BEST automotive smoke machine you can build
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- An automotive smoke machine is one of the most useful diagnostic tools you can have but they are expensive. I built a cheap one using a recycled glass jar (to show how much smoke is building up inside it) and a couple other basic items (see links below). This combination allowed me to have complete control over how much pressure I use and when I apply the smoke.
Amazon links to make a cheap smoke machine like mine:
soldering iron: amzn.to/38CGLEG
bicycle pump: amzn.to/2OwhZOH
mineral oil: amzn.to/2S0ydl8
SUPPORT MY CHANNEL FOR "FREE" - visit amazon through this link (or ANY link on my channel)
** amzn.to/2SLOzgI **
and I'll get a small percent of whatever you buy from them. Costs you nothing. Thanks guys!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
Хобби
Brilliant idea! Modifying your plans slightly, I built mine in in an hour and found a vacuum leak in 90 seconds. The bike pump allowed for controlled smoke distribution. This really is the BEST automotive smoke machine you can build! Thank you!
So far this video is the most practical and economical machine on youtube. Smart thing to do.
@I SURVIVED WWIII with IRAN lmao 😂
You seen them videos of the kid modifying grinders too.
Ŕ
7
L
As someone who considers myself a resourceful person in all aspects of life , I greatly appreciate this build!
+1
This is the first time I've been excited about my EVAP codes. Thank you ECG and the hands that did the work. Subscribed based on this alone.
If you take the $1000 smoke machine apart, you'll find a soldering iron, a bic pen, an old sock...
Ted Williams 😂
ROFLMAO! :-)
Yup
lol
Jesus Christ 😂😂😂
Superb. I made it even simpler, using the screws in the soldering iron handle to screw it to the jar top, and then attached an inflation needle to the bicycle pump hose and stuck it through a small hole in the top. The wick is just a small cotton strip tied to the heating end of the soldering iron and dipped in mineral oil, very serviceable for single use. The smoke generator quickly found a big vacuum leak the first time I used it. Thanks again.
My modification to your jar would be to use a valve stem from an old wheel...or a new stem that can be pushed into the lid and it would seal on its own, instead of using silicone.
One valve foi and one for out
You would still need epoxy to seal the soldering iron into the jar lid
MrEvilWasp
He’s referring to the air inlet only.
You can put an old valve stem in there and it would seal itself and you just hook your pump to the valve stem.
The hole would have to be precise for the valve stem seal cause it sometimes takes a lot of force to pop a valve stem into a wheel and pickle jar lids are not strong.
The hole would have to be larger than a hole in a wheel otherwise you’ll bend the crap out of the lid trying to get that stem in there.
It would melt u clowns. Lot of you! Valve stems are rubber fools!
@@javaidsadiq5775 Except for the metal ones, fool!
This is genius! Thank you so much. My car has been sitting in the shop for 3 months because the shop owner was too cheap to invest in a smoke machine. Now I can tow it out of there and do It myself. Thanks again.
OK, so I made one of these and it worked. Smoke came through the wiring on the soldering iron and I didn't realize my jar lid wasn't completely sealed, but it did well enough that I didn't have to tear my engine down again. THANK YOU!!!!
I just made one! Instead of using a bic pen I bought Vacuum connectors from Amazon for about $10 (assorted vacuum connectors, 65 pieces). I then drilled and glued two 1/4 vacuum connectors onto the jar lid. Theyre a perfect fit for my vinyl tubing and bike pump. I can also connect the other half of vinyl tubing to the connector instead of the bike pump and blow into it :)
This is the best DIY. smoke machine I have seen on RUclips, I hade thought of doing something with a soldering iron and this method is what I was looking for, very well done and thank you.
Finally found a good use for my cheap soldering iron. If you find one of those foot operated bicycle pumps that would work even better because you could step on it with your foot and pump while you lean over with both hands and look for leaks.
As dentist of 52 years I have been practicing " rigology" all that time to solve problems You're a genius........and a cheap one. Thanks, buddy...........
My vapor canister vent is buried behind and below fire wall (under battery tray). without your smoke machine I would never have been able to detect this leak!!! Thanx a ton "Code Guy."
Thank you so much for posting this, the soldering iron is genius!
You earn the MacGyver Award for ingenuity. Great job.
You probably didn't realize this but you just invented smoked pickles as well.
Awesome kit. I built this today and it showed 2 vacuum leaks that were causing a cel.
Thankyou very much you are a legend.
Where u buy that specific design of bic pen from? I cant find it anywhere
@@javaidsadiq5775 Wal-Mart
@@da324 No such place as wal mart in England. I built a better one anyway
@@javaidsadiq5775 Javaid? Is that you? Its me..
@@dr.yahyaelewa1628 Who's me? I don't think I know you
I built this same machine but just a little different... Works fantastic... Thank you.... I used a metal stem from a car wheel- and a barbed stem from an air line fitting. Cost me 9 bucks and I still have the pickles from the pickle jar. L.O.L.
