Courage8 wrote:BlueHills: I had overlooked the obvious answer you point out: Nothing looks more like steam than steam! I had a small steam engine when I was a teenager; it made billows of steam and also smelled like steam (and steam has a distinctive smell - or maybe it's the hot metal containing the steam . . .)Here's a place that sells engines (but they ain't cheap!) MODEL STEAM ENGINES:
BlueHills: I had overlooked the obvious answer you point out: Nothing looks more like steam than steam! I had a small steam engine when I was a teenager; it made billows of steam and also smelled like steam (and steam has a distinctive smell - or maybe it's the hot metal containing the steam . . .)
Here's a place that sells engines (but they ain't cheap!)
MODEL STEAM ENGINES:
But you don't need a steam engine - just something to safely heat water.
- Harry
Johnnny_reb wrote: Just a thought you could make a real smoker by putting a cigar in a mouth piece made into a sealed chamber with a fan pulling in air, and small tubing going to each stack. It would be real smoke if you don't mind the smell. This is just a thought mind you as most people are non-smokers now and would be very offended by this.This smoke chamber would be metal with the cigar inside and the fan would draw the air into the chamber forcing the cigar to smoke. With the chamber sealed the smoke would be forced up and out of the tubing on the mouth end of the cigar running to each "smoke" stack. The "smoker" would be make with two chambers, one to hold the burning cigar and the other to act as the manifold for the tubing. Fish tank air tubing would be used with a valve on each to control the stacks. Even the smell of the cigar would make for more realism.
Just a thought you could make a real smoker by putting a cigar in a mouth piece made into a sealed chamber with a fan pulling in air, and small tubing going to each stack. It would be real smoke if you don't mind the smell.
This is just a thought mind you as most people are non-smokers now and would be very offended by this.
This smoke chamber would be metal with the cigar inside and the fan would draw the air into the chamber forcing the cigar to smoke. With the chamber sealed the smoke would be forced up and out of the tubing on the mouth end of the cigar running to each "smoke" stack. The "smoker" would be make with two chambers, one to hold the burning cigar and the other to act as the manifold for the tubing. Fish tank air tubing would be used with a valve on each to control the stacks.
Even the smell of the cigar would make for more realism.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Harry:
True, though a steam engine would add sound, but that could be more easily simulated electronically. I'd like to add all kinds of animation to complete the effect started by the steam, including the sounds of chippers, blowers, escaping steam, an occasional mill whistle signal (when still used, they are usually created by blowing compressed air horns rather than steam, but can communicate in a place that is extremely noisy). But you are right - steam can be generated by something much cheaper than a steam engine!
Indeed steam would seem like the obvious answer when trying to model steam but then I started thinking about the water that steam becomes when it condenses...water and model railroads do not always get along. Then the other thing with the steam. You need more than a way of heating water. Without a way to store the steam you will not get the BLAST of white steam that a plant would give off. All you would have is steam wafting out of the stacks unless it is under some amount of pressure. IMO
I'm still going with the idea of using a fog machine. Haven't come up with anything better so far.