On Tue, 17 Mar 2015 22:53:32 -0400, wrote:

Well, whether it was technically pulsed DC or AC coming out of the
vibrator, what came out of the transformer was AC, as it required
rectification to turn it back to DC. AC or pulsed DC from the vibrator
is just semantics.


An automotive coil is just a transformer that raises 12v to a very high
voltage. But all transformers require AC to make them work. But you
are correct, it's pulsed DC, but to the transformer, it's the same as
AC. The points in older engines simply pulsed the DC. The newer
electronic ignitions do a similar thing, but they may be more like
actual AC (I'm not sure).

Now a days, one could use an electronic ignition module, like one from a
small mower engine, or one made for cars (which would be overkill). For
this use, it really dont much matter what makes the pulse as long as
there *IS* a pulse to trigger the coil. A set of points could be used
to, but there would need to be soem sort of cam external to the engine.
So, an electronic module or a one of those old radio vibrators is/was a
much easier method to excite the coil.

Someone mentioned in this thread about injecting a spray of gas into the
pipe to make a bigger flame. Yes, I heard of that too, but I did not
mention it because I have no clue how that was accomplished. In fact
I'd like to find out how. Not that I want to do it, but I like to know
stuff like that. However, to take a wild guess, I'm thinking in terms
of the nozzle inside an oil furnace. Something like that welded into
the tailpipe, would send a spray of fuel, bu there would need to be a
pump of some sort. But attaching a pump of some sort, to the engine's
fan belt, or a pump running off a 12V motor (such as a heater blower
motor), would probably work fine. (Just a guess).

To make a "flamethrower" from the exhaust pipe, would probably require
injecting fuel into the pipe now-a-days, because newer car engines with
catalytic converters are intended to NOT release any raw fuel. But I
bet my old late 1940's Farmall tractor would work just fine. I can
smell the unburned gas when it's running. But I recall smelling that
same odor from the tailpipe on the old cars that I drove in the late
60's and early 70's. (which were 50's and 60's cars with carburetors and
no air pollution devices).

Now-a-days, a person would probably be arrested and ticketed for doing
something like that on a vehicle driven on public roads, but I could see
doing it at a truck or tractor pull, or just doing it for fun on an old
farm vehicle or anything that is not used on public roads.