I have managed to build a 12V DC constant spark ignition for the fire-breathing dragon. It works very well except for the noise; it is surprisingly noisy, and I am not sure it will be suitable now. I thought the relay would be the noisy part and that I could easily soundproof that. But no, it is the spark itself as it jumps across the gap. I tried fitting it inside the pipe just after the oxygen inlet like they do on the MAPP gas torches, but it wouldn't ignite the gas as there is not enough oxygen in there. I tried drilling more holes, but that didn't work either, and it is not that much quieter either. I have also looked at HSI's hot surface ignitors, but they are rather big and very fragile. If I could hide one in the dragon's mouth, would it survive the weather? I think, as they are so brittle, that if it got rained on when hot, it would crack and shatter very quickly.
I have also been ringing around trying to find people in the know about this sort of thing.
I have spoken to some special effects people, but for them to make me the electronics for this, we are talking £telephone £numbers, and to get it CE approved would be possible but again hundreds of thousands of pounds, so well out of my budget.
I did get to speak to a guy called Kevin England who said he could build me a system for about £15,000.00 to £20,000.00, which is still way too expensive. He did, however, give me some great advice and a few pointers in the right direction. He also suggested that as it was a sculpture and not an installation like a gas cooker, I should be able to sell it with a risk assessment and a health and safety statement.
I will need to do some research on this. I am sculpting the dragon, and it will be a fire-breathing dragon. Maybe it goes up for sale without the fire, maybe with the fire, time will tell.
