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Lumsdonia Railway

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A guide to the capabilities of Static Grass Applicators

Static Grass Applicators

Static Grass

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Prologue

Having done a lot of research and some testing myself, plus some experience in industry with static generators, I have written this guide to dispel some myths about static grass applicators.

WHAT IS A STATIC GRASS?

Static grass is short loose coloured fibres that can be glued to your layout, standing up, just like grass. They come in various lengths to simulate short grass (lawn) and long grass (wild overgrown area’s). If given a static electricity charge in the container and sprinkled over a glued area that has the opposite charge, they will stand up, by being attracted to the applicator.

We can categorize the models available into five categories:-


Puffer  - Plastic bottle

Cheap  - A fly swatter, either constructed yourself or purchased pre-made from Ebay

Small   - Branded small container

Large   - Branded large container

Pro       - Branded High power

Cheap

Cost - Circa £15-£20

Voltage - 1,500 volts (1.5Kv)

Supply - 2x AA batteries

Characteristics - The small charge only allows small area’s to be applied and has limited power so will only handle up to 6mm, well.

Different mesh sizes should be used for different grass lengths


A conical nozzle can be fitted to a Large, to allow closer control of small area’s


Use a wire in plastic tube as a hand wand for the negative probe


Remove all DCC equipment before use, as these voltages can fry electronics!


Look at my LINKS page for suppliers


Other aspects

Which should I buy?

Of course it is up to you! If you have a small layout, then a Puffer  or Cheap tea strainer/fly swatter will probably do. If you have a lot of grass to do, then get a Small or Large. For total flexibility or a very large layout, consider a Pro.

Much better results will be had with the higher voltages on longer grass and a higher voltage will enable faster lay down over a big area, the lesser will still do it, but will take you longer!

Small

Cost - Circa £45-£60

Voltage - 8,000 to 12,000 volts (8Kv - 12Kv)

Supply - 1x 9v PP3 batteries

Characteristics - The medium charge allows small area’s to be applied and has limited power so will only handle up to 8mm, well.

Large

Cost - Circa £60-£130

Voltage - 15,000 to 25,000 volts (15Kv - 25Kv)

Supply - 1x 9v PP3 batteries or 12v mains adapter

Characteristics - The Large charge allows large area’s to be applied and enough power so will handle up to 10mm, well.

Pro

Cost - Circa £100-£200

Voltage - 35,000 to 55,000 volts (35Kv - 55Kv)

Supply - 1x 12v mains adapter

Characteristics - The extra large charge allows huge area’s to be applied and enough power so will handle up to 12mm, well.


One picture is with £15 Cheap, the other is with a £80 GreenScene Large, can you tell the difference?

Puffer

Cost - Circa £5

Voltage - None

Supply - None

Characteristics - The small charge only allows small area’s to be applied and has limited use so will only handle up to 6mm, well.

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Flyswatter on the right