Building an updated static grass applicator, with more power!
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- Please consider supporting me on Patreon - / steamgeezer
In a previous video, we built a small static grass applicator for our diorama project. Today at Badgerworks, we build a bigger, more powerful applicator for covering larger areas.
Previous build - • Diorama Build 1 of 4 -...
Music:
The SteamGeezer Shuffle - Agricultural Light & Magic
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Awesome! Thanks for sharing this.
Guy this thing is huge!
As the art mistress said to the gardener... Stop laughing at the back... ;-)
I really like your handle solution. Keeps everything small and ergomnomic! Your build is very good, but I have seen several videos and comments online stating that you should put the red lead on the back edge of your grass hopper, similar to how the Woodland Scenics Static King is built. Supposedly this makes the grass work better (although I saw comparison video where they gave the same result, in both configurations). Regardless, from a safety perspective, it keeps the live lead back inside so you won't get shocked by touching the screen like you do on your version.
Oh I dare say there's better ways to do it, I'm just trying to give people an idea. that's all 🙂
@@SteamGeezerUK why dont you ues one of the splash mesh wot you put over your frying pan, eysere to cut and better to ues,
@@JohnHomer-cd6ts I do use them quite often. I use whatever I can get hold of cheaply 🙂
OMG wow Awesome
Thanks :-)
I purchased a manufactured static applicator for my model train layout. Upon using it with various sizes of static grass - it didn’t work well - most of the grass ended up in a flat pile.
Then I noticed that the red wire of the HV generator was only connected to the plastic grass container with no direct connection to the metal grid except through the plastic?
I added a wire from the red HV generator terminal to the mesh like in your video - now it works!
I checked the manufacturer’s website and they have different sized meshes that screw onto the static grass storage area - but no wires to the mesh.
Guess that keeps the lawyers happy. But the product as manufactured doesn’t seem to work! Thanks for your video - my applicator now works well.
Glad to help :-)
You sir seems to have knowledge to the question, I'm seeking answer for. So my problem is, I bought a gras master 2 applicator from some shop on ebay, it was used, but looked pristine. It works, but obviously missing the oomph. The grass kinda stand, but 6 mil and up... It's just not what I can see on videos, half of the straws are laying on top of those, which kinda stands upward, so something is definitely wrong. I tried to shorter the chamber capacity, creating a disc covered in tin foil, with screw in the middle, to extend the wire at the bottom of hopper, but that didn't done much. Effect is super visible, when I'm trying to do tuffs, or layer the grass, the density is poor, it lays horizontally mostly... I'm kinda desperate at this point. I bought new 9V battery, supposedly industrial grade, and problem is still there. So, do You have any idea, what I can do, to bring it back to life? I have spent quite a penny for it, and would be a shame to ditch it like that. I have 11,1V batteries at hand, around 1200mah, and wonder, if I replace this tiny 9V for one of these, would it solve the problem, or just burn the thing down, damaging it permanently? Thanks from ahead, hope You can help me ;)
Hi great video, I am wondering how it's performing now and how the smaller unit worked for you, do you still use it, your opinion and observations would be greatly appreciated, also for the larger unit how many amps was the 12v power supply. best regards John
I haven't actually used it much recently, but the last time I did I used the larger one to cover a board about 50cm square for my daughter to play with, and the smaller one I used for a couple of miniature bases. They both still work just fine. The power supply in all cases was a 12v LiPo battery with a maximum output of 1.2A, but these things really draw tiny amounts of power - it's all volts and very little amperage.
How close do you need to be to generate the static to the work piece.
hi this is one cracking video, and it prompted me to ask a couple of questions, first where did you get the generator from have seen some on Ebay but just want to make sure i get the right one and second do you think that I would be overpowering unit if I made the tip of the dispenser if I made it the size of around 1cm for close in work. I haven't come up with the design yet but am looking for parts i could use and was thinking of having multiple sized dispensers with the same gen. your ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks
If you watch the linked video, I made that one first, for doing small areas. The dispenser is a 25ml test tube. I cut a hole in the screw on cap and added a small piece of mesh.. I see no reason why you couldn't do the same and have a means of connecting the cap and wiring. The handle is 28mm PVC pipe and the end caps are blanking plugs attached with screws - it only takes a moment to take the end cap off, and I imagine you could use a terminal block or a couple of connectors to connect the wires - just make sure it's switched off or you'll get a shock :-)
The generator in this one is 20000v, in the smaller one it's 6000v. The 20kv works way better, but it's much bigger, hence why I attached it to the outside of the tube. Both of them came from ebay.
