Homemade smoke machine for vacuum leaks using incense. No baby oil needed. Pics included

I was able to cobble this together from stuff I had on hand except for 10 feet of 1/4 inch ID vinyl tubing from HD. I broke the incense in half so they would fit in the jar and wrapped about 12-16 sticks with thread. The plastic bottle fit snugly into the intake hose disconnected from the air filter housing and the hose clamp grabbed firmly. The fitting on the intake end of this contraption accepts a hose from the compressor. An open/close valve allows fine tuning of the airflow. Compressor was set to about 5-7psi. After hooking it up, lighting the incense with a propane torch, running it for a few minutes without seeing any smoke I pulled a vacuum line and smoke came pouring out, so I know it works. After running it long enough to assure myself that there were no leaks I shut the valve and turned off the compressor. With no fresh air coming in the incense stopped burning, ready for the next test.

The incense can be soaked in baby oil, but probably not necessary. I soaked it, and the soaked bundle burned well.






I found a disco smoke machine at a garage sale for $10, and converted it to look for automotive leaks.

Tester

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