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[Ralph]

Evening all, I hope Santa has been good to you.


SWMBO has bought me the Highlander kit from Mountfleet (I must have been a good boy this year ) for xmas.  I'm thinking about fitting a smoke generator, which is something I've never tried before, so I'm looking for recommendations/suggestions on what would be best.


The instructions suggest a Decaperm drive motor but these are like hens teeth so I'm also wondering what others have used?  I'm thinking perhaps making a 3:1 or thereabouts belt drive on a 600 type motor fitted with a torque ring but I'm open to any ideas or suggestions.  The kit comes with a 65mm 4 blade brass prop and I've never used anything that big before either.  Power could be either 6 or 12v which will probably be dictated by what the smoke generator needs.


I have to say that after a quick browse through the kit I am very impressed with the quality of everything supplied, looks like it will be an enjoyable build. Target time on the water maybe 2023?


Have a good new year when it comes everyone.


Ralph

[JimG]

Hi Ralph, lucky you, you've got some good building ahead of you.
Why go the brushed route, needing some form of gearing. A low kV brushless will turn that prop, something around 500 to 700kV on 6V should do the job. I have a 700kV brushless in my ST Cruiser turning the same prop, the motor is 50mm diameter and came from  a defunct plane where it turned a large scale prop on a 6S pack. I use it on 3S but have had to turn the esc down to around 50% as it was much too fast. 6V would suit it much better but I have large 3S packs I can use. Current is around 6A at full power so not much of a currrent drain on a 1600mAh supply.
Jim

[Netleyned]

Less than 15 mins run time on the figures quoted?
Ned

[JimG]

Typing error, should have been 16000mAh (16Ah) so 150 minutes at full throttle, longer at more normal speeds.
Jim

[Martin (Admin)]

Yes, a nice slow brushless is probably the recommended option .... but they do still have that annoying high pitch whine...

... as opposed to a nice slow 5 pole .... silent .... brushed 540/600.... 


                  From my Highlander Puffer build
 

[Ralph]

Hi Jim,
long time no see so good to hear from you and thanks for your reply.  I had thought about brushless but I think I'd rather stay in my comfort zone of brushed, besides I have spare brushed speed controllers so there's an instant cost saving, and as Martin says there is the chance of an annoying whine from brushless.


Martin - thanks for the pic.  That would be the simplest solution but what sort of current is that drawing and doesn't it get a bit hot turning such a big prop?


Ralph

[Martin (Admin)]

 
No idea, Ralph .... I think everything was protected by a single 5 Amp fuse, which never blew.

[aeronut]

Sorry, no suggestions about the power from me, but I'd suggest you look at the smokers which use water rather than oil.  Water being cheaper than the required oil, plus it doesn't leave an oily film all over your masterpiece.  You'll probably need 12 Volts for a smoker.


G.

[Buccaneer]

Hello Ralph

Who has been a good boy this year then !! I built my Highlander 9 years ago and it is still my favourite model. It took me 8 months to build, It is fitted with a Mabuchi 555 motor and a 12V 7.5 A/Hr Battery. Probably considered a bit old fashioned these days but you need the ballast, mine weighs 10Kg. It has a 4 blade 65 mm prop, an Action P80 ESC an an Action P64 sound unit. Good for 2 hours on the pond as long as you drive at Puffer speed. Plenty of pictures on the Internet as this is a popular model.
John

[madboats]

Hi Ralph                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            With regards to a smoke generator i asked on here the same question the type that runs on water got a  mention and as i had seen them on ebay i ordered one.I have to say after a bench i was not very impressed plus a club member pointed out that on a warm day the steam or smoke call what you will was not very visible so i returned it and got a full refund with no problem.
One member on here said why not make one and put up a  link to utube trainelectronics smoke. Well my electrical knowledge is not vast i followed the video and it worked so if i can make one anyone can.Should you take the plunge     just one tip i made mine out of perspex i have it running in my Sir Lancelot looks very impressive i have to say. Hope this helps and is not to long winded

Happy building madboats

[Ralph]

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to respond, either directly or through the forum.  Looks like an ungeared 12v Mabuchi 555 is getting the most votes, so I'll get an order in to Component Shop.


Smoke units are still up in the air as it were.  Ones using water are tempting but they seem quite expensive to buy and I've heard a few reports that the "smoke" doesn't show up well in sunlight.  I might take madboats suggestion and make myself one that uses baby oil (as much for the fun of making it as anything), see how that works and how much mess it might make, and go on from there.


Ralph

[madboats]

Hi Ralph
[/size]
[/size]Just to give you some more info on the smoke generator go on to utube type in trainelectronics smoke then scroll down till you see a picture of a layout with Tomas the tank on it click on that and all will become clear.Just to let you know glycerine is used to produce the smoke and the unit when made it is a sealed apart from a hole to let the smoke out so no mess. Sorry unable to put a direct link my computer skills don't go that far.
[/size]
[/size]Regards madboats