouling that does not get cleared from a plug under normal operation is indicative of worn rings and the kyanite in the ceramic insulator in the plug is form stable for several thousand degrees. If the electrode breaks off, it was more likely due to mechanical damage, dropping, wrench/ socket misalignment, over torqueing, cracking the insulators, but not by the relatively low heat of MAPP or propane. Oxy-acetylene? Yes, possible damage to the metal by de tempering and softening and loss of toughness, though the insulators will hold up to a simple cleaning by heat.
@@mikegrant8490 No it's not. The plug does not glow red hot during operation. If it did, it would burn off all the deposits just like the torch did. Use your head.
@@davelowets That's NOT what I said. Reread it and get back to me. The spark itself, meaning that the point at which it is firing, is much hotter. The spark is intermittent and of short duration. The spark is only in that gap. Surely you've seen thermography of flame spread for mapping fuel injection, haven't you? Putting in stepped heat range plugs from cooler to hotter and observing the values under various engine loads gives you the data to extrapolate best performance and maximum mpgs with the cleanest burn for the longest engine life. I worked at a machine shop that had an engineer that was tasked with building an assembly machine for tube bending for multi point injection on 4.3 GM V-6's back in the 80s. GM sent reams of thermography so that engineer could design the tubing bender assembler based on that data. Six tubes, different lengths and bends, all flowing sequentially, all bent to fit within parameters preestablished by GM to fit around the engine, per the mapping, with equal firing on all cylinders for smooth running and "cool runnings" as they say in Jamaica, mon... As you know, if the spark plug glowed red hot all the time, you could not have ignition of the atomized combustible fuel as it would pre-ignite, predetonation being the bane of any internal combustion engine. The engine would not run well, if at all. ( I agree with you, I too would just change the damn 2 buck plug... )
@@davelowets I see where you misunderstood what I said. Operating temperature is what I was referring to is THE HEAT RANGE of the plug.
I've done this lots of times. Very effective with a good blow torch. Good demonstration.
Wow!! Looks perfect. I would not have had the guts to heat it like that. Cool trick thanks
Another old trick for an engine playing hard to start is to heat the plug on a gas flame, screw it home and guarantee you it’ll start first pull, which is sometimes all you need to tweak the mixture to get it back to being reliable.
Yea my friend would take a bunch off fouled plugs and put it in a coke can ripped in half put gas in it then light it on fire.. In fact people say in the field, well if you are in the fiiels and your plug looks like that one your Idea is best. Becaue I dont have a torch or a heat gun when im out cutting.
I've used this trick many times.If it keeps happening you might want to go to one heat degree hotter plug.
I have always used a mini hand-held sand blaster, with Glass Beads as the medium.
Of course, you have to scrub the plug with spray-solvent (brake cleaner, or carb cleaner, ect.) and a nylon brush, to make certain that all of the abrasive medium is removed, before reinstalling the plug.
This method only requires about 2-3 minutes, and the plug appears brand new.
Edit:
My concern, with using a flame torch to heat the plug to high temperatures, is the possibility of creating micro-cracks in the ceramic insulator of the plug.
Later, after starting the engine, small pieces of the damaged ceramic insulator may enter the cylinder, and score the cylinder bore.
Most ppl don’t so that why I say avoid it.
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 ,
You've got a point there.
Too many engines are operated by the mentally deficient.
If they operated the engine for 500 hours, with the carburetor mis-adjusted, running excessively rich, washing the oil from the cylinder walls, and diluting the lube in the sump ... (the reason that the plug was excessively fouled in the first place)
- then, there is a good chance that they might not possess the mechanical aptitude, to clean the glass beads from the plug, before reinstalling it.
@@marshalllhiepler there is no sump on a 2-cycle mixed fuel engine. You’re not going to wash the lube off the cylinder walls unless it’s not being fed any fuel while the engine is forced to to go; that’s why 2-cycle engines are no good for vehicles capable of ‘jake-braking’. Nobody thinks about that; the engine has to be disengaged and idling while letting the brakes do their job. Downshifting and allowing the engine to slow down a motorcycle is what causes the most engine damage because without the fuel there is no lubrication.
Using a propane torch to clean the plug is a trick used out in the field when you don’t have a spare but like the man said- you can crack the porcelain VERY EASILY and end up with a destroyed engine! I’ll continue to use a wire brush to get me out of a jam and put down a couple of spare plugs on my list of things to pickup after work.
That was the first time seeing this. Good tip if you doin't have a new plug. Thanks.
I've always used a blast cabinet and performed glass bead peening for dirty 2 stroke spark plugs. It's a bit cleaner than sand blasting . Good video . Good luck .
I just put a dirty plug into my spark plug cleaner. It grit blasts the plug, cost me about £5 or $7.00 to buy in 1975 and runs off any 12v supply (as in battery). Insert plug, press a button. Wait 30 seconds and out comes a clean plug. Have never changed the grit inside it. I have no idea how it keeps cleaning so well but it is brilliant.