ruclips.net/video/sw5P886fKy8/видео.html
@@SteamGeezerUKTraders. thanks for that, in the end, I got some 42mm PVC pipe and placed the gen inside with the wiring to roughly match yours but without the battery as I already have a battery powered one. I also got some screw ends for this pipe and have built multiple ends with different diameters to be able to get in close or cover large areas depending which I'm using. (I just wish more tutorials where as clear as yours)
Thanks
Sounds great. I'm glad it worked out for you, thanks for keeping us updated with your progress. I'm tempted to do the same now, because I only have four applicators so surely I need at least one more, right? :-)
Nice vid.
That glue looks impressive, but good for only 2 application / sessions. Wouldn't hot glue work fine for the mesh?
You could use hot glue, certainly.
Hi there ! Awesome machines! I just wondering if you have any advice how to build a very tiny smoke generator for H0 size model trains. Trainz don't have big space inside as the motor and decoder occupies most of the space, but maybe there is a way to make a tiny tank with a small voltage generator to forget the smelly oil. I just looked for foggers, atomizers but most of them are big and high voltage needs to turn on (and has no tank to fill). Also I am curious if possible to create a tiny one in DC and AC. Many thanks in advance! And keep up the good work!
Hi, I've made some tiny smoke machines in the past that run on USB power. I would suggest having a look at the following video and then, if you have any questions, let me know - ruclips.net/video/X9ZnzoizvDo/видео.html
SteamGeezer and Son Independent Traders many thanks! Now I just need to calculate the real size of the box to fit into the train and a smaller size of battery. :)
@@peterhernadi6490 Good luck with it. Let us know how it turns out :-)
I like the plastic container... I have not seen them in the US.
I usually find them in supermarkets. Try somewhere like Walmart or the Dollar Store.
Excellent video - I'm wanting to build one but...One question comes to mind - how is the fourth wire connected? Yes, I know the battery connections are red=+12v and black=0v and the thick red=+HV - but it's the other high voltage wire I'm unsure of, the one that connects to the baseboard/glue. The previous video only had the three wires - simple! On this model does the -HV black wire get connected to the battery 0v as well as the glue or are the two black wires kept separate?
Thanks for watching. The high voltage live wire gets connected to the mesh on the dispenser. The black wire on the HV side is the earth. In the previous video, the generator only had one earth wire so I had to splice that wire to make the ground - this one has two, one at each end, so the earth on the HV side is used to ground the device and the live energises the mesh. I hope this clears it up for you.
Many thanks for that. Now to get it built up!
Good luck with your build. If you have any more comments or questions, please feel free to ask.
Hi, it was awesome, i have question in mind, is the red cable for positive HV? then the black one is negative and make it as a ground cable? thank you very much
Yes, the red is live and the black is ground. I don't think it really matters which way around you have them though. Thanks for watching :-)
I thought about making the updated applicator but I know my hands could not do all the fiddly work, have you thought about selling them and if so How much would you charge? Kev.
I don't sell them no, sorry. In order to make it worthwhile I'd have to sell them for about the same price or more as the commercially available ones, and they come with warranty and usually some grass too. They can make them cheaper than I can because they're making thousands of them. Have a look on Amazon and ebay - there are some nice ones at a variety of prices, just check the reviews before ordering :-)
Does the polarity of the 12v dc power supply matter?
I don't think so, because you're just creating an open circuit to generate a static field between the two poles, but I tend to stick with red for positive and black for negative just as a precaution.
First compliment... I am searching and searching and i can tell that your video is the best on youtube regarding powerfull static applicator. The applicator i want yo buy costs 255 euro it is 55kv output and without your video i was ready to pay... Now the question: in the "description below" you pasted the components for a smoking machine... I cant search the stuff thst convert electricity if i dont know the exact name... So... Can you put the complete list of components please and correct the description?
So I made one of these, looks like I purchased the same unit from china [E-Bay] attached a 12 volt DC supply..and nothing happened ???? [not getting that high voltage spark..
Looks like the unit is U/S ????? [not working]....It was getting a bit warm....Any comments/help. please
regards
Peter Clare
You might need to get the wires quite close to get them to actually spark. Be careful doing this as it is possible to electrocute yourself... If you still get no spark, you might have a defective unit.
