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Author Topic: Smoke units - which one?  (Read 19252 times)

Martin (Admin)

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Smoke units - which one?
« on: January 24, 2008, 10:02:14 am »


Found this on a website yesterday,  could be used in a boat?

Turbo Smoke - Fan Driven Smoke Unit
http://www.tastudios.com/turbo_smoke.htm







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RickF

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2008, 01:50:14 pm »

Sadly Martin, I think not..... unless you have an on-board alternator.

Operates from 5-22 Volts AC

It was looking good until I got to that!

Later - just been back for another look, and they do have a DC version - think I'll get in touch with them while the dollar is cheap!

Rick
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sinjon

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2008, 04:11:01 pm »

Rick,

Could you let us know the outcome of your enquiry?

Colin
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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2008, 05:27:20 pm »

This is the link for the DC version.  O0

http://www.tastudios.com/turbo_smoke_DC.htm
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funtimefrankie

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offshore1987

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2008, 09:02:27 pm »

Anyone tried these...???

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Smoke-Generator-for-RC-models_W0QQitemZ310016813430QQihZ021QQcategoryZ140972QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yes they are not very good imo iv got 2 tanks with them in the first tank runs it oks but not great though, the second smoke unit broke from the other tank lol, imo they make to much noise also

Something else to look out for is the Hunter Smoke unit though it gets rather hot, but it dos make alot of smoke :)





I think A Model World is going to be making something like the JJC smoke unit which should be cool  O0

all the best
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RickF

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2008, 11:21:54 pm »

Colin

Will let you know if and when they reply to my enquiry.

Rick
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FullLeatherJacket

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2008, 08:22:58 am »

I've posted some info on Traders Only about our S3 smoke unit. Suit yourselves.
FLJ
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Archibald H.

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #8 on: January 28, 2008, 12:43:23 pm »

Hi,
Like 'Offshore' I can certainly advice Hunter Systems smoke unit:

Loads of smoke. To get this result a small fan is a must.
Cheers, A!H.
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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #9 on: January 28, 2008, 02:15:25 pm »

I've posted some info on Traders Only about our S3 smoke unit. Suit yourselves.
FLJ

Hi FLJ, get your video up. ;)
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offshore1987

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #10 on: January 28, 2008, 05:15:47 pm »

Hi,
Like 'Offshore' I can certainly advice Hunter Systems smoke unit:
Loads of smoke. To get this result a small fan is a must.
Cheers, A!H.

Hi :) did you close one of the holes up? I found it helped the air flow ( its a shame that they do not fit a fan stock )

all the best
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Archibald H.

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #11 on: January 29, 2008, 10:35:47 am »

I'll try that right away. BTW, how did you close that hole?
I'm still thinking about a way to fasten that smoke unit. Any suggestions?
Cheers, A!H.
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offshore1987

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #12 on: January 29, 2008, 05:17:01 pm »

duck tap  O0 lol i tryed all diffrent nice ways to do it then just used some duck tap  :angel:  il take some pics in abit then post them up for you  O0

all the best
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barryfoote

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2008, 07:14:55 pm »

Hi Guys,

Just found the Heng Long smoke unit on ebay for 8.99 ( pounds). They are designed for tanks and run off 7.2volts....Any good for boats?

..If so think I will order one. The price is excellent.

Barry
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2008, 07:23:30 pm »

I've had my eye on those as well.
In the tanks, the output seems vaguely pathetic....

Also got my eye on the Henlong sound units!

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tony23

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Re: SMOKE units
« Reply #15 on: September 12, 2008, 11:52:48 pm »

are these units better than the Graupner then  ::) :-\ ;)
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: SMOKE units
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2008, 07:40:18 am »

are these units better than the Graupner then  ::) :-\ ;)

They are a different type of unit to the traditional 'heated oil' units eat huge amounts of battery
power but the smoke tends to "linger" quite a long time once produced. They can be quite messy though....






The JJC unit was the first of the 'ultrasonic water vapour'  fogger / "smoke" devices.
They produce "cold steam" with very low power consumption but the "smoke" tends to dissipate quite quickly.

http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/Common/JJC_Smoke.htm


Harbour Models have a "smoke" (vapour) unit currently available...
http://www.harbormodels.com/site08/main_pages/smoker.htm




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BlazingPenguin

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2008, 10:07:28 am »

On patrol at a local car boot sale, I picked up a DJ/Theatrical type of smoke unit for £3.
First test was a bit hit & miss so the case was opened, I worked out that the pump for the smoke fluid was knackered, but holding the tank higher than the unit gave a decent gravity feed and great huge gobs of smoke.....very "Phantom of the Opera"  ;D

The transformer inside fed 12v to the pump and the tank/heater uses 240v, now this is for use in my 12th scale TID whos over 6ft long, so theres plenty of room for all this. Next step is to try feeding the 240v tank circuit with a 12v inverter.

