Smoke Generator 5

Good morning,

I have a 5" gauge Class 52 Western Diesel and would like to fit a smoke generator capable of producing as realistic an effect as is possible.

The Drive system is 4 motors @'24 volts DC powered from 2x 12 volt traction batteries 50Ah each.

The only one i have seen to date is from Harbor Models in the USA which appears to fit the bill but they are not answering my E Mails.

Does anyone know of a similar unit available maybe in the UK, or have had any dealings with Harbor Models??

Many Thanks

Robert Thompson

Perhaps you could buy and dismantle one of those heavy duty "vaping" devices, install the functional parts in your engine and use nicotine-free fluid (which seems to be available). You'd need some form of air pump or compressed air tank obviously.

Most of the "smoke" generators actually vaporise propylene glycol, glycerine etc but these vaping things are a lot more compact than the devices you'd find in a disco / stage event and some appear to be capable of generating spectacular volumes of "smoke".

Murray

Thanks Murray I must admit i hadn't thought of that option but will investigate. My only reservation would be the duration between fills as the locomotive is used for public running. The Harbor Models has a duration of about 3 Hrs.

Regards

Robert

When I worked for BR we were all the time trying to eliminate exhaust smoke/fumes. Its unburnt fuel dribbling injector or fuel pump problem or hopefully not, blow by, not good. There shouldn't be any signs of smoke. John

Good Point John, but i havent seen a Diesel locomotive without smoke from its exhaust to date.

My locomotive is of Western Campaigner D1010 currently preserved on the West Somerset Railway, and she definitely smokes .

Regards

Robert

Hi Robert​ , why not construct a smoke generator which uses diesel as the smoke medium which although it will be gey and not blue, will certainly smell like diesel exhaust. You could take a look at http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php​. somewhere there are threads discussing various smoke generating schemes. Trevor.

Thanks for the heads up on that Trevor i will certainly give it a look

Robert

You can't beat a good lungful of real PM10s - seriously does anyone really want to sit behind something spewing real diesel fumes for three hours?

Ultrasonic mist generators can be surprisingly effective.

Neil

Lots of smoke generators on Google but try here...

**LINK**

No info on runtime sadly.

My brother and I made a smoke generator as kids by using a heated wire and dripping baby oil on it. Suprisingly effective, and the smoke wasn't totally unpleasant smelling (although god knows what is in it)