Like the rovers hibernating on Mars, PyroCardium has quietly slumbered the winter on the side of the FPLabs workshop, nestled in its layers of tarp. We hadn’t heard a peep and could only wonder, was it dreaming of fiery heartbeats? What new algorithms might emerge in the spring? Was PyroCardium even alive under there?

PyroCardium in its winter tarp

Today we have our answer. 32 of 40 flame effects tested perfectly straight out the gate. And since 8 had broken at Burning Man, they were apparently unaffected by wind, rain and sleet. This is actually amazing since I hadn’t considered the downslope of its winter resting pad, and water was able to come in through an open end of the tarp. The flame effects actually sat in a pool of water for months. But our materials: aluminum, nichrome wire, ceramic block, stainless steel, copper and brass– none of them rust! And apparently Clippard solenoids are pretty well sealed.

Tested functional flame effects bundled in new hanging storage

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 14th, 2009 at 7:13 pm and is filed under Classes, Workshop.