Fiberoptics, candles and refineries

[FJ and G]

In the distant future, I'd like to try my hand at an oil refinery. I gazed upon one this weekend passing thru Harrisburg PA in the twilight hours. There were zillions of lights to behold.

Rather than affix a zillion grains of wheat; the thought occurred to me that fiberoptics would be a possibility, as the lights are kinda small. The FO would need to be threaded thru the various pipings and stuff before it is put together. There would be some curves to the FO but hopefully no kinking.

As anyone ever experimented with FO & if so, what are your experiences?

Also (different topic), for the burnoff flame, I was thinking of lighting a candle enclosed in the stack (made of brass like a candleholder). It might either impress visitors or burn the house down; or both.

[papachoochoo]

Dave, I just put FO in a coal mine scene on our club layout, the scene is of 1o miners inside a coal mine 5 are facing the public and 5 have their backs to the public, I used 2 MTH miner sets. the 5 that are facing the public I used a pin vice and drilled small hole thru the helmets and into the pit lamps then inserted the fiber optic cable, then ran the other end thru the back wall, Ibunched 3 cables and put a 14 volt grain of wheat on them and bunched the other 2 and put a bulb on them,. When they are lit they look realy nice, not too bright and not too dim. One of our members took some pictures but the lights don't show up as well as I would have liked. I will try to fwd them to you as I don't know how to post them here.

[cnw1995]

Dave, I've heard from some of our contractors that some older hot water heaters - sometimes leak a tiny bit of natural gas - they recommend no open flame in the basement. I guess it would depend on how high the candle from the bottom of the basement when it would pool. I would mix the FO and use the grain-of-wheat instead of the open flame - I'm just recalling the USS mill in Gary, IN and associated Clark oil refineries - as I would pass on Rt. 80 - impressive industrial skyline.

[FJ and G]

papachoochoo,

Got them and they were terrific. Your email address is pretty humorous.

Doug,
I have a CO2 detector nearby. I don't know if that detects natural gas or not. I think they put an odor in natural gas so that you can smell it but I could be wrong.

[cnw1995]

I'll bet that works. I'm just being overly cautious. On a cold rainy afternoon, I'm trying to clean out more space in the basement to be able to use more of the crawlspace for the trains.

[Anonymous]

From a professional standpoint, I would NOT recommend
using an open flame in the possible presence of ANY type
of flammable gas! Most "gas" for household use in your
area (served by Washington Gas Light Co.) is Natural
Gas which is sent to the customer in vapor form for use in
appliances designed and certified for its proper use such
as stoves, dryers, water heaters, etc. Your contractor friend
is correct in that there is a very REAL possibility of miniscule
quantities of Natrual Gas escaping through these lines and
appliances. Normally these small quantities are harmless
and will be dispersed/diluted into the surrounding air. How-
ever, if the space is confined/closed such as a basement or
closet, etc. quantities can become high enough to be ignited
by an open flame, especially if the flame is near the floor
level as the gas is heavier than air and will collect in lower
levels. I would recommend that if you have any doubts about
your appliances that you contact Washington Gas or your
local Fire Department as these organizations have specific
detection gear and can check to see if you are in fact having
a gas leak/buildup and Washington Gas can remedy the sit-
uation. These types of calls are no-charge and they will be glad
to come out.

The next fire safety problem you would have is that most train
layouts are scenicked (sic) with highly combustible and flam-
mable materials such as paper, foam-core board, plastic, etc.
As I recall you used copious quantities of foam-core board in
your layout as per previous posts. Common sense dictates
that one should not use an open flame in such an environment.
I also don't think your home-owners insurance carrier would
be very enthusiastic about paying any claims resulting from a
fire on your layout under these circumstances.

Lastly, a CO (carbon monoxide) detector DOES NOT detect ANY
THING OTHER THAN CARBON MONOXIDE. This includes any
other by-product of combustion, any other gas, or any type of
smke or vapor. You need to obtain and install a specifically cal-
ibrated detector for the gas you wi***o monitor.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I would just hate to see any
one here lose their home, trains and possessions due to a mishap.
This is meant as friendly advice from someone who spent 36 years
on the job.

Take the other fellow's advice and illuminate your scene with the
fiber optics. Cooler, no flame, safe and you have more control over
the lighting effects.

(edited for spelling, Gawd I'm getting old!)

[FJ and G]

Thanks for the good advice, Ches. I may use the flickering LED technique instead.

Save the candles for a romantic dinner. If you are Single Female between the ages of 25 and 50, dinner is on me. Shoot me an email.