Can I ask what does giving it more power allow you to do ? And what does it affect
It increases the static charge, making the applicator more effective on larger areas.
I use this same module... it is good up to 12vdc converted to about 20kv. I can flock with fibers up to 10 mm... they stand up like soldiers! Modules with a lower KV output will not cause longer fibers to stand up.
Where did you get a 20Kv transformer?
It came from ebay. If you search for "negative ion generator" you should find them.
You used the thick black wire of the ion generator as probe?
Yes. You place the negative wire on the part you want to cover, and that creates the static charge.
@@SteamGeezerUK i built one and worked well but i noticed that a lot of static grass kind of got stuck in the mesh, it attracted to the superfice with glue but they got stuck in the mesh. I'm not using a good quality stati grass in the fact i'm using a homemade static grass with sisal, this problem could be because the sisal or maybe the size of the mesh?
It might be the size of the mesh, but some will get stuck anyway. I've had the same thing with mine - I think it's just something you might have to live with@@joaocarlosdias537
@@SteamGeezerUK yeah, i will try another mesh. Thanks man
You're welcome. Let us know how it turns out @@joaocarlosdias537
Hi I tried searching for one of these Static Generator Parts the High Voltage bit, no joy what should I be looking for or ca n you do a link please? JonD
There's one here on Amazon. You might be able to find a similar one a little cheaper elsewhere but you might have to wait for it to come from China...
amzn.to/2Nu0AEP
Ebay...
How much current does it produce
The current is absolutely tiny, measured in low milliamps at most. The voltage is high, but the current is very, very low. I must confess I have zapped myself with this a couple of times and, while it stings a bit, it's not dangerous :-)
@@SteamGeezerUK thanks I was wanting to build a static electricity generator that I can hook up to myself just wondering if its safe or not im working Cockcroft-Walton Voltage multiplier built onto a electric fly rackets circuit board with everything cut at the front of the transformer and then on the outputs of the transformer make the voltage multiplier then 1 wire is ground and the orher is attached to my leg with ground connected to the bottom of my shoes and to the outer casing of the battery so it doesnt shock me and a momentary switch inside of my shoe so I can trn it on and off with my big toe
@@ChefGL1TCH As I said, I've zapped myself a few times with it, but I can't say whether what you might make would be safe or not, really. I don't know if you have any medical conditions that might make you more vulnerable to electric shocks or anything.
Personally, I'd avoid strapping something to myself that carried a large amount of electricity.
Damn you make and sell these.
I don't, I'm afraid. I couldn't compete with the prices the manufacturers charge, hence why I made the video so folks can make their own :-)
@@SteamGeezerUK Really? The crappy ones are like 50 bucks, but the better ones are upwards of 300-400 dollars, you mean you couldn't beat that price?
the video is rather interesting, but lord id sure like to view whatever was going on in the next room over.
That thing can give you a heart attack .
Possibly if you have a pacemaker, but even then it's unlikely. While the voltage is high, the amps are so low as to be almost non-existent. As an electrician will tell you - it's not the volts that get you, but the amps.
Great video. What was all the yelling, around 10 minutes in. 😳
The kids playing in the garden :-)
Lol OK that makes sense. When I was watching it I didn't realize it was coming from the TV for a while. I kept pausing the video and listening. Thinking it was someone outside my house or in the neighbors backyard. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out it was the TV.
i bought a tranfomer to make one of these applicator but I have notices that the output probes are the same color.. so , does polarty matter¿¿ can I just connect to the metallic mesh any of the two cables¿¿ or it has to be the possitive one¿
Excuse my poor English
Please answer my question
What question was that, sorry?
www.google.com/amp/s/m.tokopedia.com/amp/murmerstorecrb/negative-ion-generator-anion-generator-ionizer
I bought this one, as u see there is a two white wires output..my question is which wire should i put on to the mesh and which wire to the ground. Please help me brother :)
Help me please sir
@@dellamardatanjung6891 I don't think it matters which one you use, as long as one is touching the mesh and you use the other as the ground. I hope that helps.
SteamGeezer and Son Independent Traders one more question, i have power supply dc 12v 1A and the switch button 12v 30A.. Is it will work or nah? Thankyou bro
Personally..
I use a balloon or a piece of PVC pipe.