I know what you mean about the big stuff I leave that to the pro’s . I’m gonna get a working heating element dag nabbit ! (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)I’m not gonna use a exposed glowing wire after seeing it start on fire. When I run my trains I want to relax and having a fire extinguisher next to me kinda doesn’t work . However i’m trying something else . Below is a photo of a couple of clay molds . The wire is encapsulated in cement and i’m hoping these work , however if they don’t I might get some store bought resistors and lower the voltage to the heater which of course will require a resistor . 
Mike, the key is run multiple heaters and don’t run each one as hard.
Run 2 resistors each at half the amps the single one.
You will still make the same heat output total.
Watts is watts.
Greg
I am a novice when it comes to circuits . I am using a 12 volt battery for power . Can you show me somehow the circuit to use to accomplish using multiple heaters and dropping the amps ?
This ought to be good… (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-sealed.gif)
Mikes House ^^^^^^^^^^^
Your killin me .
mike dorsch said:
Your killin me .
Would you please will me your trains before you are dead?
I will take care of them and whore them up and follow your wishes !
I guess I should take a crash course in basic electronics. I love the nuclear electrical explosion . What could go wrong ?(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
With all due respect for your life, fingers, and people around you… no.
It ain’t simple and many people have experimented and failed… these resistors are not intended to be heaters.
I don’t know why you are burning up the stock unit, which should last a while at 12 volts…
I think you need to scale back your expectations… I think you need to ask Harbor Models what to do, and why you are blowing up the resistors.
Greg
p.s. if you come back and have learned volts, amps, watts, Ohms law, then I can tell you.
mike dorsch said:
I am a novice when it comes to circuits . I am using a 12 volt battery for power . Can you show me somehow the circuit to use to accomplish using multiple heaters and dropping the amps ?
I’ll play around with it a little more and if I can get the heaters to last that will be great. If I can’t then I still have a working “B” unit .
Honestly, what do the Harbor Models people say?
Greg
Since I last spoke to someone at Harbor Models he added a addendum to their web page explaining that there should be 4 to 5 inches of clearance above the fan for proper airflow . That sounds like a lot of room but that’s what they recommend. I have been dabbling around with the smoker and tried a few different resistors in it. I also ran it with a wire heating element. As it turned out the hairdryer wire heating element worked the best. I cut the wire to the length where it doesn’t glow but its real hot. The resistors were starting to blacken and break down again . I ran it with the wire heating element for over 30 minutes before it ran out of fluid , and it was belching smoke the whole time . After it cooled off I took it apart to see how much fluid it used and how the wick looked. Well it sucked up all 3 0z of smoke fluid and the wick was not burnt . I’m still going to do more running the unit with the wire just to satisfy my concerns about it starting on fire but so far it seems like it just might work and hold up. If it has sufficient fluid in it and I use only smoke fluid I think it will be safe to use.
" Rooster " said:
mike dorsch said:
Your killin me .
Would you please will me your trains before you are dead?
I will take care of them and whore them up and follow your wishes !
Don’t listen to this Amtrash ninja(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I like Dave , he’s gonna will me his Amtrac stuff if he goes first.
Dave who?
Okay I hope your messin with the old man now Mr. Rooster Russell. I thought that was your first name. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-laughing.gif)
Wow, 4 to 5 inches above the fan?
Ok, trying to reason that out, the only thing that makes sense is no restriction in the airflow. A restricted airflow should make the heating element hotter, so this “theory” hangs together.
Do you know if the heater gets full voltage, or is there some kind of voltage regulator? What I would think to try is the wire heating element but a longer one, which should run a bit cooler, i.e. last longer.
Looking at the condition of the wick is smart, that’s your “heat indicator”.
Greg
mike dorsch said:
Since I last spoke to someone at Harbor Models he added a addendum to their web page explaining that there should be 4 to 5 inches of clearance above the fan for proper airflow . That sounds like a lot of room but that’s what they recommend. I have been dabbling around with the smoker and tried a few different resistors in it. I also ran it with a wire heating element. As it turned out the hairdryer wire heating element worked the best. I cut the wire to the length where it doesn’t glow but its real hot. The resistors were starting to blacken and break down again . I ran it with the wire heating element for over 30 minutes before it ran out of fluid , and it was belching smoke the whole time . After it cooled off I took it apart to see how much fluid it used and how the wick looked. Well it sucked up all 3 0z of smoke fluid and the wick was not burnt . I’m still going to do more running the unit with the wire just to satisfy my concerns about it starting on fire but so far it seems like it just might work and hold up. If it has sufficient fluid in it and I use only smoke fluid I think it will be safe to use.
The smoke unit is pretty basic . Its just a plastic box with a 12 volt 40mm computer fan and a heating element. There are no circuit boards or anything fancy. Unfortunately the original resistor nor any of the 3 replacements had any writing or numbers on it and the man at Harbor Models said he didn’t know what they were. Maybe its a company secret. I ordered more smoke fluid and am looking forward to testing it again with the wire heating element. I have the wire trimmed to the size where it doesn’t turn orange hot and I looked at it while it was pitch black in my workshop when trimming it. I have my fingers crossed that I have a safe , working heating element. In anticipation of this finally being a success I modified the body shell by cutting a hole in the top to access the dip stick tube I installed on the smoker box. I made a small removable hatch made from .080 and .010 plastic . I used Archer rivet decals and a couple of USA Trains lift rings to finish it up. I am now painting it now and it should blend in to the roof . I am also adding a 50mm 12 volt fan inside just under the two rectangular vents to draw more outside air in to the car body. Here’s some pictures.
