FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ About Smoke System Helper smoke systems
THE PARTS OF THE SMOKE SYSTEM
1. The oil tank is made of aluminum which is beautifully welded to aircraft quality standards then pressure tested.
Each tank comes with a aerobatic flop tube inside. There is also a provision on top of the tank for a inverted vent for you real acro types.
2. Next is the oil pump which comes in both 12 and 24 volt models. It can be mounted in absolutely any position and placed anywhere near the tank or mounted onto the tank. It will provide more oil than most of us need so the next item is a flow regulator valve.
3. The flow regulator valve is to restrict the pump output to exactly the amount of smoke oil your particular engine and exhaust system is capable of burning. It is adjusted one time when you install the system then no more adjustment is necessary.
4. The next item in the line is the bulkhead fitting which penetrates the firewall. It is “T” shaped so there is one input line and 2 output lines.
5. The hose is rubber up to the firewall then on the engine side of the firewall we change to braided stainless steel line with a Teflon core. The typical engine has 2 exhaust final outlets so we need one oil line to each side of the engine.
6. The stainless steel lines go to the oil injectors which are mounted into the exhaust pipe.
7. The oil injectors are machined from solid stainless steel and will outlast your exhaust system. They are very easy to install, just drill a quarter inch hole, insert them, and tighten their clamp, no welding required. They put out a fan shaped spray pattern which helps burn the oil more efficiently.
8. Misc. items in the kit are the on/off switch, fuse holder, wire, mounting nuts and bolts, electric connectors, virtually everything that you need.
HOW MUCH DOES IT WEIGH
Typical installed weight is 10 to 12 lbs, depending on what size tank you use. That is no more weight than 2 gallons of fuel.
CAN IT BE REMOVED EASILY WHEN I WANT THE SPACE BACK
Yes, You would need to use the “quick disconnect kit” and possibly the “pump mounting kit”. This will let you instantly disconnect the oil line and the electric power to your pump. Then there are 4 screws holding the tank down. Total time to remove the tank and pump is about 3 minutes.
WHAT ARE THE OIL PUMP SPECS
It weighs 3.5 lbs, it puts out 35 psi, output is 1.5 GPM, the 12 volt model draws 4 amps, the 24 volt model draws 7 amps, it can be mounted in any position.
WILL IT WORK INVERTED
Yes, all of the tanks come with an aerobatic flop tube inside and a vented filler cap. For simple loops and rolls this is all you need. If you plan on flying inverted for more than a few seconds I will substitute a non-vented filler cap at no extra cost. Then you will need the “inverted vent kit” this is a vent line that will allow you to fly upside down all day without spilling any oil.
WHERE DO I MOUNT THE OIL INJECTORS IN THE EXHAUST PIPE
There is no EXACT spot but there is an area to AVOID and that is near the end of the pipe.
A really good spot is near the cylinder where an EGT probe would normally be placed. If you already have EGT probes then several inches below them works fine, just keep the oil injectors closer to the engine than closer to the end of the pipe.
As a general rule, the more exhaust pipe the oil has to travel thru, the better BUT do not interpret this as needing to put them really snug up against the cylinder.
If you have a muffler this does not change anything.
HOW MUCH SMOKE OIL SHOULD I BE USING
For a 150 to 200 hp engine you should be burning 1/2 gallon per minute.
The way to get this amount is to sit a bucket under your exhaust pipes and turn on the system for 1 minute and see how much you catch (engine not running). You can adjust the flow with the flow regulator valve that comes with every smoke kit.
The oil is not wasted, just pour it back into your tank.
WHERE SHOULD I PUT THE ON/OFF SWITCH
The switch should be mounted somewhere that you can find it without looking for it. This is in case you get interested in formation flying someday. You do not need to be flying 10 ft from another airplane and looking inside the cockpit to find your switch. One good place is very near the throttle.
You can use an existing button on your stick but you will need to wire in a small relay because most of those buttons will not carry the amperage. Think of it as a small starter relay.
HOW DO I HIDE THE HOSE FROM THE PUMP TO THE FIREWALL
The easiest way is to tuck it under the edge of the carpet.
The hardest way is to put it under the floor. Another option is to run it under the canopy rail, held in place by plastic zip ties.
Why does it even need to be hidden ? just run it right up against the right or left side.
MY SMOKE KEEPS ON DRIBBLING AFTER I SHUT IT OFF
This is a common problem but it can be prevented or fixed.
