# Slow-Mo Flame Eaters by Kel



## kcmillin (May 12, 2010)

My new camera came in the mail today. I got a chance to use the high speed function. After learning that the batteries died. This thing eats em up.

Here are some slo mo vids. The larger vids are taken at 420 Frames Per Second, and the small skinny vids are 1000 frames per second.

I discovered something about my internal valve Jan Ridders flame eater. The valve seems to be opening way too soon. I'me not sure why.

















There will be more once I get some new batteries.

Are the expensive Energizer batteries worth the money?

Kel


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## SAM in LA (May 12, 2010)

Kel,

That's pretty slick.

I like the slow motion capability.

That can be a very helpful tool in troubleshooting timing issues.

SAM


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## kustomkb (May 12, 2010)

that's cool man!

I new high speed camera prices were coming down, but didnt know they were putting it in regular jobbies.

my last canon had time lapse but this is even better!

keep 'em coming!


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## kcmillin (May 12, 2010)

KustomKB  said:
			
		

> that's cool man!
> 
> I new high speed camera prices were coming down, but didnt know they were putting it in regular jobbies.


not only did the price come down, but it is on sale at bestbuy.com for $259!!!!..Thats half off amazon.com


Kel
No


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## Deanofid (May 12, 2010)

That's some wicked cool, Kel. 
I have to get one. Then I can watch myself machining in slo-mo and figure out where I'm making my mistakes!

Really neat. What was the camera model, again?

Oh, the batteries.. what kind? If it uses AA size, get some 2000 mah (or more) NiMH rechargeables. You can get a set of four with a charger for the price of two or three sets of regular kind alkalines. Lithium batteries are crazy expensive, and you still end up throwing them away.

Dean


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## cfellows (May 12, 2010)

Kel,

Nice videos. On the valve opening early question... is it possible that the pressure in the cylinder reaches a point where it exceeds the atmospheric pressure and pushes the valve open at the point where it is opening?

Chuck


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## kcmillin (May 12, 2010)

Dean,thanks for the tip on batteries. The camera is a Casio EX FH-120.
here is a link to it on Bestbuy.com Walmart.com has a better writeup on it though, if you want to know more about it that is.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Casio+-...lack/9051063.p?id=1218012834817&skuId=9051063


Chuck, I think your right about the pressure in the cylinder. This must just be the way they work.


Kel


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## fcheslop (May 13, 2010)

Hi Kel, thats some camera, the valve shots are interesting as I never been able to see poppin run so slowly.Thanks
regards frazer


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## bearcar1 (May 13, 2010)

Hiya Kel, very interesting videos. I was given a Nikon CoolPix series camera as a gift several years ago. I really like it's simplicity and it serves my menial needs quite well, but I found that it had a voracious appetite for power as well. It seemed to 'eat' a set of batteries after about a dozen or so shots. Now this was due to several factors which included but were not limited to the use of flash, the display viewfinder and the motorized lens adjusting itself to auto-focus. Whenever I am out and about taking photographs I keep the viewfinder turned off and line up my pictures the old fashioned way, through the lens itself. Outdoors does not usually require a flash so no problem there and the Macro feature rarely gets utilized as most subject material is several feet away. Now then, this brings me to your problem/point, and that is what about indoor snapshots such as in the shop during a project build. In that environment ALL of the above mentioned power hungry features come into play and it is not a pleasant experience having to change out batteries every dozen or so pictures. On the side of this camera, under a small rubber dust seal is a 'video out' port and ...... wait for it..... an external power port. What a chooch I had been using up batteries by the box load, all I had to do was to wire up a small wall bump transformer with a fairly long tether cord and I could take pictures till the cows came home (and no, I did not wait up past midnight for them :big What a relief it was to not have to worry about the camera dying in a shot or having to fumble around with changing out the batteries in the middle of everything just to get that one shot. Does your camera have such a port built in? If it does, I would highly recommend you investing in one of these power supplies and forget about that smallish fortune or your kids college fund that has been invested in batteries. The rechargeable NiMH types of cells are better than normal Alkaline cells but they still require frequent changing etc. Now that I have seen your videos, I'm going to have to play around with that feature on this little beast. ;D

BC1
Jim


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## mklotz (May 13, 2010)

NiMH batteries do indeed have more capacity than alkalines but they have an annoying trait. If the batteries sit unused for a while the charge will leak off the batteries.

