Homemade Smoke Machine Tester

[articsilber323]

My attempt at making a homemade smoke tester for finding leaks on engines and evap, still have some things to work out and hookup to argon for testing evap system,

i used this video as a guide on making it

uses tiki torch wicks and i warped 3ft of flux core mig welding wire around the wicks to heat it up and baby oil in the bottom to produce the smoke.

and here is my setup, looks like the one i made produces a lot of more smoke then any i have seen in videos or professional units

let me know what you think!

 

[wild cowboy]

well it looks fine for making smoke, but to keep from damaging the evap system on modern cars, you have to find a way to limit the air (smoke) pressure down to 2 psi or something small like that, so what will regulate the pressure?

it would be fine as-is for looking for vacuum leaks or valve leaks on a 1968 Ford pickup though!

 

[articsilber323]

well it looks fine for making smoke, but to keep from damaging the evap system on modern cars, you have to find a way to limit the air (smoke) pressure down to 2 psi or something small like that, so what will regulate the pressure?

it would be fine as-is for looking for vacuum leaks or valve leaks on a 1968 Ford pickup though!

im currently waiting for a propane regulator to come in with npt ends on it

propane is regulated at 1.5psi for a grill so it should work great!

in the video i only have my air compressor up to 10psi with the ball valve barley cracked, also have a flow valve at the can barley opened so i was trying to cut the pressure back the best i could without the regulator

 

[signcrafter]

I like it. I built one with a fog machine but like this design a little better. I watched about 10 of your videos and subscribed to your youtube channel but I didn't see any details about making one of your new style smokers. Do you show what all is in your new style and a parts list?

 

[articsilber323]

I like it. I built one with a fog machine but like this design a little better. I watched about 10 of your videos and subscribed to your youtube channel but I didn't see any details about making one of your new style smokers. Do you show what all is in your new style and a parts list?

the first link is someone else's youtube that i just used there ideas from and i changed some things trying to get better smoke,

the 2nd video is mine showing what i came up with

 

[signcrafter]

the first link is someone else's youtube that i just used there ideas from and i changed some things trying to get better smoke,

the 2nd video is mine showing what i came up with

I guess I subscribed to someone else's youtube channel then.

 

[articsilber323]

I guess I subscribed to someone else's youtube channel then.

haha yea i think that guy sells both the paint can version and that fancy version, i am waiting on the propane regulator and some other things to come in to test it on a vehicle but looks like it will work great, and a great price, i have under $50 in everything.

 

[signcrafter]

Which propane regulator did you order? And why a propane regulator over a standard air regulator?

I really like his flow meter on the nice ones. I've read that the flow meter can actually tell you more then just the smoke.

 

[articsilber323]

Which propane regulator did you order? And why a propane regulator over a standard air regulator?

I really like his flow meter on the nice ones. I've read that the flow meter can actually tell you more then just the smoke.

i ordered this one here

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014E3MSI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

i think a standard air regulator would be hard to hit 1psi or less with

a propane regulator is 11 "wc which i think works out to .5psi

if this works out with everything i might add a flow gauge to it but right now it is very basic and budget friendly

 

[articsilber323]

got the propane regulator today works great very low pressure around 1/2 psi and the flow valve can cut it back even more then that

 

[wild cowboy]

if you can refine the design and get it working well and cheap and start building these suckers once you get the design perfected, you could have a huge business, because these are really useful for all kinds of leaks, and the cheapest decent one is the OTC smoke machine on amazon and it is over $800

 

[toplessHO]

many years ago I needed to find a vacuum leak,put a smoke bomb in a coffee can and put that inside a 2 gal shop vac. Duct tape the hose to a 3/8 rubber fuel/vapor hose and plugged it in.
I even got smoke out the tailpipe until I plugged it.
Cant get much cheaper than this