19 replies to this topic

[Schizophrenia]

Hello,

I was hoping to get suggestions for my project~

I have built a remote control flamethrower for my truck...

Currently, lycopodium powder is my fuel for the big flame~

The powder is shot through a smaller (2 ft.) starter flame~



Please see my website for more pics of my creation: www.radicalbed.com

The effect works great and produces a column approx. 15 ft. tall...

However, lycopodium is very expensive...

I desperately need a comparable substitute for the powder~

So far, I have tried several different powders and liquids~

The closest powder I have found is charcoal powder and the closest liquid is propane~

My main objective is to create an effect that is shot and immediately spent when the fuel is shut off~

There can be no fallout (fuel still burning after supply is off)~

Obviously, saftey is a major concern...

Can anyone provide better suggestions or a cheap source for the lyco powder?

Thanks,

Jamie :twisted:

[pymp]

Wow, pretty impressive videos on your site..
Possibly you could try a pressurised propane tank controlled via a solenoid instead of the lycopodium?

[Frozentech]

The effect works great and produces a column approx. 15 ft. tall...

However, lycopodium is very expensive...

I desperately need a comparable substitute for the powder~

So far, I have tried several different powders and liquids~

The closest powder I have found is charcoal powder and the closest liquid is propane~

My main objective is to create an effect that is shot and immediately spent when the fuel is shut off~

There can be no fallout (fuel still burning after supply is off)~

Obviously, saftey is a major concern...

Can anyone provide better suggestions or a cheap source for the lyco powder?

Thanks,

Jamie :twisted:

Have you tried creamora or calf-milk substitute ?

[Asteroid]

Surely milk powder has the risk of fallout? I would go for a solenoid activated propane supply, it's very cheap, no fallot, and the flame stops when you shut off the solenoid

[pymp]

I wouldn't have thought you would get fallout from milk powder, as it only burns when finely dispersed in the air.

[Schizophrenia]

Hey guys,

Thanks for replying...

Yes, I have tried milk powder, coffee creamer, corn flour, gunpowder, smokeless shotgun powder, custard powder, gas, alcohol, acetone, propane (etc.)~

The main problem with using gas propane for the big flame is that the sudden gust puts out the starter flame...

As for using liquid propane, it almost , but not quite burned entirely...and it froze the valve at one point~

Now, I do use a small bernz-o-matic tank for the pressure source over the lyco powder...and for my starter flame~

I appreciate the good thoughts,

Jamie

[pymp]

The main problem with using gas propane for the big flame is that the sudden gust puts out the starter flame...

This would suggest that it's at too high a pressure? Maybe if you could reduce that..
On the other hand, like Shrubsole said, you can use other things for a starter flame such as a heater coil. Glow plugs are only about £2.

[Schizophrenia]

I think they call that stuff Nichrome wire...

Currently, I am using a shock box for the ignition~

But, that is a great idea (might actually have one of those old fashioned heaters downstairs)~

Have to analyse all the positive & negatives in my situation...

It's not the ignition that is blowing out...it is the starter flame...

Once it's lit it stays lit~

However, to get it to light to begin with can sometimes take aggravating adjustments~

Thanks,

Jamie

[Schizophrenia]

The copper wire would work great...

But, during a performance, everything is timed (3min. 15sec. you start strong and finish strong...no lag time or constant repeats)~

I work the switchbox and my friend works the pyro transmitter...so, when I say to my buddy "FLAMETHROWER" I want that thing going off!

If I had a a few more seconds here and there, the copper wire could heat up...and the idea might be a success~

Thought about the nickrome wire last night...truth is my entire setup would have to be redesigned...the space for this to happen is very limited...and the wire would have to be insulated from ground when practically everything around is metal~

I wonder about my oxygen mixture...

What makes this project hard is my application...everything is remote controlled on top of all that!

Just like someone to bounce ideas off...

Thanks,

Jamie

[EnigmaticBiker]

Hi,
Some impressive engineering to pack all the functions into your truck.

You mention charcoal as being the nearest powder to the lycopodium powder you're using. Might ball milling say, airfloat soft pine charcoal with the lycopodium give you a cheaper fuel without changing the existing system?

[RegimentalPyro]

You should use Propane, but you should also use an expansion tank to solve the supply problems as follows.

Main tank of propane feeds an expansion tank via a normal valve.
The expansion tank connects to the outlet point [and pilot light] via a wide bore tube - say half an inch.
The outlet point will have a pilot light and a mesh to prevent any blowback. - A Badthing[tm]

In operation.....

Turn on the feed to the expansion tank to start the system. Use the inbuilt regulator to get the right pressure.

Once the expansion tank is up to the right pressure, turn off the feed [safety!]

Light the pilot light [bunsen burner mebbe?] using a piezo electric lighter.

The gas is released down the wide bore tube via a solenoid operated valve, or even a normal lever valve if you are doing things cheaply.

Repeat as needed......

Edited by RegimentalPyro, 20 November 2006 - 11:46 AM.

[Schizophrenia]

That is very close to how I am doing it now...

My expansion tank just happems to be a "Kiddie" fire extinguisher~

The pressure (over my current fuel...lyco powder) is supplied by a small propane canister...and run through a regulator to keep 80 psi~

Even if I was to use LPG a a fuel (with the knowledge propane makes its own pressure) I feel like I still need the supplementary pressure~

Because, correct me if I'm wrong...propane's pressure fluxuates...with quantity of the liquid...unlike CO2 which stays the same wheather there is a spoonfull or a gallon (for the same size container)~

I'm going to try setting up test panels for remote experiments just to see what would happen if I filled the extinguisher up with LPG and let it completely exhaust all at once by a flame~

Kinda want to make sure the extinguisher doesn't get a backsurge and blow up too!

BTW: I thought of another trial for the LPG...What if I used a brass garden hose nozzle for the outlet? Then maybe I could control the flame pattern~

Thanks,

Jamie

[RegimentalPyro]

Propanes pressure *does* fluctuate, but it depends on the temperature of the liquid propane rather than the amount......

As propane molecules leave the liquid state and become gaseous, the temperature of the propane liquid drops. You can see this happening on large tanks sometimes - As they are emptied they become covered in frost.

Sometimes the cooling effect progresses so far that no more propane is being vepourised and the fuel stops flowing.

You can ensure this doesn't happen by filling the expansion tank at a slower rate, or by ensuring the ambient temperature around the fuel tank keeps things warm enough....


CO2 is an odd one - It doesn't have a wet state [ie: No such thing as CO2 liquid]. It goes straight from the solid [aka dry ice] to the gas. The pressure of the gas still depends on it's temperature though [Boyles law I believe]