I solved this problem by buying Sanyo "Eneloop" batteries. They're specifically tailored to hold their charge for a much longer period of time - so long, in fact, that they're sold pre-charged and are ready to use out of the package.

This means that it's possible to carry a spare set of batteries with the camera and be sure that they won't be half-dead when you go to use them.

If you're using NiMH batteries, an intelligent charger is a wise investment. They protect the batteries, allow variable charge rates and sense end-of-charge and shut down automatically. I use the Powerex MH-C9000 and have been very pleased with it - standard disclaimer.


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## kcmillin (May 13, 2010)

Thanks Jim, and everyone for you info on the batteries. I will definatly be buying an AC adapter, since 80% of what I want to use it for will be indoor and next to a wall output.

Thanks again.

Kel


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## shred (May 13, 2010)

Cool. I've had an EX-F1 for a while now, but only did a couple machining-type videos with it. Hi speed cameras are a ton of fun.


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## kcmillin (May 13, 2010)

shred  said:
			
		

> Hi speed cameras are a ton of fun.




You can say that again. Can anyone say Air cannon and fragile objects.

Kel


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## kcmillin (May 13, 2010)

here is another vid of the poppin up close. You can see the valve getting thrown up past where it should be. The spring may be too light, but it runs like a champ so I wont mess with it. Also you can see the valve "poppin" open when the pressure equalizes.






Kel


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## shred (May 14, 2010)

kcmillin  said:
			
		

> You can say that again. Can anyone say Air cannon and fragile objects.
> 
> Kel


Fruit is good too.  ;D [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOlXdh3_74A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOlXdh3_74A[/ame]

It's kind of surprising how much you see in slo-mo that isn't how it's 'supposed' to be, but works anyway.


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## kcmillin (May 14, 2010)

There is some neat stuff there Shred. I cant wait to do more. So much happens that you cant see. Its so cool.

Kel


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## kcmillin (May 22, 2010)

a better vid of the flame





Kel


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## Deanofid (May 23, 2010)

Mesmerizing.


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## SAM in LA (May 23, 2010)

Kel,

Your camera's slow motion capabilities are really a good tool.

I never realized that the flame actually went into the cylinder.

Thanks for sharing.

SAM


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## mklotz (May 23, 2010)

The fact that flame-suckers need hot gas to operate makes me wonder if it would be possible to power one from the exhaust gas coming off a steam boiler.

I know that once, while talking to a rather clueless tree-hugger, I mentioned utilizing waste heat. He was puzzled by the concept (yeah, well, they don't teach thermo in liberal arts schools) so I held one of my LTD Stirlings over the flue and he was dumbfounded by the fact that it ran.

That led me to visualize a flame-sucker operating from the flue gas with an LTD Stirling sitting on the sucker cylinder and running off its waste heat. If it could be made to work it would be a guaranteed show-stopper at a public exhibition.

If that won't work, how about a MTD (Medium Temperature Differential) Stirling with an LTD Stirling sitting on the MTD 'cold' plate? I'm almost certain that could be made to work.

It's a whole new avenue of engine modeling to explore - ganged engines.


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## shred (May 23, 2010)

mklotz  said:
			
		

> The fact that flame-suckers need hot gas to operate makes me wonder if it would be possible to power one from the exhaust gas coming off a steam boiler.
> 
> I know that once, while talking to a rather clueless tree-hugger, I mentioned utilizing waste heat. He was puzzled by the concept (yeah, well, they don't teach thermo in liberal arts schools) so I held one of my LTD Stirlings over the flue and he was dumbfounded by the fact that it ran.
> 
> ...



And if the steam engine had steam for exhaust, it should be relatively easy to hook it up to a condensing engine-- the very first steam engines (skipping toys like Hero's) worked that way-- Newcomen, etc. Another 'freebie'!

It would make for a neat display of thermodynamics, but I bet a dollar it's not 5 minutes before a spectator wants to hook up the outputs to the inputs and get perpetual motion ???

We use heat-pipes for cooling electronic parts at work. They have surprisingly little 'resistance' when moving heat in their designed operating range. Could be useful for hooking up such things.


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