Thank you for making the video. I modified the design to use tire valve stems for the inlet and outlet. They seem a little more secure in the lid. I also used a small air compressor with a tire inflator as the air supply. Anyway, this design worked great. I was able to find an exhaust leak in almost no time.
I made one of these and shared my results within a car group that I'm a member of.
A member there commented and made sure to tell me that a can of brake clean was the best way to find a vacuum leak.
I responded to him and asked "so what do you do for exhaust leaks?"
What type of hose did you use for the tire valve stem outlet?
@@straightshooterz You can use both Schrader stems by unscrewing the valves and soldering them.
Wow and I have to pay over $100 so that I can get my mechanic to do a smoke test for my vehicle you are a genius thank you so much for the wonderful idea thank God for that blessing idea that you have
I made one. On the very top of the soldering iron the smoke was coming out where the electrical wires were so I put some atv sealant there. Once you actually set up the pump and start to move things around the epoxy didn't hold up, maybe because the jar top is flimsy metal and I made my pen pieces slightly longer than this video. Other than that it does produce the smoke as desired. I had to convert to a smaller hose to test the evap system so you might need another size hose that fits tight inside the bigger hose. Also the soldering iron tip actually has to be touching the sock to produce the smoke.
did your sock burn? my sock is burning...wondering if my iron is too hot...or i didn't let it soak enough or what....
Great idea can build with things have laying around was going to buy one but you changed my mind thank you. The only change I'm going to do is use a aquarium pump for input air so that I can be hands free.
Nice idea
Bought a machine in the 90s. Man did that thing pay for itself quickly. Buy one or make one but get one if you do any mechanical and other things requiring finding leaks. Even used mine to find leaks in a a/c system several times.
When I made mine I wrapped the glass jar in clear shipping tape and wrapped the bottom in some 2" wide vinyl tape so when (not if) it hits the shop floor one day I won't be chasing so many shards.
My smoke machine is very simple and puts out a HUGE volume of smoke. I remove the muffler on my lawnmower and screw in a 1/2 inch water pipe nipple in its place. I run a hose to a vacuum port, wire the brake so the engine runs by itself, and with the air cleaner remove I squirt automatic transmission fluid into the carburetor. It makes a LOT of smoke!
I have seen this type of smoke machine previously but never with such a good explanation of how to build and use it. Thank you !!!
my god you're a genius
i often got smoking when cooking but before this video i got no idea. this is the best car equipment,thumb!
simplicity in life is best thing. thanks
This is it I won't keep looking is very ease to make it and you can make as many as you want if they break Thank you
Excellent. Have watch several videos on making one at home. E bay sells several paint can ones for almost 80 dollars that does not produce this much smoke. Great Job and thanks immensely. Big Thumbs Up on clarity, camera and construction.
I just made one and it works great on the table. Now to head out to the shop on hook it up to the car. I hope I have vacuum leaks, can fix them, and my car will finally run well. Thank you.
I can hear the satisfaction of the bic pen fitting the bicycle pump in his voice lol
Annabelle Wolfgang he seemed very excited about it!
Love it other people on here have been saying that you need compressed air to do it but this idea of using a bike pump has been going through my mind for some time and using an old soldering iron for the heat is spot on all I need now is a glass gar and I am on my way.
There's no need to look into this Any further, you just saved me from having to use cigars for this.
Me too. And i don't even smole.
I started smoking because I only used cigars lol
@@Tugboatpb
Got a light ??
awesome idea as long as your soldering iron doesn't leak air from where the cord attaches to the handle..
Damn!!! Talk abt saving money and time, building my own smoke machine...THANKS BRO!!!
I turned my VW diesel into an automotive smoke machine.
Worked great on tailgaters.
There are other on the tube, but your is the most detailed, and going straight to the point
I already had all this stuff lying around the house! WOW!
I'm pretty sure I have some old pickles in the fridge. I'm excited to find this damn leak in the evap on my jeep. Replaced gas cap, esim module and I'm like this is stupid I need smoke. Thank you so much this is PERFECT.
Just burn pickles instead
I used your basic design,but for some reason it was not working... i ended up cutting approx 1/3 strip of cotton sock soaked in mineral oil and rapped it around the entire solder iron metal and wrapped wire around it to hold... then in less than 5 mins i had all kinds of smoke...worked fantastic... i will never have a problem finding an exhaust leak of any kind again... mine cost me $4 to make seeing all i had to buy is a solder iron...oh yes and a life time 16oz bottle of mineral oil from walmart for $2... Also lid does not get hot anymore... Its AWESOME!PS i use a larger pickle jar 44oz makes a lot of smoke! Thanks
Absolutely genius.
