How do you create smoke without a fire?

Question

I want to build a miniature volcano in the middle of my model railways. I thought it would be great if I could have a little bit of smoke coming out of it.
Keep in mind that this is inside my house. So it must be non-toxic and the smoke should be kept to a minimum.
It should also be practical, so that it can be turned on and off.

While the concept of steam looks good, there is the concern that it might create condensation in the room... which could result in the rail track going rusty.

Answer 1

I would recommend getting one of those smoke machines. It will produce a lot of smoke, but you'll be able to turn it on and off, and the smoke is non-toxic. Volcanoes, of course, produce a lot of smoke, so it will be realistic.

For example, get the regular sized version of the smoke machine, hook a hose up to the volcano, and install ports for the smoke to come out. That way the smoke is coming out from the volcano and looks as real as possible. Good luck!

Answer 2

(-: I was going to say, you can't have smoke without fire!

Dry ice would be hard to keep on hand, but if you want a volcano only for special occasions, it would work very well. Simply hide a little bowl of water under your volcano, and drop a chip of dry ice down the mouth whenever you want the smoke (and cool "boiling" effects, too!).

Or, make your volcano so you can lift it on and off, and make sure it is relatively fireproof (bakeable clay might be a good choice). Have it hollow enough that you can stick a cone of incense underneath the volcano. You'll also want a metal tray. And constant supervision! You can snuff it out (and put it in an ashtray or even in a bucket of water for total safety) when you are done.

A messy way would be to rig up some cornstarch and a little puffer-squeeze bulb apparatus under the volcano. You'd have to clean it up every so often, I think, but maybe the layers of cornstarch would look like ash on your volcano.

Good luck!

Answer 3

i know 1 way............ it would make steam but that is O.K. rite?
it looks the same, any way just put a small,hot little bowl inside your "project" and every once in a while just pour some cold water into it and WALLA a smoke (steam) volcano!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

i would look into using something like a fog machine, a\amybe in a mini version. i've got a table top fogger i got at an after halloween sale

Answer 5

dry ice or a fog machine are probobly a good solution. liquid nitrogen would work well too hahahaha

Answer 6

I was thinking maybe dry ice but you can't really turn it off and on

Answer 7

try the old vinigar baking soda trick..
or try this
http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/volcano.html
it might make a mess but it gives you some smoke