Giles Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Like so many people, I always thought there would be milage in using an ultrasonic mist device in a loco for steam, and when I saw a pack of discs with PCBs available from Ebay for a few quid I bought some. These were 5 volt input, so suitable to work with the radio control stuff I do (other voltages are available). I have an FDM printer available which i used to print a small tank to fit in the boiler (about 30cc refillable through the loco's saddletank filler) and with a very small amount of switching - here we go. Duration should be about an hour constant running before a refill is required, but I haven't had the opportunity to test that yet! 4 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 And that isn’t a live steam loco?! Very effective indeed - if you can zoom that down to become a retrofit for O gauge locos, I reckon you’ve got a serious business opportunity on your hands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 The boiler of this loco is much the same size as 7mm locos - so that's not a real issue. It's perfectly viable for 7mm standard gauge within reason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Vigor Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 https://www.condair.co.uk/knowledge-hub/legionnaires-disease-humidifiers-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=Legionella is transmitted in aerosols,a potential source of concern. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Thank you Paul - and the smoke ones can give you cancer. I rather wish I hadn't bothered. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) Hmmm …… nothing can spread legionella if there is none to spread, and I’m struggling to see how this application could create the conditions for it to breed. It likes water that is standing about for considerable durations at room-to-body temperatures. Edited January 25 by Nearholmer 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium SR71 Posted January 25 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 25 (edited) I've been watching your videos leading up to this one. It's very impressive, particularly the effort you've gone to to get proper synchronization. I would ask, though, that you do your test runs somewhere that doesn't trigger my phobia of models plunging off the edge of tables quite so much! With it getting harder to run indoor live steam at shows several of these would be really captivating. Will the batteries outlast the water? And what happens if you were to stop on a quarter - with the magnet by the reed switch? Edited January 25 by SR71 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 (edited) The battery fitted should be good for five hours, and there is a socket underneath (and 3-way switch so I can have a small wagon with hidden battery containing an alternative battery for a much longer duration. As its wired at the moment, you can stop it on the quarter and it will continue steaming. I can rewire it to an F output on the receiver so it steams when a button is held down, but a little reprogramming is necessary. Quite understand your queezyness! Edited January 25 by Giles 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Vigor Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 40 minutes ago, Nearholmer said: Hmmm …… nothing can spread legionella if there is none to spread, and I’m struggling to see how this application could create the conditions for it to breed. It likes water that is standing about for considerable durations at room-to-body temperatures. It would be up to individual operators to maintain scrupulous hygiene - especially for use in public places? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted January 25 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 25 I must admit to initially thinking "I would skip this" when I saw it on the VNC feed, as I thought it would not be very good or incomplete. ...but then I saw the OP's name and clicked straight away as I knew I would not be disappointed. WOW, how affective is that. Well done sir. As always, I am very impressed with your "mechatronic" solutions to getting really useful real results. I wouldn't worry about the "Legionaries" as there just isn't the "biomass" necessary. This does look a much better solution than Vapes (condensing glucose everywhere) or smoke (condensing oil?), but I do wonder about the moisture falling locally onto the track/scenery for a long time. Well done, well done indeed. Kev. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted January 26 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 26 The Health risk means that this is unlikely to be taken up commercially, but it might be acceptable in a well-ventilated environment. Could it be scaled down for use in small 4mm locos?, and can it be used in DC control?; if so, I’m interested, if the components can be made up without 3D printing, for which I do not have the facility. What sort of build cost are we looking at? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
298 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Is that running on plain water? I did experiment with one about a year ago with the intention of having a couple of smoking factory chimneys, but had trouble with the mist blocking the chimneys, forming larger droplets and blocking the chimney or the port on the disk. The next step was to fit a chamber above the disk and use a fan to try to create an airflow, but never got that far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 It's actually running on clean rain water. I will avoid running it on tap water I think.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giles Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 Loco completed and finished - and works very well. 2 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted February 2 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 2 That loco looks heat damaged! ..and I mean that in an absolutely brilliant way. The loco looks like it is, not only live steam, but almost too hot to pick up! Kev. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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