Shucks Pete,
That's DAMN BREXIT for you😠
Several good German suppliers (possibly also French - PE, Dutch - Raboesch props, Italian Italeri & Lifecolor, Polish - PE & weapons kits etc) have stopped shipping to the UK due to Customs complications and costs.
I have the same problem the other way around.🤔
Ciao, Doug 😎

Tried to order one of the smoke machines from the German website you linked Doug, but no success, as they do not ship to the UK.

Cheers, Pete😊

What a site!!!!!!
A lot of people haven’t even met each other, they only know each other from thé site! A problem is being mentionned and in no time you get answers, solutions, possible suppliers and if thé details if thé supplier are not correct anymore 5 seconds later you got thé latest correct information. Im every Time speachless

Hi herman,
Actual name was Herbundsab Modellbausätze - derived from the owners names
Herbert Hallmann and Sabine Spaller.
They retired in December last year and Thomas Plum of 'TP Modellbau Design' took over the smoker range. Their online shop closed on 18th December.
Herbert Hallmann though is continuing with his Amphibicar Kits.

Photos (and link below) show the RG3 6V type that I bought several months ago. In fact I splurged on 3, one each for my largest ships; Graf Spee, HMS Belfast and HMS Hotspur.
Test reports as soon as I can get near my bench again🙄
They have a 60ml tank and should smoke for up to 60 minutes.
There are smaller cheaper ones as well, and the whole range is duplicated for 12V operation.
Don't smoke too much guys!
Cheers, Doug
Web sites only in German I'm afraid. I can help with that if needed.

http://www.herbundsab.de/

https://85681552.shop.strato.de/p/raucherzeuger-und-dampfoel-rg3-6v

This is a Heng Long tank smoker running on baby oil.
You could also try 50/50 glycerine and water. Don't overfill these,-they need just enough to saturate the cotton. I found filling them then draining any excess worked best. Some of these have a wire, some have a tiny resistor, easy to burn out if they go dry. Look under smoker experiments in the site forum search.

JB

A club mate bought his smoke unit at
Www.herbsundab.de
Price WAS 45 euro. 12V
It’s a kit n needs to be assembled
Hope this helps

I have the same smoke unit...if you remove the 4 screws on the tank, remove the lid. There is a small cotton ball to absorb the fluid in contact with the coil. I have had to replace this on mine when it quit working. (the cotton ball was burned black) I used a slightly larger piece of cotton. I put 10 to 15 drops in and it will smoke for about 10 minutes. Not the greatest unit, I don't use it anymore, I think it's a fire hazard. I would probably upgrade to a better one with a bigger tank if I were you. Thanks, RR

Goodmorning Fred (as well as the rest of you all), I shall do your suggestion this afternoon. It's THUR morning & 4 of us traditionally sail our tugs etc. at Bluffers Park. It's named Bluffers due to the steep cliffs adjacent to Lake Ontario. Somewhat like the White Cliffs of Dover altho not so bare & not so high. I am maiden-voyaging 2 recent acquisitions. One is a balloon buster/buoy layer/ rescue tug, the other is a Springer tug,single engine.

Hi RodC
I have just reread you comment (14) and like the others have said, you may have just over filled it with oil, if you take the top off and see any oil in the tank then yes you have over filled it, the cotton waste just needs to be wet the same as you would with a face flannel, when you have the top off try pulling the waste up so that the coil is just sitting on top of it, I found that it will drop down the first time it is used.
I have had one of these units running for most of a day at a show with out doing a refill.

Fred

P/S the wife and I had a window table at the CN so had to keep our arms in to miss the window frames.

Ok Doug. Apology accepted & no hard feelings. Thanks, Hugh

Spot on - all counts TD👍
😎

Doug is on the money. Smoke units are VERY sensitive to the volume of oil put into them and each size unit is different. More than once, I have over filled a unit and had to drain it, one way or the other.
Another point i would make is that almost all of the "oil" based units I have seen or used, use a "smoke oil". I may be a bit off when I say that I believe it to be a kerosene like oil.
Bay oil is quite thick comparatively and if the unit does use a wick, baby oil may not be thin enough to wick.
Lastly, smoke oil is pretty readily available. Most model railroad shops and web sites sell it.

Hi Rod,
"too much oil around the wire coil it's not going to get up to smoke temperature "
I tend to agree Rod.
All the smoke units I have played with* up to now use wicks to draw the oil up to the coil which is never submerged in or cooled by the oil.
*Means ancient (like me🙄) Graupner and Seuther simple chimney effect units, as used in model railway locs, worked quite well in my destroyer - with a bit of 'Snap Crackle and Pop'. I used the cap from a spent paint spray can as the reservoir and a thick candle wick to feed the coil. The smoker was suspended under a 10mm ally tube going up the funnel.
Recently I have bought some larger more modern fan assisted units, from Herbundsab Modellbausätze here in Germany. Together with bottles of their Model Railway Steam Oil.
Bench test report follows!
Cheers, Doug 😎

Hello Len, it arrived without instructions. On my 2nd request for help the seller said 1 to 3 drops. I applied 3 drops & that gave me a few seconds of smoke.

