5V smoke generator

[Greg Elmassian]

Yes, you have to put the fan on top or make 2 chambers... single chamber, fan on top, forcing out hole that is past heater.


Fan on bottom into chamber that feeds second chamber that has reservoir, like Aristo, usat


Abs will soften and make thermal regulation more critical.


Are you going to abs because you cannot get long skinny metal box?

 

[Slawman]

Alas the only wirewound ones I can get are the square ceramic ones.... So I'll use 3 watt metal foil and see what happens. I may try to preremove the outer coating with maybe paint stripper, I dont know what the coating is, I expect epoxy but its flameproof... I'd expect a 1 watt resistor to fail if it had a 3 watt load across it. With a 5 v supply and an 8.2 ohm resistance that's just a tad over 3 watts.... Other wise its back to "wind my own".

Try:

RS Australia | World Leading Distributor of Electronics, Electromechanical and Industrial Components

Free shipping and prices that show Jaycar is ripping us off........

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I think he indicates success in "extracting" the resistors in post #14. the post you quoted is much earlier in the time when he was not succeeding in cracking open the wirewounds, which were not the ceramic ones as I read and re-read this thread. Subsequently he went back to 12 volts too.

Greg

 

[No72]

Yes, you have to put the fan on top or make 2 chambers... single chamber, fan on top, forcing out hole that is past heater.


Fan on bottom into chamber that feeds second chamber that has reservoir, like Aristo, usat


Abs will soften and make thermal regulation more critical.


Are you going to abs because you cannot get long skinny metal box?

Yes that was the idea behind going to a plastic box. I can get a much better shaped one for my needs. I tried to install the one in the picture but the external terminals foul the underside of the funnel. So I'm going to go back to a longer shallower thinner box. Mine don't get very hot at all barely warm to the touch BUT the smoke fluid may soften the plastic unless I can go polycarb... So that means I have now several "spares" that don't fit into my Baldwin smoke box. So I'll go back to the beginning where I was in 2013, single chamber fan on underside of lid "dyson" baffle and I can shorten the outlet tube too it only needs to be 25mm long....

 

[No72]

I think he indicates success in "extracting" the resistors in post #14. the post you quoted is much earlier in the time when he was not succeeding in cracking open the wirewounds, which were not the ceramic ones as I read and re-read this thread. Subsequently he went back to 12 volts too.

Greg

Yes Jaycar sell the resistors cheaply at less than 20c each, Yes Im back at 12V too but still investigating some way to get smoke in the quantity I want with 5v... I'm thinking of pulsing the power to the resistor and using residual heat to keep smoke flowing....

 

[No72]

The final version of the smoke gerberator is nearly finished, awaiting the fan... As can be seen its now one chamber, the heater has a long fanned out wick made of the braided rockwool and the 2 tubes to carry the smokes aka steam to the cylinders is in place. Silicone tubing works best as PVC crystallises and cracks. It works well even without the fan.... Maybe the thread should be renamed "experiments in DIY smoke production"...

 

[Slawman]

That's a very neat little unit.

 

[No72]

That's a very neat little unit.

Thanks... yes it is small it has to fit in a small smokebox.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

So, maybe it's time to give you a secret used by the "smoke kings" here in the US. Just use 2 resistors in parallel.

This way, you won't have to work the single resistor so hard. There's enough room in your enclosure for two of them.

Now run at slightly less than double the wattage you were using for one.

Greg

 

[Slawman]

Thanks... yes it is small it has to fit in a small smokebox.

Could you please provide some details about the parts and construction? Will you by synchronizing the fan with any model motion (I don't suppose Trams have Chuffs?).

 

[Greg Elmassian]

I think he will be "well chuffed" upon it's completion!

 

[No72]

So, maybe it's time to give you a secret used by the "smoke kings" here in the US. Just use 2 resistors in parallel.

This way, you won't have to work the single resistor so hard. There's enough room in your enclosure for two of them.

Now run at slightly less than double the wattage you were using for one.

Greg

I have some of these on order, I cant wait to see if its a U shaped resistor or just a straight tone with a longer lead on one end. 5 x 15 Ohm 5 Watt Wirewound Radial Ceramic Cement Resistors 608641472394 | eBay

 

[No72]

Could you please provide some details about the parts and construction? Will you by synchronizing the fan with any model motion (I don't suppose Trams have Chuffs?).

Nooo sorry no chuffs, the prototype I'm modeling does have chuffs as its non condensing, I have tried stopping the fan to get chuffs and I can but the sequence is to long, I need a 3 wire fan with brake/instant stop function. If you go backwards to page 1, you will see ( or should see) links to the components and much discussion as to how this is made...

 

[Greg Elmassian]

The instant start stop can be accomplished simply by a diode across the motor leads.

 

[No72]

The instant start stop can be accomplished simply by a diode across the motor leads.

Yes, worked that out... But it becomes complex. then I have to supply the element constantly while starting and stopping the fan, which isn't hard to do either but in practical terms I don't have the space to stuff the electronics. We'll all have to assume the blower has been left on. Being inside I don't think the smoke is going to be used that much.... There is not much chuff from the prototypes either though burning coke there is not much smoke,