# Fire In A Trash Can



## gmff (May 10, 2010)

I need to make a stage fire in a trash can. My thoughts are to put a peice of plywood at the top of the trash can. Make two holes (one on each side) just big enough to mount a small 4" square fan in each. In the middle put two slots in the middle, mount a some light jagged cloth in the holes to blow up when the fans are on. Mount a red light in the can. I hope that the red light and the blowing cloth would make a flickering looking fire (this worked in a fire place). If there is a better way please tell me.


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## rochem (May 10, 2010)

This is how I've always seen it done. Don't try to make the fire actually visible to the audience, you won't be able to make it look realistic and the audience will quickly catch on. Instead, concentrate on replicating the light you would see emitting from the trash can. If budget and space will allow, consider mounting multiple tiny instruments in the can, each on a separate dimmer and with slightly different colors. Then just program each unit to repeatedly fade up and down in a random pattern, so that you have a random change from reds to oranges to orange-reds and so on. Using a piece of fabric with fans will help you get the flicker effect you're looking for, and the slightly different colors and intensities will make it look more like a real fire.


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## Syphilis (May 10, 2010)

A few birdies gelled with varying ambers and reds, fading on and off, and all pointed through a spinning gobo, do the job nicely.


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## DanAyers (May 10, 2010)

A 6 channel leprecon dimmer pack, and some 60w standard household bulbs wrapped in red & orange gel's and fast fingers on the bump's or good macro's make a great effect


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## MPowers (May 10, 2010)

One old fashioned way, take a look at
Fire! part I

Michael Powers, Project Manager
ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre
Central Lighting & Equipment Inc.
675 NE 45th Place, Des Moines, Iowa, 50313


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## chrispo86 (May 11, 2010)

The district electrician at the high school I work with also happens to do work on all the really big shows for Grucci Fireworks. He came in with a bunch of these when we needed to make a fire in a trash can, they're used for flashy signage apparently:

Amazon.com: COOPER WIRING DEVICES INC #BP1008 Button Flasher: Home & Garden

They're a little button that sits in a light bulb socket before you put the bulb in. It causes the lights to flash. I found that the bulbs flash at different rates depending on the wattage. I put together four lights of different wattage bulbs, dropped these buttons in 3 of them, and plugged it in. One or two of the bulbs were red. Worked fantastically and it was cheap and easy.


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## rsmentele (May 11, 2010)

I have a method that I use quite often that a professor told me about a few years ago. You will need 3 standard light bulb sockets, 3 lightbulbs (generally I use 2 25 watt bulbs and one that is a little hotter a 40w or 50w, but 3 of the same wattage will work just fine) 2 fluorescent light staters, a plug of whatever type you need for your system, 3 shades of gel to cover the bulbs (generally I use a nice amber, red and a amber/yellow) and wire to wire it all together. In short, you wire one socket straight to the plug, this light will be a constant on and provide the glow of the fire (I color this one with the orange gel), next wire the last two sockets, but this time, add a fluorescent starter on the supply wire to each of them. What the starter does is provide a random flicker in the light. Make sure you get a starter with the correct wattage rating or it will not work. I then usually gel these light with the red and yellow. And once you have that done you can attach the sockets to a board that fits in your barrel, and plug it in. 

The nice thing about this set up is 1. You only need one dimmer 2. You can dim it, and record it into your cue easily 3. You dont have to spend time programing an effect 4. once you've made the set up you dont have to again, unlike a programed effect that you would have to re-write and finally 5. Like a real fire, it will always flicker totally randomly, unlike an effect that can get repetitive. 

I know that I gave a breif explaination, but if you are more interested I can take a picture of my set up and post it, if that would help to explain things.

Good Luck!


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## MarshallPope (May 11, 2010)

I have also used the fluorescent starter method, with good success. I will second the reminder to check the wattage of the starter. That has gotten me before, and I could not figure out what was wrong for the longest.


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## DuckJordan (May 11, 2010)

I third the Fluorescent starter we used it for both a fire affect and a haunted house flicker light effect. They are also very cheap and can be found anywhere.


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## MNBallet (May 11, 2010)

While the idea of making something on your own is a fun project, I find that sometimes it's just worth the cost of buying it. Go to Spencers or try online for those silk flame effects. They're pretty cheap now, what....around $30?

time is money...... 

Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet


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## masterelectrician2112 (May 11, 2010)

> Welcome back to the _*Techie’s*_ Corner.



I don't want to fuel the fire on this debate (no pun intended), but REALLY? Techie?


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## gmff (May 19, 2010)

*The Trash Can Fire Worked*

Ohhhhh Yeahhhh! and pretty good. [/ATTACH]
The bucket had a plywood top, 2 holes for fans pointed into the bucket.
A red light, orange light a slot in the middle of the plywood with very light gold and silver mylar that would flutter in the breeze made by the fans.


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## derekleffew (May 19, 2010)

(Above post moved here from another location.)

Everybody sing:
We'd like to thank you Herbert Hoover
For really showing us the waaaaaay.


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## DJNickyB (Jun 2, 2010)

Why not place a "fire bowl" fixture on a rack down inside the trash can just below the lip of the can. When turned on the lighted cloth will rise up above the lip once the blower starts.


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## Scarrgo (Jun 4, 2010)

I went to a store called Spencers (Michigan area) and bought two of their hanging flame pots, has two small lights and a fan with flame cut cloth( I added better gel). I attached them to a piece of ply and added some extra firewood to hid them. Used in a fireplace for a show. Worked great, only two problems, fans a little noise at full, and that night scene I thought the set was on fire, scared myself a couple of times...

Put it in a metal trash can also, worked great

Sean...


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## MPowers (Jun 4, 2010)

Here's a quick look at the fluorescent starter method with some wiring diagrams and pictures. Fire! part II

Michael Powers, Project Manager
ETCP Certified Rigger - Theatre
Central Lighting & Equipment Inc.
675 NE 45th Place, Des Moines, Iowa, 50313


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