This morning I filled a "100 units" insulin syringe with baby oil & injected 1/3rd of the syringe into the chamber. At 6V & 1.2A supplied, there was zero smoke. So...the element is drawing current, so it's not burned out.

I imagine that if there is too much oil around the wire coil it's not going to get up to smoke temperature

Rod I do not think a few drops of smoke fluid is enough to keep the heating coils covered for very long before it is all vaporized. How much does the instruction sheet say to use.

Thanks Fred, i wish someone had suggested that a few days ago. I use babyoil on my bald head. Its always nice to utilize something on hand for modelling as it helps the budget.

I'm glad you enjoyed the CN TOWER. I have had a meal up there several times with several wives, always with guests from UK (most Canadians are descendents of Commonwealth citizens). It's $$$$$ to eat there but everyone shud see the view. I can't walk on the glass floor section. I hav taken several customers there back when I had employers who asked me to entertain. I recall sitting with one foot on each side of the rotating joint, so i had to shift every few minutes. I think the restaurant level rotates at 1 revolution per hour. Best to arrive an hour before sunset. I recall the Sikorski SKYTRAIN mounting the antenna spire sometime in the early 1970s. Many took the day off work to go down there to watch that momentous event. I was in my 20s then. Mid-70s now!! Quite a landmark...you can see it from almost anywhere in this city of 3 million, unless there is a 70-story condo tower between where you stand & the tower itself. The Toronto roundhouse from the days of steam locomotives still stands near the base. Part of it now is STEAMWHISTLE brewery. Worth the visit!!

Hi RodC

I have no idea what the cost of e liquid is, but you could try baby oil as I think it is made up of mineral oil,
The wife and I had a great time in Toronto, one of the best parts was dinner in the CN Tower.

Fred

Thankyou Toradog, ( autocorrect changed your name to "Tired Of"😂

I've been using a bench powersupply for testing, to ensure that I don't go over the 6V , plus I can monitor the current.

Current has been stable so the element is intact. Thankyou for explaining the construction, I have cut foamcores using nichrome wire cutter in my model aircraft days.

I think i will go to a vape shop & get a small quantity of e-liquid hopefully I can get something without nicotine. I live in a no-smoking apartment bldg.

Thanks also for the link which i shall explore shortly. Busy day ahead, it's 9am here in Toronto. We are on DST😎

Rod,
Heating element smokers are fairly sensitive. If run without the cooling fan, or with an input voltage even 1/2 V over it's rating, the nichrome wire will melt and brake. And easy way to check if this is the problem is to put a multimeter across the heating wires. Disconnect them from the power source first😁. There should be continuity, if there is none, then the wire either disconnected in the case( I've had that happen) or the heating element burned thru.
I have used this company's units for 15+years with good success. The warranty is limited, but they service what they sell.
www.facebook.com/smallandlargescalesmokers
scalesmokers@gmail.com

Good morning Fred, yes, that's exactly what i purchased. Im just totally puzzled. After all, it worked so beautifully for a very short period. In another thread i talked about my experiments with distilled water nebulizers...the inconsistencies of various transducers. Others spoke of much better experiences. I appreciate everyone's musings on these anciliary topics...sound, lighting, smoke

Hi RodC
Is this the unit that you are using?
I have been using them in my small tug's for the last year, and they have worked O.K, I have used - Propylene Glycol - Mineral Oil and Fog smoke fluid, some times a mix of all three, I have also run them on 6v and 7.2v with no problems.
I have had a go at making a small smoke unit using a Ultrasonic Mist Maker, just could not make it work for me, in the end I have used a USB Air Humidifier Purifier Aroma Diffuser Mini Portable Donuts Steam in my Liberty ship.

Fred

Wonder if it has a coil like a vape tank. I’m wondering if CBD oil is the same viscosity as VG. I vape, and have always thought a vape tank would work as a smoker, and IIRC, there was a member on here that posted some progress he was making on just that, but I can’t remember who it was.
Anyway, sometimes a vape coil will get weak before it burns out, starts drawing more amps with little effect. Wonder if that’s your problem.
Cash

It's not installed in a boat yet, I'm just bench testing.

I put 3 drops of hemp oil in it. It produced a large stream of perfect thick white smoke (YAY! PERFECT!) for less than a minute, then stopped smoking 😣.

I removed power. Waited a while, then turned it back on. No smoke, so i assumed it ran out of oil. Recharged the chamber with 2 drops & applied power again. It produced very thin,weak smoke for a few minutes then quit.

It's supposed to be working like an electronic cigarette, a vape cigarette.

Any suggestions? Its still drawing current, so it's not burnt out.

CBD oil!?
That should make your boat happy and real high on the plane😂🤣🤕
Might even start doing dolphin tricks😁
😎

Rod,
What is your boat's name....Bong😂

Hey Rod, I also use a heng long tank smoker in my Creole Queen. I use this fluid, it is for Lionel trains. Works very well. I have a 12v system with a voltage reducer down to 6v. Dave RR