I have used my old timer pocket knife many times just to keep it running. Then replace it when I am back home. Extra plug is the best way to keep it going when you’re out in the field.
I keep a spare one wrapped in a condom tied to string then wrapped in rag to give to a tight push fit in the weed wacker handle [other orifices can be similarly stuffed] ;
Gotta love those old mechanics..I've known a few that were very smart..👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you!! I use the old ones for fishing weights.
I've been taking the plugs out and soaking them in 'CLR' cleaner. Works good.
This trick also works for cleaning fouled spark arrestor screens. I usually clean them both at the same time for convenience.
My dad taught me to half fill one of those old metal castella cigar tubes with sand, hold the plug in the end and shake it up and down. In other words, gently sandblast it.
When I was a kid the corner gas station had a spark plug cleaning machine. Screw it in, give it a blast and it came out clean. Very handy for our mini-bikes.
I have done this a couple of times and get good results. It is also great fun to play with the blow torch.
I put mine on the grill little garlic, butter,pepper 600 degrees right next to my Tomahawk Steak.
I like to 'reverse sear' my spark plugs
I like to flambeau mine
Over here they can be found between the prawns . 🙃
This is a very effective method. I’ve done it for years. Be carful not to get the ceramic part of the plug too hot. You will have a mini explosion and to plug will be in two pieces.
The plus about doing that is you guarantee a new plug, the minus is if you don’t have one you have to get one.
9
Wow don’t think I’ve ever seen a plug cleaned with a torch and it worked….👍👍
I've always just used a bit of folded sandpaper between the electrodes with great success, but now I'll have to try this one, THX.
The hell with buying new plugs I know what I’m doing now on
When I am out there in the field cutting woods, I pull out the propane blowtorch out of my left pocket, a 30 pound steel vice out of the right pocket, a piece of fine sandpaper out of my shirt pocket and there I go. Ohhh I forgot my sparkplug wrench at home.
The moral of the story is... Don't forget that wrench! Cleaning/scratching the carbon from the electrode can be done with your pocket knife bro!
He has very big pockets.
This works on fair plugs when the temperature is brass monkey weather.
😂
Dead right, just have a spare plug.
But you are needing to finish a job and you’re 30 miles from the nearest store and the store closes in 10 minutes what do you do? You don’t have a spare plug with you this is the best method ever
@@THEMOWERMEDIC1 say if you don't have a blow torch with you either? 😬
Used that trick quite often. Especially on 2trokes. My dad taught it to me. Didn’t get it that hot though. Sometimes dropped some gas into it. 2 stroke plugs usually had oil in them that would burn off.
And I thought I knew everything but now I understand that guy's a genius
Wipe clean and wire brush , job done . I dont like bagging people with good intentions but you you seriously complicated the most basic of service jobs and now have clueless people running around flamables with a blow torch and cherry red spark plugs ! Good job .....
Cleaned a many plugs like this .
Cost more for the propane than the plug would have cost. I've used a 'hot rod' trick. Scrape most fouling off with a knife then restart and dribble some water down the carb while reving it. Steam cleans the plug nicely !
Your perception of cost is abumbleated. I’ve cleaned 20 plus plugs since this video and still have 3/4’s bottle left.
Nah. Good plugs are expensive.
I do this to lawn and garden engines a good bit, once the engine is hot dribble water right into the carb at WOT, carbon blows out the exhaust
after you clean a plug with a blaster you flush it out in a small can of gas so there is nothing left in the plug to get in your eng i clean my plugs with a blaster from H F using about 90 -100 psi air.the flush takes less than 2 mins.
The torch is the BEST way to do it. I have several old farm tractors that have plugs made from Unobtanium. This works because it gets the oil out of the porcelain insulator INSIDE the plug. You MIGHT have a spark in the open but under compression, it won't fire. Seriously, I have a few spark plugs that are 50 years old still working.
We used to clean them with gasoline. Never would have thought of this fix, cool!
When I began my apprenticeship as a mechanic back in 1970 we had what was basically a sand blaster that cleaned the plugs. It was part of the regular service routines for those older vehicles. As long as there was material to gap them with back in they went until the next service. Technology now allows them to last a hell of a lot longer with less maintenance.
The sand leads to sand left in the plug that gets in engines.
Briggs and Stratton had to study engine failures.
They traced it to sand.
The blaster was the source in shops.
Bad practices of incomplete cleaning after blasting.
The wet method also keeps all of it from becoming airborne.
Today the customer is trained to call the mechanic a crook.
Now he has to buy everything new every time because patience is a gift. Cost exceeds value.
Then China sells him a new one that needs to be thrown away.
