[Tyler2]

I am setting up a smoke system and was wondering what the flow rate should be. I have a 16 oz tank and am running a DL50. What would be a good rate to try for a start?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Tyler

[SJrcflyer]

Depends on what pump your using, I was running a Sullivan Skywriter and I had the flow turned down so that the pump was barely working. It still made great smoke. With a single cylinder you don't need much smoke fluid at all. Also a good but messy way to check to make sure your not running too much fluid is to start it up, try it out, then check the bottom of the plane, ground under the exhaust and anything in the exhausts way and if you see moisture, or fluid then turn that flowrate down. You don't want any pure liquid coming out as it just won't be burnt, and cost you RPM on your engine.


Chris

[Ramz]

Originally Posted by Tyler2

I am setting up a smoke system and was wondering what the flow rate should be. I have a 16 oz tank and am running a DL50. What would be a good rate to try for a start?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Tyler

Chris is right. You don't need very much oil at all to get good smoke. I had the same smoke pump as Chris does and on my 100cc twin, I had to turn it down so low that the pump was barely turning....and even still I had raw oil coming out the exhaust. If I had it to do all over again, I would install a needle valve between the pump outlet and the muffler(s) to get even more adjustment. So just do what Chris says and you'll be good to go. I would think you should be able to get atleast 3 minutes out of a 16oz tank if you set the flow rate properly.

[Gary Maker]

Tyler

I have an inline valve made just for adjusting smoke fluid flow that I have never used. If you want it, I'll send it to you for free. Its a plastic tube with an adjusting knob which you screw in and limits the amount of fluid flowing into the exhaust.

PM me your name and address and I'll send it out to you if you want it. It might be a help in getting the flow set as low as possible.


Ramz..Is that figure correct? Does a 16 oz tank of fluid really only last for 3 minutes of smoke and thats with the flow turned down so low its hardly allowing much fluid through the line??

I have all the equipment to install a smoke system but I doubt that I will even try it at that rate. I priced the Super Dri fluid and its like $26 for fuel sized jug of the stuff. I didn't realize it was that expensive running a smoke system. Especially if only getting 3 minutes of smoke for 16 oz of fluid. And I'm told it is quite a messy thing to deal with on top of that!

[bkrfrmhell]

I have an 8 oz tank in my cg pitts 12 and I get a good 3 min or more out of it with the pump barely turning, pretty good smoke. Only problem is pump sometimes takes a few tries to start set this low As they say it does not take much.

[bkrfrmhell]

I have an 8 oz tank in my cg pitts 12 and I get a good 3 min or more out of it with the pump barely turning, pretty good smoke. Only problem is pump sometimes takes a few tries to start set this low As they say it does not take much.

[Tyler2]

Thanks for all the replies. I will try to get it set as low as possible.

Gary I have sent you a PM.

Thanks
Tyler

[Ramz]

Originally Posted by Gary Maker

Ramz..Is that figure correct? Does a 16 oz tank of fluid really only last for 3 minutes of smoke and thats with the flow turned down so low its hardly allowing much fluid through the line??

I have all the equipment to install a smoke system but I doubt that I will even try it at that rate. I priced the Super Dri fluid and its like $26 for fuel sized jug of the stuff. I didn't realize it was that expensive running a smoke system. Especially if only getting 3 minutes of smoke for 16 oz of fluid. And I'm told it is quite a messy thing to deal with on top of that!

Gary: I never timed it accurately but if i had to guess, it would be between 3 and 4 minues. Also keep in mind that this is on a 100cc twin so i can get away with pouring more oil when compared to say a 50cc single. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. I set mine up so that it would make good smoke...so it was spitting some raw oil out the exhaust but the extra smoke was worth it IMHO. I figured that if I'm gonna make smoke, I might as well make smoke!! I did end up taking the system off after a few flights as it kept on buring out pump motors, it worked about 20% of the time and boy, was it messy (way worse than any glow plane). I talked to the manufacturer and they couldn't figure out why the pumps would only sometimes arm and if they did arm, they would burn up only after 5 or 6 minues of low speed operation. Maybe I got a "fridayafternoon" motor...who knows. All I know is that I"ll never have smoke on another plane...unless somebody pays me a large sum of cash to do so...LOL.

[R Plante]

Rule of thumb I use 1 oz per cubic inch per minute (50cc about 3 ozs per min ) and adjust from there .But I wonder if the mess is worth it some times Takes away the clean factor of gassers.

[OSS]

Does someone has tips about a cheap solution for the smoke fluid ? Im used to use Diesel, the smoke is not that good and the plane is a little bit dirty but the price is almost nothing.

I saw a topic on FG where pilots mixed 50% pur oil with 50% diesel.

Better idea ?