[SML] Fire Units

[James Alderson]

Matthew wrote:

> So at this point I'd like to ask for recommendations for a good fire
> circuit design which I can vary the intensity on via good ol-fashioned
> dimming.
> 
> The fire is going to be at the bottom of a trash can. No one needs to be
> able to see the flame. It is the motivating source for the entire scene
> when it is on, so it needs some punch.


There’s always ye olde fashion florescent starter fire effect, which has been around for ages. It’s just a three-fer, but two legs have an amber incandescent lamp wired in series with an old fashion FS-2 florescent starter (most other starter types won’t work, different operating principle). The third leg is a constant. The starters cause their lamps to flicker erratically. As real fires almost never blink completely out, the third circuit provides base illumination. The starter was for really old-style 15 w. florescent tubes. You can still find FS-2 starters and replacement starter sockets on line if your local electrical supplier doesn’t carry them. It’s really very simple to build. II bought the starter sockets that did not include the tombstone lamp base. You only want the starter in the circuit and would have to bypass the lamp contacts.

Being incandescent, you can dim the effect down or out with any standard dimmer. The lamps fade and the flicker speed slows. I use 25w. or 40 w. lamps, which are usually bright enough for my purposes. Higher wattage lamps are brighter but flicker faster, often unrealistically fast. The effects looks good enough that I once had a patron come up after a show in a thrust theatre because she was SURE she’d seen actual flames.

I’ve attached a simple diagram. Let’s see if this works.

Mick Alderson
TD, Fredric March Theatre
Univ. of Wis. Oshkosh

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