Until now , one of the way to boost the smoke output of a H.L. smoke unit was to replace the pumping system by a mini fan ....Even if it meant loosing the pulsating effect provided by the original system ....

Then It occurred to me : Why not simply add a mini fan on the top of the air cylinder to boost the output and restore a positive pressure inside the cylinder on the back stroke of the piston ....


The modification is quite simple and the results are stunning ....

In the following video , I am running 2 brand new smoke units together to show the difference ...

-The nichrome heater elements of both smokers have been measured at 15.5 Ohms .
-Both units are connected to the same power supply and the same RX-14 board ...
-Both units have been drained and refilled to the same level .

So the only variable in this video is the addition of the mini fan on one of the smokers ...

Boosting a stock H L smoke unit (2 min 30 sec)

Very Good, but still very noisey that is one reason why the guys wanted to change over to the fan, but I like the idea. So can you just change the nichrome wire with a 1/4 watt 15 ohm resistor and get a more reliable unit as well?


Thanks for showing your testing,

The Blitz

Yes , for sure ...I intend to replace the nichrome wire by a 1 Watt 14 Ohms Wire wound resistor , with a kevlar wick ; and even use my refilling ( low level ) probe in it ...
I figure that this mod. is an easy and cheap way to keep the pulsating effect of the original design as some guys wanted it .... ....

Originally Posted by strmnd54

Yes , for sure ...I intend to replace the nichrome wire by a 1 Watt 14 Ohms Wire wound resistor , with a kevlar wick ; and even use my refilling ( low level ) probe in it ...
I figure that this mod. is an easy and cheap way to keep the pulsating effect of the original design as some guys wanted it .... ....

Right on, great work and keep those ideas coming!

The Blitz

In the previous video , the noise level was high because the 2 units were running at the same time ...

In the next video , I keep switching between the 2 units ...

At first glance , the modified unit seems to be running smoother and quieter than the stock one ....

Boosted H L smoker 2 (2 min 36 sec)

I proceeded with the full mod. of the smoke unit ..
Here's a short video and some pictures ...
Notice in the video the ease of maintenance provided by the refill probe : When smoke is coming out of the probe , there is around 1/16 " of fluid left in the unit ; just add a full Syringe to refill ...
This way you don't need to worry about running dry or overfill ...

Boosting a H L smoker full mod (1 min 18 sec)

Originally Posted by strmnd54

I proceeded with the full mod. of the smoke unit ..
Here's a short video and some pictures ...
Notice in the video the ease of maintenance provided by the refill probe : When smoke is coming out of the probe , there is around 1/16 " of fluid left in the unit ; just add a full Syringe to refill ...
This way you don't need to worry about running dry or overfill ...

http://youtu.be/0Uo89du7FoE

i have 2 hl's and the tiger's smoker is not functioning at the moment...
when i figure out which screws to pull to separate the hull from the bottom i will think this mod through...

i am guessing the 15. om is the heat generator that replaces the original wire, therefore the connecting wires are already in place to reattach... correct?

Originally Posted by strmnd54

Notice in the video the ease of maintenance provided by the refill probe : When smoke is coming out of the probe , there is around 1/16 " of fluid left in the unit ; just add a full Syringe to refill ...
This way you don't need to worry about running dry or overfill ...

And how do you know that the tank is empty? Over what period of time the tank is empty? Can I make a tank of Plexiglas that you can see the oil consumption? What brand Kevlar yarn did you use? Can you give a link where to buy Kevlar thread? I know that Kevlar yarn sold in stores for the fishermen. Kevlar yarn like no white.

Originally Posted by Gora77

And how do you know that the tank is empty? Over what period of time the tank is empty? Can I make a tank of Plexiglas that you can see the oil consumption? What brand Kevlar yarn did you use? Can you give a link where to buy Kevlar thread? I know that Kevlar yarn sold in stores for the fishermen. Kevlar yarn like no white.

You know the tank is empty when you see the smoke coming out of the refill probe ( like on this video where the refill probe is over the rear of the right track

low on fuel (1 min 0 sec)

The smoke unit runs for around 55 minutes between refilling ....
As for the kevlar wick , here's a link where I buy it ; and a picture of the wick itself ....http://cgi.ebay.ca/Kevlar-Wick-50mm-fir ... tem2a11924

I was asked a week ago by someone who is in the trucking and excavators hobby to suggest a smoke unit for his models ...I tough about the boosted H.L. unit and wondered how it would perform with longer exhaust pipes in a vertical position
Since there wasn't many ways to answer that ; I came up with this video ...

Boosted H L extreme test (1 min 22 sec)

Originally Posted by strmnd54

I was asked a week ago by someone who is in the trucking and excavators hobby to suggest a smoke unit for his models ...I tough about the boosted H.L. unit and wondered how it would perform with longer exhaust pipes in a vertical position

Since I have a truck and pipe should be long, I went to the store and bought a set of spare parts hoses to the washer for VAZ cars. Costs 30 rubles, or one dollar. Hose length about five feet. Ideal for tank Heng Long smoke generator.

My question is, why, and the piston and the fan? It seems like one fan is better?

Using a fan only will produce a continuous exhaust smoke that looks more like a jet engine exhaust than a piston engine ....