Correct way to clean spark plugs??

[Videonut]

Ok so i have always wondered if cleaning spark plugs was bad or not
here is my CH80 spark plug all black and nasty



and here is me cleaning it with a small wire wheel (is this acceptable) i have done this for years and never thought about it until some of the threads keep saying replace the spark plug.



and i have never replaced one unless it was WORN OUT bad or broken or beyond cleaning. here it is all bright and shinny



well?? what do ya think

videonut

[Bear45-70]

I think at the price of new plugs, it just is not worth the effort. I never save used plugs. Just trash can them and install new. When in doubt about a performance issue or engine problem, install a new plug.

[carp]

Cleaning the plug with a wire wheel usually damages/scratches the ceramic insulator(worse with those sand blast plug cleaners),this can lead to performance problems and the plug getting dirty faster.At least that is what the FO.MO.CO. race engine builders used to say.Carp

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

You did a nice job cleaning up the business end of the plug. However the problem with a worn plug is down below, where the ceramic meets metal. Over time the insulator changes properties in some mysterious way - or so I have read. Maybe little pits form in the ceramic or perhaps the material itself acquires more conductive properties. Whatever the reason, the insulator on an old plug eventually no longer er... uhh, insulates as well, leaking precious volts across to the ground via the metal jacket. Weak spark, poor performance. I can't count the number of times I encountered performance issues and feared the worst, only to find that a new plug completely resolved the issue.

I'll bet Mr. Mouse could devise a method for testing a plug with an Ohm-meter and large, spark-producing equipment. Otherwise, I'm with The Bear and Carp on this one, for the $3.00 price tag, pitch the old one and buy a box of 10.

[Videonut]

Very good thread. im sure that this will help alot of people...

Videonut

[Kenny_McCormic]

I have cleaned fouled plugs by getting em red hot and letting them cool slowly, they rarely last for long though. It's easier and far more reliable to buy a new one.

[maddog]

if you have a summer/winter climate you should run a cold plug in summer & a hotter plug below 50 degrees, i got 3 yrs out a plug before a head gasket leak.

[Lunytune]

Years ago, most garages had plug cleaners, which was little more than a sand blaster with fine grit material. It worked fine back then. But compression ratios were lower, meaning less demand on the plug, and voltage was considerably lower, meaning less risk of carbon tracing through deteriorated ceramic. I don't know if you are gaining much nowadays by cleaning a plug. It's one of the cheapest things we install on a scooter. Far better to replace a plug than be caught in a rainstorm with a bad plug. Yeah, I've been caught in two rainstorms in past month and glad I had a good plug.

[Bear45-70]

Years ago, most garages had plug cleaners, which was little more than a sand blaster with fine grit material. It worked fine back then. But compression ratios were lower, meaning less demand on the plug, and voltage was considerably lower, meaning less risk of carbon tracing through deteriorated ceramic. I don't know if you are gaining much nowadays by cleaning a plug. It's one of the cheapest things we install on a scooter. Far better to replace a plug than be caught in a rainstorm with a bad plug. Yeah, I've been caught in two rainstorms in past month and glad I had a good plug.

Not only were the compression lower, but the gas was of a much higher quality.

[Lunytune]

Years ago, most garages had plug cleaners, which was little more than a sand blaster with fine grit material. It worked fine back then. But compression ratios were lower, meaning less demand on the plug, and voltage was considerably lower, meaning less risk of carbon tracing through deteriorated ceramic. I don't know if you are gaining much nowadays by cleaning a plug. It's one of the cheapest things we install on a scooter. Far better to replace a plug than be caught in a rainstorm with a bad plug. Yeah, I've been caught in two rainstorms in past month and glad I had a good plug.

Not only were the compression lower, but the gas was of a much higher quality.

Yeah, we had lead back then too. And it seems we had less varnish problems, could be wrong on that. Can you imagine what it would be like today with fuel injection and high energy ignition if we had leaded gas and less or no ethanol?

[Bear45-70]

Yeah, we had lead back then too. And it seems we had less varnish problems, could be wrong on that. Can you imagine what it would be like today with fuel injection and high energy ignition if we had leaded gas and less or no ethanol?

If that were the case, then someday these would be the good old dayz.