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Flame Machine


Dmx512

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I have just bought a DMX "Flame Machine" and Put in a Butane cartridge raised the 2 faders for gas and ignition and only got a small blue flame and not the expected orange ball fire....should I have used propane gas as apposed to Butane?...any ideas?....Dave
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Surely it came with a manual?

 

If not, then I'm not sure I would have done anything with it, at all.

 

 

it has arrived with a piece of paper with chinese instructions and broken english translation explaining the DMX channels but no mention of gas

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Unless you get that Chinese translated you are in for some surprises, This is one of the downsides of buying direct from China.

 

Actually there are some flame machines from China that need special liquid fuel in aerosol cans, and that has to travel sea freight taking 8+ weeks because aerosol cans don't go on air freight. Whether your flame proj...... only you will determine when you read the instructions. Ask for help in your local Chinese take away.

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Surly I can't be the only person that is a little scared that this question is being asked.... :)

 

Butane and propane run at different pressures and require different regulators that normally only fit one type of bottle making it fairly obvious what to use. If this product (and it would be nice to know which one it is) has just arrived with a bare rubber pipe, the first thing I would be looking for is some sort of blow back protection and then secondly what fuel to use and this is all before I plug anything in and 'fire' it up.

 

Sorry David but ask your supplier, they should have tested it and be able to tell you. If it is something you have imported yourself then good luck I'm afraid and be very careful when hiring it out.

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Surly I can't be the only person that is a little scared that this question is being asked.... :)

 

Butane and propane run at different pressures and require different regulators that normally only fit one type of bottle making it fairly obvious what to use. If this product (and it would be nice to know which one it is) has just arrived with a bare rubber pipe, the first thing I would be looking for is some sort of blow back protection and then secondly what fuel to use and this is all before I plug anything in and 'fire' it up.

 

Sorry David but ask your supplier, they should have tested it and be able to tell you. If it is something you have imported yourself then good luck I'm afraid and be very careful when hiring it out.

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Surly I can't be the only person that is a little scared that this question is being asked.... :)

 

Butane and propane run at different pressures and require different regulators that normally only fit one type of bottle making it fairly obvious what to use. If this product (and it would be nice to know which one it is) has just arrived with a bare rubber pipe, the first thing I would be looking for is some sort of blow back protection and then secondly what fuel to use and this is all before I plug anything in and 'fire' it up.

 

Sorry David but ask your supplier, they should have tested it and be able to tell you. If it is something you have imported yourself then good luck I'm afraid and be very careful when hiring it out.

 

 

the butane cartridge fits in well and has a release valve that only allow gas out when installed

and when the solenoid valve is activated...but like you say a special gas is needed so will try and find out.....D

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it has arrived with a piece of paper with chinese instructions and broken english translation explaining the DMX channels but no mention of gas

So, no clear instructions. Meaning its CE mark is invalid. Meaning that if you imported it directly you are about to break the law (and invalidate your insurance). Or if you bought it from an EU based organisation then they are breaking the law.

 

Apart from breaking the rules on CE marking you might want to look at what sections of the HSWA via PUWER has been broken.

 

There's a very good reason such units are cheap.

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These things need the correct fuel to operate to the Chinese definition of safely, without the correct fuel the effect, fortunately, is insignificant rather than incendiary.

 

Whether these can ever be made safe and compliant in the UK or EU is another matter completely.

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I seem to remember reading an article somewhere saying that these Chinese flame machines were about as safe as a rubber shackle.

 

PLEASE be careful and get the instructions checked out by a chinese person (with a bit of common sense at least).

 

It goes without saying to make any adjustments and installing the fuel with power off and the DMX unplugged. Just keep a good distance and keep anybody else well away from the area when you are testing.

 

I dont mean to tell you how to suck eggs, but ive heard so many bad things about these type of products - the cheap import ones anyway-

 

BTW DMX, whats going on with your website? You mentioned you had GS 3's and I was interested in looking at hire prices etc etc but the site contains no information about hire or so forth other than flashy boxes with a picture of the product!! Not really a helpful website atm!

 

(edited for extra content)

Edited by LXbydesign
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  • 2 months later...

Having recently bought one of these delightfully dodgy machines from China, I can explain why the original poster was just getting a small blue flame from the unit. He most likely used a standard butane lighter refill can. This fits and seals fine, but lacks the dip tube inside the can which is required to blow out enough gas volume to create a fireball or plume of flame. In his case the standard butane can just vented gas alone which was

of a low enough volume to mix with enough air to create a nice efficiently burning blue flame.

 

These machines use a DMX receiver board reminiscent of the type used in basic smoke machines, so there is no real safety system involved. However, they are very simple machines with basically a gas solenoid valve and ignition transformer wired in parallel so that whenever there's gas there's a spark to light it. I'd say that while the machines are not idiot proof by a long chalk, they are no worse than many bits of equipment used by the professional FX companies.

 

Back to the gas. Nobody would be foolish enough to put a can of aerosol air freshener in one of these things would they?

 

 

Oh wait! It appears I've done it and videoed the results.....

 

Next up WD40. But I won't be doing that indoors!

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Be aware that many of the chinese flame machines use FLAME OIL available in three or four different colours NOT PROPANE OR BUTANE !!!!!!!!!!http://image.tradevv.com/2008/05/04/delongcompany_51242_450/p-6-color-flame-machine.jpg

 

Like this stuff !http://www.nobodybuy.com/2010/01/07/debao2005/400x400_p19809/colorful-flames-oil.jpg

Edited by ACIDMAN
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