What I did notice was that once the heater/tank is warmed up....very warmed up, it stays hot for ages, despite the insulation not being the greatest in the world.
Im thinking that I could 'time' the heater rather than have it on all the time, or feed it from a switch, the residual heat still makes mad amounts of smoke.

I tried ducting it up a pipe with a computer fan and it was amazing!!!
I'll try and do a demo and upload to YouTube at some point.

Mention was made before about the 'eerie smoke' gadget from Maplins, I tried that until I discovered it wants AC...not DC, at that time not being aware that I could use an inverter, now thats solved, it could do sterling service in a medium sized boat, say 3ft or so. Be aware that although it only uses water, it superheats it locally and will melt a plasic funnel, I had to line mine with ally at the base. Your funnel will also need holes around the base to allow the vapour to be drawn up.

But all in all its still a viable option.  O0
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malcolmfrary

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2008, 10:25:22 am »

Welcome back, Penguin.
How much power does it actually take?  With a very large boat, being able to carry enough battery shouldn't be too much of a problem. Presumably the original was intended to run off mains, with voltage reduction for the motor.  Is the thing that converts the disco oil into smoke just a heating element or something more sophisticated?
Rather than timing, perhaps a temperature regulator would be more effective at making best use of the residual heat.
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BlazingPenguin

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #19 on: September 13, 2008, 12:13:41 pm »

Theres a small transformer that taps a 12v feed for the pump, but the 240v still goes to the tank/heater.

There are two sturdy connections going into it, much like you would see on the rings of an electric cooker, the tank itself appears to be a sealed unit, copper and insulated, albeit rather poorly.

There is a component in line though, a silver diamond shaped gizmo, with a raised surface on one side...definately electrical.

This thing gets hot....Oooyah! hot! >:(

Given it works for ages after power has been disconnected, Im assuming that timing or lower voltage would be in order as you say.

I'll get some piccies if you want?
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malcolmfrary

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #20 on: September 13, 2008, 08:36:22 pm »

A silver doobry in line is probably a thermal fuse (yeah, any other kind?).  Sounds like its just a box with a heater to contain disco oil, and a fan to waft it away. 
In a model large enough to carry it, there will probably be enough payload to have a big enough battery for a decent run time.  The tricky part of designing an oil heater is the element - it needs to use the bare minimum of power while at the same time keeping enough temperature to vapourise enough oil to make the smoke.  And if the oil runs out, it mustn't incinerate its surroundings.
The model rail ones suffer from being sized for best effect in a small model at short range and mains powered (eventually).  In boats, we tend to want a lot at a fair distance and are stuck with limited power due to the limitation of battery power.
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BlazingPenguin

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #21 on: September 15, 2008, 03:42:13 pm »

I'll try and do some pics of the beast this evening for entertainment purposes.
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red181

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #22 on: September 15, 2008, 04:40:58 pm »

Barry,
a friend of mine has the heng long tank style, imo no good for us with boats, very small reservoir, not much smoke, look great on the tanks, but its really meant for start up on the engines, not so much constant running, have you seen the current thread going on in the sales section? No mustang mark has developed a smoke unit. I looked at this sort of water vapour unit, instead of the hot wire type, and am currently experimenting with a guy on the hot wire type. The unit he made for me was awsome, but as I  have no air flow in the hull of the boat my problem for now is it keeps overheating :(
The water vapour unit would be safer, particularly in a wooden hull, but my exhaust stack on the model is quite small, and with the water vapour type the problem is water droplets on the inside of the exhaust blocking the tube and stopping the smoke (steam) escaping.
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barryfoote

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #23 on: September 16, 2008, 10:06:52 am »

pmdevlin,

Yes I have seen the new one by no mustang mark, and am very impressed with it to. Have to find a boat to build to put one in now...

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garston1

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Re: Smoke units - which one?
« Reply #24 on: September 20, 2008, 06:41:51 pm »

Hiya there's a feller at our lake in new brighton wirral, he's selling these smoke units that take 10 drops of baby oil per 15 mins of usage. Probably the best I've used and cost 20 quid and come in various sizes plus 6 and 12 volt. BUT they're not proportional. Have a look at my drifter below.  O0
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