WOW,,, what a superb idea, save a ton of money,,as the old saying goes, 'there's no smoke without a fire' 🙂👍 Thank you for posting this video,and sharing your idea's ,,,😇 Bless
Just made mine... worked well, found my vac leak... not happy about where the leak is BUT am still smiling that I found it! Thanks
I used an old pickle jar two valve stems and a soldering iron took about 10 minutes to make
Best example i have seen yet...
Comments 666...figured i would change that lol. This is pretty useful. Helped me find a vaccuum leak in my jeep I've been bvb chasing down for a while now. Come to find out the leak was in the cabin in the hvac system. Took me ten min to find it. Thank you!.
You saved me hundreds and a major migraine lol. Thank you. I just made one. Waiting for the epoxy to dry now 24hrs I gotta wait. I used the same epoxy since I had some already as well
Brilliant ! thanks for that I’ve a vacuum leak somewhere proving difficult to see/find and didn’t want to buy something I’ll probably /hopefully only use once 😂
Simplicity & Effectiveness
Viola.. honoring an OSCAR to you Sir. You are talented and highly skilled. All HATS LIFT UP for you Sir. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
This is a fantastic idea!! I’m totally stealing it and claiming I came up with it!!
This is the best diy smoke machine video on RUclips!
I’m glad u talked slow I would have never understood u but it looked like a good idea
after i watched this 10 minutes later i have one built using 2 rubber valve stems cores removed same size jar and a switched hand held wood burner, 2 socks and mineral oil, bike pump, works amazeing! Thankyou!
I skipped the soldering iron and used some paper towels with a little motor oil. I lit it with a match and put the lid on. I had a hand pump similar to a bike pump and the setup worked well enough for me to locate my vacuum leak.
If you don't care about the smell. I'm doing an indoor project (non-automotive) and need smoke that is less harmful.
Very simple clever tool. I will gather parts to build one. It will come in handy. Thanks!!!
Thanks for this. Saved a bunch of time and money. Didn't work at first with a sock, thinking not 100% cotton but some polyester or ?. Cut an old 100% cotton t-shirt into a large section and worked fine. BTW.. mineral oil is baby oil without the fragrance. Super cheap at CVS, etc. Also, didn't work at first as packed the material around the iron too tightly, works best when loose for airflow. Also just blew into hose vs pump. But when it started going after :15 or so, it was awesome!
Thank you for taking the time to out of your busy schedule to share this with us.
Absolutely brilliant.by far the best video on youtube.thankyou for posting .
Steve from the uk
Best affordable diy machine on youtube.
so i made one of these a month ago and today i tested it and it worked like a champ. the top get hot and i used an aquarium 12 volt dc pump from ebay but then switched to my compressor. but i think the dc pump would have worked as i had it connected to the car and there was a schrader valve in the way i did not see at first. but thanks for your easy to make machine. it did the job perfect. i did not use the bic pen i got some fitting from lowes and some clear tubing 4 sizes so i had enough to make connections to the car. great job
Thanks for the feedback on how the smoke machine worked out for you. I like the idea of an aquarium pump. Did it seem to give enough air volume into the system to find the leak? How hot did the top of the lid to get, Did It start melting the vinyl tube? The soldering iron that I worked with had a plastic handle that I was able to make sure it did not touch the metal lid. Do you think the Soldering iron was too close to the metal lid? Thanks again for your comments.
You are the BESSSSSSSSTTTTTTTT.
..WOW.....SIMPLE JUST ORDERED MY IRON...AND HEY THAT'S ALL I WAS MISSING 10 BUCKS WILL ARRIVE 12-16-2021
I found a leaky vacuum line by using a electronic cigarette worked like a charm
Thanks for the how-to. I'll use your product referals. I recommend linking the epoxy and tubing as well.
Can't burn the sock, still need to use it to go to the fancy restaurant. I put more oil okay
I was going to buy a party fog machine and try to build my own leak detector but after watching this I just need to go to harbor freight and buy a cheap soldering iron and tubing. Maby find a bicycle pump at goodwill. Good info.
The best Diy smoke machine i've seen 👍
I was using a $7 harbor freight transfer pump with a cigar to find a vacuum leak. When I took the water injector out of the charge pipe to swap it, the thing was gunked up with tar shit. I like diy and this is a good solution but Smoke Pencil is $35. No assembly or confiscating a soldering iron.
I have a collection of old soldering irons. I'll be doing this. I just fixed a P0159 caused by a leaking EGR tube gasket. Could have used this. I used a vacuum as a blower to pressurise the exhaust system and then skurted soapy water everywhere. A smoke machine would have been easier. Best of all, the fix was nothing more than replacing two severely eroded nuts that were so far gone the tube's gasket was no longer compressed.