Progressive ideas from the CCP
Rules for shop survival
@@dannylinc6247 I can’t argue that sand can destroy an engine. But from the number of vehicles that had their spark plugs cleaned that way over the years and didn’t suffer premature engine failure I’d say it was a satisfactory method of cleaning. The cleaning unit was designed by Champion Spark Plug Company, if it was to be proven that plug cleaning sand was detrimental to engines and could lead to law suits from premature engine failure caused by sandblasted plugs Champion would not have continued with its use. However today, technically advanced plugs do not require such cleaning methods.
@@richardshort4587 during that time, of the Briggs and Stratton study, so many engines were affected, they called for them and tore them down. Then took the blasters out of the shops because the wet method is keeping the particulate matter out of workers lungs and helping keep it out of engines due to bad practices trying to save time.
I still have a blaster for plugs.
But carb spray and tapping before gapping can show the particles of sand.
Briggs and Stratton imploded and took the riches of their company and allowed their designs to go foreign and be copied.
Nowadays you use different parts. But cleaning can still save a plug.
I just did that the other day to a new mower for a friend. His fuel practices lead to problems.
He doesn't buy it right.
Its price has been driven up.
He doesn't run them out.
He let's them sit.
He overfills his oil.
So clean them is his answer to get the grass cut.
Ok
I've been doing this for years, but if I have the choice I'll put a new plug in, especially in a vehicle where the labour costs more than the plug.
Seems alot more higher than combustion temps. Worried about compromised electrode. Good video thanks
This is a VERY GOOD way to clean your plugs. And i know people are gonna talk trash. But as a Racer. Who raced for a living for 3.5 years before opening my machine shop. We did this very same trick. Yes a set of plugs on hand is great. But if you have a carburetor/ fuel pump, regulator issue and things get fouled. Now your in the finals or your Grudge Race is coming up next.
You need a fix like NOW !! And this works great. Most cylinder Temps out of the header is in the 1260 to 1350 range. If you use a temp gun like we check tires, track and sooo on. You'll see the plugs start burning clean around 900. Well in order of the heat range under The Load. 💪 this is a trick when in a pinch . I personally run a Blown Alcohol Rail.... and Alcohol can be slightly problematic in cooler weather... So don't beat on our Guy to hard here. He's really sharing a helpful tip. Be blessed my friends in all you do. 👍
Great Racer tip for fouled...
Heat cycles kill that guys 4yr old plug...looks better than it did,
Help us all!
Best tip I've seen in a while. Thanks
Because we always carry a propane torch out mowing ☺️
Propane $, mapp gas $, carrying it all or just pack a $3 plug. Another theory is use good fuel, a good quality mix at THE PROPER %, and not have to worry about it
“Out mowing”
He is in his garage
@@Totaro17 re-watch the video and listen this time around.
The plug was dirty for sure but the engine was starting in one pull🤔 cleaning with wire brush and couple dip of dirty spark plug in gasoline works for me.
I've been doing that for 50 years I didn't realize that was an old trick LOL
It's a 50 year old trick
Great old trick sir ty for sharing!! Excellent!! JUST A NOTE ______as we all know you can use a sandblaster spark plug cleaner apparatus and clean off all the old oil and carbon deposits within the plug and on the porcelain ,Looks like NEW right?? ok, we also has to Remember we can only sand blast any spark plug a few times because as we sand blast it, we also do remove porcelain each time we sandblast any plug. so what happens if we unintentionally remove porcelain?? the spark plug center firing tip can and will overheat and cause pre-ignition and as we know because of this porcelain is now less then it was and now the "heat range" of that specific plug has now changed because of this.... so it nice to note all side effects of what we do as Mechanics .Even as simple as a plug Cleaning ty
Or, switch to Diesel. I am trying to eliminate ALL Gas Burning ANYTHING in my life. Of course a Diesel Chainsaw might be a little heavy. When they quit making McCullough Chainsaws that was the end of Low cost reliable chainsaws. I just bought a Brand New Stihl chainsaw, I don't like them, they are the hardest to start chainsaws made, but the other brands have other problems The last NEW Gasoline Truck I bought was in 1978, I bought a New Ford F-250. Lost the engine on it at 30,000 miles. It had a 12 month warranty. Had to buy a Wrecking Yard motor to get it running again. It came from the factory getting hot for NO APPARENT reason. Never did find out what caused that. Started buying diesel pickup trucks as soon as they became available. I would have a Diesel WATCH if I could get one. There is NO COMPARISON between a diesel and a gas engine. That is the reason they do NOT make Bulldozers, Farm Tractors, most any construction kind of equipment, it is ALL DIESEL. I drove long haul trucks for years, only way to go. I do NOT understand why the USA was so slow to go diesel. IN Europe most cars sold are Diesel. Hitler's TANKS in WW II were all diesel, so were the Soviets. But American Tanks, the "Sherman Tanks" were GASOLINE, aka "Rolling Crematoriums". It is probably the Government making it hard on diesel equipment.
Thanks for the info on this. 😊