When you shut off your system you still have a hose full of smoke oil, from the pump all the way to your exhaust pipe.
This oil can be slowly sucked out in intermittent bursts that may last for miles.
Our first option is PREVENTION. We penetrate the firewall with a bulkhead fitting. If this fitting is located up high then we have gravity pulling the oil from there to the LOWER oil injectors. If you think about it, this is exactly how you siphon gas, start high and end low. So if possible, put your bulkhead fitting low on the firewall, lower than your oil injectors. Now our hose runs uphill and we do not get the siphon action.
If you cannot or do not want to do this, there is a simple cure.
I have a set of one way check valves that are custom made for smoke systems. They are easily added to the end of your existing oil lines. You will have razor sharp on and off smoke.
I WANT TO BUILD MY OWN SYSTEM, CAN I BUY JUST A FEW PARTS
Yes, you can buy any individual parts you need from the web site or telephone me and we can talk about what you may need.
CAN I ORDER A COMPLETE KIT BUT MINUS A TANK OR PUMP
Yes, we can delete any part you do not need and subtract that from the cost of a complete kit. That is really easier than trying to order every single part in the kit, minus one or two parts.
I ALREADY HAVE A FUEL PUMP I WANT TO USE TO PUMP OIL
The short answer is that fuel pumps make lousy oil pumps.
I suggest that you actually test your fuel pump and see how much fuel it will pump in 1 minute THEN test it and see how much smoke oil it will pump in 1 minute. There will be a really drastic difference. My pump was designed from day one to be an oil pump, it works well and lasts a very long time.
SMOKE OIL IS NOT CHEAP, CAN I USE DIESEL FUEL, PEANUT OIL, COL. SANDERS USED GREASE, OR SOMETHING ELSE
You are correct, smoke oil is not cheap but it is the best thing to use. Diesel fuel has been used successfully by those people who have a good life insurance policy and want to leave a rich widow. It is designed to BURN not SMOKE and someday it will do just that.
Basically any kind of oil you can put into a red hot exhaust pipe will give you smoke. In some airplanes a little bit of that smoke finds its way into the cockpit, hardly noticeable unless it burns your eyes and lungs or has a nasty odor. Good smoke oil will not do that. Good smoke oil is environmentally friendly and that is a good thing. There are a lot of other oils that you can use but I am not allowed to sell them as smoke oil.
I DO NOT PLAN ON USING A LOT OF SMOKE OIL, WHY SHOULD I BUY A BARREL INSTEAD OF JUST 5 GALLONS
The easy answer is TO SAVE MONEY. It all comes down to the shipping cost. A 5 gallon pail, plus packaging weighs 40 lbs and you usually pay for shipping by the pound. Average shipping cost is $40. To $50. Depending on where you live.
For a barrel of smoke oil it goes by motor freight and they do not care how much it weighs, only how much space it takes up in their truck. A barrel is really compact. Average shipping cost is about $150. Again depending on where you live.
That means that after you have had 3 or 4 of the 5 gallon jugs shipped to you, then you have paid the same shipping as a barrel. Getting your smoke oil by the barrel will literally cut the price per gallon in half.
Another benefit is that if you can get together with friends and order multiple barrels, the shipping cost goes down some more.
My advice is, bite the bullet, get a barrel and you will have a long term supply of lower cost oil.
COLORED SMOKE, HOW CAN I GET SOME
Usually the colored smoke you see at airshows comes from a jet aircraft or from the wing tips of other planes.
The wing tip smoke is made by a burning smoke canister which is attached to the wingtip with a special bracket. You have to keep it away from the plane because it is burning, real hot. You ignite it electrically and it burns for 2 or 3 minutes then it is used up. It cannot be turned off and on like normal smoke. Count on spending around $100. For 3 minutes of smoke.
JET AIRCRAFT can get actual colored smoke by burning a special mixture of smoke oil in their exhaust. This same smoke oil would work in our piston planes but it has some significant problems. One of them is the cost, it is several times the cost of normal smoke oil. Another real problem is it will color the belly of your airplane the same color as the smoke but it MIGHT wash off if you act fast. Another real problem, the chemicals in it will clog up the oil pump if you do not immediately flush the system out with several gallons of clean smoke oil or something else to clean the internal parts of the pump. It coagulates to a gooey mess if left inside the pump for long. Yes, colored smoke is possible but not real practical.