Dude thank you I was about to spend 150 bucks or more because some other you tuber had some dyi smoking machine and like 20 items that totaled over 150 not including the air compressor lol
The price that some places want for these smoke machines is absolutely insane!! Snap-on has one that is $1,000 plus tax!! That is the top top of the line one but my God! You would think that it shot gold dust out of the hose or something. A shop that needed to use one day in and day out that I can see plus it's a tax write-off. But for the rest of us that only would use it few times a month if that, this is perfect! I have a small battery operated fan I robbed from an air mattress that I was not sure why or what I was gunna use it on but I know we're it's new home will be now!! I figured using the electronic fan so if checking EVAP systems u can click it on and go all throughout the car and not have to pump it and it will push smoke through any leak consistently. Way cool my man, thank you for the video!! :)
👍
Big budget savings. Thanks for tips. 🖒
I made this too. I was able to just plow the smoke in and watch my nitrile glove inflate. Which is sealing the smoke inside the intake throat . which is by the air snorkel.
I only found smoke if I take the oil cap off.
On a 2002 buick lesabre.
Then, you have no leaks by your intake.
I was thinking about buying a smoke machine, but after watching your video im definitely gonna make one myself.thanks for sharing your idea with everyone ...keep up the good work
👍
Dude your a life saver
This guy is the real MVP right here 💯
The simplicity of this is absolutely amazing! I am going to build one. My daughter and I are dealing with a situation now that this should be very beneficial.
This one is the best on youtube
Just get an old Japanese four banger that some young kid spent the last three years over reving the engine and get it hot and dump oil over it. Smoke supreme :O)
Awesome video bro. Simplest, cheapest most effective one I've seen so far.
You are a genius!
Amazing! I’ve had an evap leak in our car for the last month or two and my mechanic is throwing darts replacing parts since he doesn’t have a smoke machine to properly diagnose. This well done tutorial has inspired me to take matters into my own hands, i’m heading to the store to grab some things and try this out this weekend?
Does the job , it's all about spoke and a bit pressure , great idea 👍👍👍👍👍
You gave the best instructions to make a smoke machine that I've found online. Thanks!
Good video detailed instruction simple I'm very impressive keep up a good well make one myself handy and inexpensive thank you again
What a GREAT idea! I wish I would have watched this sooner. It would have made finding an evap leak so much easier & faster. Thanks for the video. I'm going to make one today.
Where would you hook it up to to test for evap leak
@@siktwistofFATE89 look for a rubber line that goes to the charcoal canister. Each vehicle will differ. If you can find an evap diagram for your vehicle, that will help you out.
@@kylejohnson3382 thanks bro I ended up hooking up into the hose that goes into the engine I was going to work my way forward to back and found my purge valve solenoid was bad.and that was after I replaced my vent solenoid on my charcoal canister which was a bitch to do I had to drop my gas tank to access it.lol but all is good now knock on wood.
so i made one but have not tested it on a car yet but so far it looks like it will do the job. i connected it to my compressor that has a regulator on it and i can control the air down to nothing. thanks a bunch for sharing this tip.
Nirvana .... thanks much .... fast cheap and works great ....
I love this, Macgyver's got nothing on you. My '04 545i has evap trouble and this just might save me over a thousand bucks. Thanks!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It is kind of funny that the pickle jar and a BIC pen can be so useful. If you do end up building one please let me know how it worked out for you. If you have any improvements please let me know, this info will help us all out. A system doesn't have to be expensive to be effective. Thanks for the comment
Wow thank you i reckoned the home built do it yourself style way to find an evap leak on my 06 chev silverado but this was a huge help thank you! You just got yourself another subscriber.I seen some other interesting thumb nails im exited to watch. You know I've been working on cars and trucks for 34 years and i always keep learning new stuff mostly through reading books/manuals and now recently on internet.I live in a rural area where there's not alot of people around or available to ask or work with so this is a real blessing for me.Thanks again.
Great idea. I’m going to make one just like it to try to find a vacuum leak.
I was thinking of how to use a holloween smoke machine and my leak down tester to rig up something. This will help me figure out how to use the two items together. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks so much for posting this. I have a vacuum leak that is avoiding discovery at all costs and this should be the ticket. thumbs up bro
The pump pressure needs to be smoothed and controlled, specifically for the EVAP system. If you go above 0.5 psi pressure to test EVAP system, you run the risk of ruining the pressure sensor in that system.
Where would I hook it up to test my evap leak
Excellent Clip. Very inexpensive for do it yourself guy. Thank you very much.
Unbelievable!?!? What a project!?!? One smart dude
Smart!
I didn't want to spend big bucks on one.
I think I will use valve stems with the core removed and upgrade to a battery powered fish tank pump but this is great, thanks for the inspiration.
I agree with the fish tank pump, only because I'll be working on the vehicle by myself.
Absolutely BRILLIANT !!!!
Out of all the things I thought about making I never came up with this idea Shear genius