My wife was even more impressed by your layout. Looks good.
I live near Stan and Bob too…so now you have 3 to visit 
Or how many GPH? Might need to buy smoke fluid in bulk.
Looks good BTW.
And add an auxiliary tender for smoke fluid!
larry mosher said:Really? Cool. We may have to extend out September trip!
I live near Stan and Bob too.....so now you have 3 to visit ;)
Bob McCown said:
And add an auxiliary tender for smoke fluid!
plus a pump…level sensing circuit, etc,etc…oy vey
Larry,
That was most impressive. Did I see an AC smoke bottle? How much of the bottle did you use for a filling. Truly, really impressive.
Ric, it is indeed Aristo smoke…came with the unit. Haven’t had the time to learn how much will last for how long. I’m sure it uses a lot but the effect is well worth it. When I figure it out I’ll post the results.
If the EPA hears of this you will be in trouble! LOOKS great.
A much greater question… with a smoke quantity like that, the unit must run fairly warm. Is there an auto-shut off feature to protect it, or is it like a toy steam engine… boil it dry and its done?
One a side note… WHERE is that picture taken? What road? I want to know more about the engine involved. That appears to be the tender of a Reading 4-8-4 T1 coupled to a real version of the Aristo 6-axle vandy tender.
Jason Gallaway said:
A much greater question.... with a smoke quantity like that, the unit must run fairly warm. Is there an auto-shut off feature to protect it, or is it like a toy steam engine... boil it dry and its done?One a side note… WHERE is that picture taken? What road? I want to know more about the engine involved. That appears to be the tender of a Reading 4-8-4 T1 coupled to a real version of the Aristo 6-axle vandy tender.
Jason - Info is here http://www.pwrr.org/prototype/FerroEquus/
http://www.modelboatsandfittings.com/content/php/Smoke%20Generator.php
Here’s a link to another smoke generator similar to the Harbor Models one. It’s a bit less expensive, and draws less power, but from the videos, the smoke looks to be similar. (And–curiously–also comes with Aristo smoke fluid.) I’m planning on getting one and experimenting with a pulse-driven fan tied to the chuff triggers for the sound system.
I should really just get back into live steam… When’s my Accucraft EBT #12 going to be here???
Later,
K
Just finished my pulse driven K27 project(stock K27 cooling fan pulsed with a reed switch(normaly closed) well,its not working the way i thought,so back to the
manual puff unit i am working on!
Manfred
why normally closed? I’d think you’d pulse the fan on… but you might have to have something smart to really try to pulse a fan from off to on to make distinct chuffs. This would also seem to need a low inertia fan.
Regards, Greg
Why not a second fan? Slow down the main fan to get a “wisp” of smoke and the second fan tied to the chuff to push out a bit more volume? I agree though that getting a fan to come up to speed quick enough to cause an effective smoke affect, then closing it down to stop may be an issue. Could do something off a servo or electro magnet moving a diverter baffle - one way pushes the air to the smoke unit and up through the stack, the other exhausts the air out some other convenient opening.
Question… could a speaker be used as an air baffle? I’m thinking the movement of the diaphram of the speaker used in the sound system might offer a bit of help, course, we aren’t talking much movement, so it might not be noticable either.
The systems that have dedicated electronics, like MTH, Massoth, and a Zimo will allow the fan to idle and then pulse it for chuffs. Smart electronics will beat adding a second fan.
A speaker could work, but you need to displace a fair amount of smoke, which means a 3" or larger speaker with a fair amount of cone travel, which means like really low base, and a sort of one way valve, to create a pump. This would take a lot of space and a high current amplifier to drive the speaker cone.
Doable, but costly in components and space.
Regards, Greg
Lionel used a mechanical bellows coupled to the side rods for their puff of smoke output. Why reinvent the wheel?
Especially since our locos are even larger, so should be more room for the same design.
It does not address the issues of “idle” smoke, and it does not address the different smoke outputs of heavy load or drifting, which are a no-brainer for electronically controlled fan and heating element.
Greg
Chuff was the train of thought here Greg. And I was typing as you posted on other fine points