--Keep in mind that brass pipe can crack. I'd suggest you switch to either steel pipe (aka 'black iron pipe') or go with flare fittings and copper tubing. If there's a situation where you'll get excessive vibration, as in an art car, take precautions.

I used a standard bbq size can for an eight -10 hr evening on a large pilot. But that was without bursts. We didnt get to the burst stage yet. This next year we will.

While you have more power to work with in a 110v system, that is not always practical in the field. It would require a generator or line current. 12v will work fine if the ID of the vavle is large enough. A check valve is not required. The flammability range of propane is rather narrow. The biggest problem is using the propane at a rapid rate. The tank will freeze, causing pressure drop and the size of the effect will decrease. As far as a pilot light, you can tap off of your main propane tank and run a small (1/4") line to the exit point of your flame effect. With a small valve you can control the size of the pilot light. You could also do this with a small propane cylinder. At the end of the copper line, wrap it with STAINLESS steel wool. This will assist in keeping the wind and the discharge from you effect from blowing out the pilot light. Simple and effective. The 1/4 turn ball valve does nothing more that turn off the flow of propane from the source to the accumulator.

I have seen others with a seprate 5gal tank that goes to the pilot light... a complete seprate circuit... in fact it was just a propane tourch size tank... with a weed burner on the end....

you ARE connected to the main tank the way the diagram is shown....
and the pressure in the main tank will not drop until your out of liquid propane..



here is why the accumulator is needed.

lets say you have a LPG tank thats 7/8 full of LIQUID propane... 1/8 is gas at the top.

if you ran that straight to a exit pipe the gas would burn off quickly and you would have a small puff....

by supplying a completely empty container to "absorb" large quanitys of gas then you have a bigger supply of gas for the puff.

the generation of the gas is automatic... as the pressure of the liquid goes down "you use up gas" the Liquid propane turns in to a gas building the pressure back up (the tank gets real cold during this process) and quits when the pressures equal....

also this might be the time to mention about the solenoid... it can be a 12v one... but people have said the 120v one is quicker and you you get a better effect if you can open the valve faster....

my .04cents worth...

I think that the idea with this system is that the regulator acts as a buffer (capacitance if you will) and is able to keep the pilot burning during the brief period of time when the pressure is drained from the expansion tank. Also, the small feed line that replenishes the expansion tank should allow for enough back pressure to keep the pilot lit. I know the DSC guys use this system and I am not sure if they have even had problems with the flame going out. Maybe that is a good question for them. They should be at the Crucible this weekend.

Captain Chuck
Inspiratum 2008