Fitting a seuthe smoke unit to card kits.

[milkman matt]

Hi All

 

I am toying with the idea of fitting a smoke unit to one of my Metcalfe kits and was wondering if anyone has tried it. I did find an old topic on fitting one to a plastic kit and the subject of heat seemed to be the main concern as, I suspect, it may be with card kits.

 

Your thoughts and ideas would be welcome.

 

[Chubber]

Bump?

[wainwright1]

Hi Matt.

There is a second problem, in that a certain amount of the smoke oil tends to condense in and around the area it comes out of. So after a period of time, the card around the chimney would become saturated and probably go soggy.  We had a bonfire on a layout with a smoke unit inside it and the whole area around it got soaked.

You could probably seal the card with something, although I am not sure what would be the best thing to stop the oil from penetrating the card. Polyurethane varnish might do it, although that would also be susceptible to damage from the heat given out by the unit and they can get quite hot if they are on for any period of time.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

RB

[28XX]

Probably line the card chimney with a metal tube. It would also stop smoke seeping out where it wasn't wanted.

Edited August 18, 2017 by 28XX

[Stubby47]

You could also put the smoke unit well below the building, and use 'chimneys' to direct the smoke as it travel upwards. This would allow you to use one unit for one or more visible chimney pots exhausts, plus keep the hot unit away from the card structure.

 

If the unit was placed under the baseboard, it might make it easier to refuel / replace, as required.

[wainwright1]

Another problem with the smoke oil is that it cools fairly quickly so will not naturally rise and find its way up an extended tube.

I have prepared a smoke unit to fit into the tunnel of a new baseboard I have built for my Hawkhurst layout. To help the smoke rise through a hole in the baseboard inside the tunnel, I have got a small computer fan from Maplins which is mounted onto a piece of PVC pipe fixed to a mounting plate that can be easily detached for re-fuelling. The smoke unit is glued inside the pipe with Araldite which is not detrimentally affected by heat. The fan is rated at 12v, but I intend running it on 9v, so that it will turn over gently just enough to push the smoke through without forcing it out too violently.

 

RB