# smoke unit for outdoor building



## warren (Dec 27, 2007)

Hi guys,

I am building a wooden log cabin for my friends outdoor one inch scale live steam railroad. I would like to add a smoke unit to generate smoke that comes out of the chimney. After doing a little bit of looking online, I notice it seems like a lot of companies won't/don't sell just a smoke unit. For instance at the MTH site all their steam locomotives don't have a replacement part list. And apparently they are strict about only giving replacement parts with proof of receipt. Other smoke units need dcc controls and everything. Is there a large scale smoke unit that is rather simple in operation where fan speed is just controlled by voltage without the fancy electronics. I am looking for a unit that is reliable and will run for a few hours. I have heard that the artisto craft ones are not very good. How about USA Trains? Also is it possible to add a larger resevoir so that it will run longer.

Any help would be greatly appriciated 
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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Actually the parts list is on the MTH site, but they only show the parts for one road number of a particular model, and it's a pain. But don't bother, you can't use an MTH smoke unit standalone. 

The Aristo and USAT smoke units run on track voltage, and regulate it down to what they want, so 12 volts dc will be fine. 

Nothing will run a few hours, you would need to make an aux tank, which has been done. 

Those 2 are your best bet for simple operation and not real expensive. 

Greg


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

I have a smoke unit made i think by Nidec Gamma26. model a33999-16 12v dc 17 amp. It smokes like crazy. I dont know how long it will smoke but it has a strong fan as long as you put oil in it it shud smoke until the sun rises.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

These are what I use. I can overfill it and run it all weekend, but you get better smoke if you run less fluid. In fact, I just won a used Pola farm house in the club raffle and there was one of these glued in-place under the chimney and a hole was drilled through the roof to fill it.

Pola Smoke Generator


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## warren (Dec 27, 2007)

Thanks for the info guys. Would the USA Trains one run for a few hours provided you had enough smoke fluid with an auxillary tank. What I mean is I read online that the aristocraft ones aren't very good and don't last very long even with smoke fluid. Also should I get one made for steam locomotives or diesels and is their a way to regulate the fan speed. 

Thanks for all the replies guys I appreciate it. 

Warren


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

USA has a metal case, Aristo has a plastic case. The Aristo holds a lot more fluid than the USA. 
Aristo has a DC to DC converter so it runs on 8 to 24 volts. USA has a board in the engine to regulate the power to their unit. 

Both of these have fans and a brass tube can be added to dissipate the smoke to where you want it.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

To make it a bit more clear: 

The aristo unit is a plastic box, one half has the fan and the circuit board, the other half is the fluid reservoir and heater.


This is a Train-Li unit below, but the look is almost identical:











The USAT unit is metal for the fan and heater, and a small, separate board regulates the voltage. You buy these 2 pieces together to make a unit that runs from unregulated DC.


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Warren 
a cheaper way to do it? 
How about Instead of buying, wiring up a smoker and worrying about it running dry and burning out why not use incense that comes in the cone shape. Lift log cabin, put lite incense on a plate, put house back down and it will smoke for a good while. Plus you can choose your flavor to stink up the garden and help keep the mosquitos away. 
You would just need to design your log cabin to provide enough draft to keep the incense smoldering along. 
Todd


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

You may want to consider something like this from Harbor Models. Smoke like crazy!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

From the original post: 

"I am looking for a unit that is reliable and will run for a few hours. " 

the harbor models unit will definitely not run a few hours, it uses fluid more rapidly than any other unit I have seen. 

Might be useful if he was modelling a building on fire... 

Greg


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

Well, considering that the generator's instruction state the following, I thought that it might be an applicable, though expensive, item to consider. I cannot see anything that in particular addresses its reliability and I have no experience with this device to offer an opinion.

"This smoker is different from the previous units sold by Harbor Models. The design now includes an integrated circuit to produce smoke in proportion to the speed of the propulsion motor, both in forward and reverse. Therefore, when the smoker is turned on but the boat is not moving, little or no smoke will be generated. If you wish to have a full blast of smoke at all times, connect the smoker wires directly to the 12 volt battery. Run time will be reduced by approximately 50 % in this configuration. Energy consumption is approximately two Amps per hour at full power. The unit will produce smoke for approximately 30 minutes during a typical outing when speed is changed by the captain."

Another option to consider might be something like the Foggy Smoke Generators from http://www.marksmodelbits.com/. It is water vapor and not "real"smoke. The Gallery pictures on the site look pretty good, but that is probably to be expected.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

I sort of asked the same question awhile back about smoke units. I wanted something for a Factory Smoke stack.


Here is the results I got 

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/7/aft/121378/afv/topic/Default.aspx

This is one unit someone recommended

http://www.harbormodels.com/site08/main_pages/smoker.htm

JJ


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