Thread: Speeder's Faux Flaming Cauldron

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This is my first how-to and due to the many requests for it here is Speeder's Faux Flaming Cauldron how-to.

Materials:

1 Lasko pivoting fan (or any utility or squirrel cage fan DON'T use a floor or round oscillating fan - it will not work like you want it to)



3 1 watt LED spotlights (2 orange and 1 red - or equivalent) I used the following http://www.oznium.com/home-led-spot-light
I tried regular LED's but they didn't have enough Lumens so I went with the expensive spots.



1 12v transformer - purchased from goodwill for $2

2 small wire nuts

1 package of small Velcro patches

2 yards of silk like (only needs to be lightweight) material - I purchased from Wal-Mart

3 small binder clips - office depot

1 roll of duck tape - Lowes

2-3 feet of 14g or so solid copper wire - I purchased from the oops bin at Lowes

Step 1:

wire nut your 3 LED lights together and to your transformer with your wire nuts like so



Step 2:

Drill a small hole on either side of the shroud that is on the output side of the fan. Make it just big enough to put the wire through and then twist it around the wire itself to hold it. You want to leave enough room so that the wire sits slightly above the shroud and not supper tight where you can't work with it. It is ok if it moves slightly back and forth.



Step 3:

Cut your silk according to which template you like. I did a Google search for silk flame templates and replacement silk flame until I found one that worked for me. There is no right or wrong design just as long as you don't make it too tall for the fan to blow it up or too wide to where to fan will not blow it out at an angle. I taped 8 1/2 sheets of paper together and used what little artistic ability I had and made a template which I cut out and used on the silk to trace around. I recommend doing it this way in case you want to make more than one and/or you have to trim it down. Make sure that both sides of the flame are the same. Meaning make sure your stencil is the same on both sides before you trace it on the silk. You can ensure this by folding the stencil in half and then cut it. The one thing you must ensure is that the bottom of the silk flame is the same width as the piece of wire. Your stencil will need to go up and out at an angle away from the securing point like the following so it just isn't narrow all the way up.

http://www.discosuperstore.co.uk/cat...ame/flam03.jpg

Step 4:

Attach a piece of duck tape the length of the wire with the sticky side facing up and the wire sitting in the middle of the sticky side. So put in under the wire with the sticky side facing up at you. DON'T FOLD IT - YET!! Place the bottom of the silk flame cut-out on ONE side of the duck tape and touching the wire and then fold the other side around the wire and onto the other side of the silk flame. You are sandwiching the silk flame and the wire with your duck tape. If you own a sewing machine you can sew a small pocket on the bottom and slide the wire through before you tie the second wire through the fan shroud. I will probably do this to clean the look up. If you decide to use only duck tape this is where you add the binder clips as shown in the picture above to ensure it will hold to the silk flame to the wire. You don't have to worry about the cosmetic look where the silk flame is attached because it will be hidden in the bowl, column, box or where ever the flame unit will sit. For the cauldron I used one half of a 45-55 gallon food grade polly drum (or barrel) that had pickles or olives in it. You can pick those up on craigslist or at your local feed store for around $20. I cut it in half and used one side for each cauldron.



Step 5:

Place the Velcro like the picture below. I doesn't matter which way you secure the Velcro just as long as you have 1 male Velcro piece on the fan body and 1 female Velcro piece on the bottom of the spotlight or vice-versa.



And here is a daytime video of the faux flame unit in operation:

http://s440.photobucket.com/albums/q...Howtovideo.mp4

Plug in your fan to an outlet and your LED transformer into the side of the fan like below or the outlet your fan is plugged into if your fan doesn't have a receptacle like mine does.





Now if you used a polly barrel like I did make sure you cut a hole big enough for the plug to fit through in the back and slide your chord through. I used a wood bit so the hole was symmetrical but a dremmel of rotozip will work fine.

For the stand you can let you curiosity run. You can use PVC pipe, wood, plant holder, weld some random stuff together, foam panel (blue or pink) or do what I did and purchase the following:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_163832-58490-C052533_0_?productId=1217049&Ntt=%204%20arm&Ntk=i_ products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=%204%20arm

I modified it by cutting the bottom 2 arms holder brackets off and re-welding them at the same level as the top 2. This ensures that the barrel sits evenly on the top of the stand. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the welding but will try to update with one tomorrow.

Here is a daytime shot of the flaming cauldron sitting on top of the stand:



The changes I'm making to the flaming cauldrons this year is that I'm building a column for each and setting them on top of those columns and plumbing 2" PVC pipe in the back of them so I can use 2 brand new V-950 continuous foggers to give it an added dimension.

If I missed something please ask and I'll try to provide the answer for you.


Good Luck- SPEEDER

I have a question. Can you do a how-to on how you made that tree in your yard? hehe

Ok, real question. How noisy are those fans?

HAHA...I got very lucky with the tree. We bought the house almost 3 years ago and this year I will make it my focal point. Regarding the fans they are surprisingly quiet. The are way more quiet than a oscilating fan.

I am surprised, I expected you to say they were pretty noisy. What brand and model are they?

Yeah! I squeaked when I saw your how-to up on the forum. I was so hoping you were going to make a tutorial on this. BOOKMARKED! and thank you

I was excited to see the how to on the flames up here also.... Now to get a second job so I can make one. or two if I get overtime...
Great prop man!!!! Whole yard is AWESOME!!!!

I too was hoping for a tut after seeing them in your setup...and here it is. I think your flames rival the best I've seen. Bookmarked and listed in "things to do". Thanks.

Your tree is awesome. Must have been there before the house. (Oak?) Cherish it.

Sorry for the late replies I've been on vacation and just now back at work to check. Regarding the fans I've updated my fans and set up to make it look a lot cleaner. I will change post shortly. The new model # of the fan is http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...26tbs%3Disch:1
I went with a bigger blower so I can use a bigger piece of silk. I went with a 6 foot long piece and this new fans blows it nicely.

Regarding the tree, yes it is oak and I'm trying to make it the focul point of my halloween display. I will be adding a spooky face on it and lots of LED pillar candles hanging from the branches...I also like to look of candles in jars but we will see.

OKay, I'm thinking of doing this effect in my Halloween display this year. I need a continuous fire effect for a crashed speedboat with an engine fire and I think this is the best method I've seen yet. Were there any problems using the Oznium LEDs in this prop? I'm wondering if I should make my own 1 W LEDs to save money?