Here is a picture of my refinery. The flare stack is near the front of the picture with black smoke rising above the flare stack
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Kind of a weird solution, but it might work...
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Armorcast makes resin castings of various "Cinematic Effects" for wargaming miniatures. One of them is rocket launchers at the moment of firing.
These might work for the flame, but there would be no animation.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
My club used cotton and sprayed it red and yellow with a little black at the very end, I think if you do that and the flicker light you'll get a quite realistic representation.
Add a blower and no one will have naysay for it.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
I am not familiar with refineries, but I did watch a couple videos.
One great feature is that I saw no smoke, that makes it easier for sure.
I think a comnbination of the flickering light and and some clear plastic could be convincing.
By the way, I am also 100% against a real flame.
Thank you for the complement. I watched various videos of flare stacks and most were small to medium flame comping out of the stack, but one had a flame of about thirty feet. I will let you know when I get the unit and assemble the components
Ira
First I would concur that any real flame IMHO is a very bad idea, unless in a separate expendable building. Then just a bad idea.
Second, I admire your initiative to tackle the issue. Several have given ideas on what might work as a reasonable flame representation. From there, variables include the option to turn it off, with nothing visible, then tuned on when desired.
The ultimate would be, when not flaring, to have several teeny blue flame gas pilots and perhaps some atomizing steam plume thru leaking valves. Next stage, active at lower rates, with an orange to bluish flame and minimum blackish smoke due to incomplete combustion.
The flare tips in the 1980 time frame typically were essentially smokeless, with a clean orange to bluish flame up to some (10%??) of max plant output at beginning of an upset. Beyond that flow they initially typically produced very significant black smoke (and copious noise) until the plant was dialed back and the mixing steam injection also maximized. Modelling the heavy black smoke could lead into a clean track discussion.
At one plant I worked, a "ground flare" was included. That was a large round cylinder at grade with many burners and steam that very efficiently combusted gas up to the first 10% of relief capacity. Above that flow a water seal was blown that then allowed gas to go to the elevated flare.
Let us know what you develop. My small refinery has no flare at this point, not so realistic.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
Mel:
My flickering unit is on order and should be here Monday. Will let you know how it works out.
Greenway Products has a flickering unit. I ordered one to use with my 1.5 volt bulb. Will report on how well it works.
Thanks for the effort. I will get some and try it.
I'd put some blue or purple at the very base, just a little. Just to get the effect.
caldreamer RR Mel: Thanks, I am looking forward to hearing from you. What size resistor is needed for the LED's? Ira
RR Mel:
Thanks, I am looking forward to hearing from you. What size resistor is needed for the LED's?
Another method would be to carve a flame from a round plastic or wooden dowel and paint it red, orange and yellow. Yellow being where the flame is the hottest.
My club used cotton as the smoke from a smokestack, you could use that some LEDs and a small fan to get the cotton to flicker and such.
caldreamer RR Mel: Where did you get the flickering Led's? I need just one orange one and it would work great. How many ohm resistor resistor did you use?
Where did you get the flickering Led's? I need just one orange one and it would work great. How many ohm resistor resistor did you use?
BigDaddy RR_Mel . The ones I buy are 3mm I always thought there was additional circuitry for flickering led's I thought there was a recent MRVP on the fire in the log blog boiler, but I am not finding it. What color led or colors do you use to simulate fire?
RR_Mel . The ones I buy are 3mm
I always thought there was additional circuitry for flickering led's I thought there was a recent MRVP on the fire in the log blog boiler, but I am not finding it.
What color led or colors do you use to simulate fire?
I have some red and clear 1.5 volt micro bulbs. I was thinking of some orange paint on the bulb and run it to a flicking unit under the layout. Some cotton sprayed black around the top of the stack might work as well.
RR_Mel. The ones I buy are 3mm
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
caldreamerAny suggestions on how to model this?
I have heard of modelers using one of the ultrasonic water atomizer diffusers as a "smoke unit" in a chimney. Perhaps one of these and a blue LED in or near the stack would work for you?
I don't know what's inside one of these new-fangled "vape" things but something like that might work. I'm no fan of stinky smoke fluid but the water atomizers may hold promise, especially if driven by a tiny blower.
Just a possibility, Good Luck, Ed
oh well....
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
I suppose you MIGHT be able to use a real flame, if you designed it just right.
No mistakes, though. Imagine what your insurance agent would say when he found out that it had just burned down your house: "We won't pay out on THAT claim."
Ed
I model in N scle, so the flame would have be really small.
Easy peasy. Use a real flame. One guy did this and it was featured in a 2000's some odd MRR magazine. Which one, I cannot remember.
I would try one of the inexpensive flickering tea lamps. Diassemble the lamp from the base, wire it into the flare stack, maybe add some transparent orange paint and fire it up. We are assuming full combustion so your flare should not be belching black smoke.