Post by g3750 on Sept 11, 2024 20:40:48 GMT
I guess you could call this a Public Service Announcement.
I've been doing some upgrading of my Open Hearth. No, we're not turning it into a BOP! 🤣 But since I moved it onto the layout permanently late last year, I have been witnessing various circuits fail or do strange things. I had one string of smokestack lights completely fail to light. And when I turned on the stack smoke, all the lights in the mill began blinking. An electrician friend diagnosed the problem as insufficient power. And in calculating the total load (lots of LEDs and smoke units of various flavors), it turns out that the mill was severely under-powered. Originally, I had put this down to bad wiring practice on my part and failed connections (and there are 2 of those), but insufficient wattage is the major culprit. I recently replaced the power supply with a much larger one and things are working fine.
Lessons Learned from this:
- The smoke generator MUST have circuit (limiting) protection.
- The body of the smoke generator MUST be metal, not plastic.
- Fire extinguishers (for electrical fires) should be placed around the layout. Know how to use them and keep them charged.
I was fortunate. If I had not been standing there to witness it, we would have had a fire. The model, the layout, even the house might have been threatened.
The smoke generator is now out of the mill. I am contemplating replacing it with a commercial smoke machine like the ones used in theatrical and concert settings. It has circuit protection and is UL listed. Again, I'm only thinking about it.
All of you, please stay safe.
George
