I recall that the ride didn't like being run at maximum capacity and the LIMs would overheat because they never had a cooling system installed (which would've been installed for 2019 if Volcano didn't get the axe).
Defunct Roller Coaster Volcano: The Blast Coaster
- Thread starter I305Evan
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Interesting. I occasionally had wondered whether there was any active cooling on Volcano's launch hardware. Certain other mag rides at the time saw quite a few efforts to keep the motors cool. Volcano seemed particularly tricky due to the LIMs being overhead, which largely ruled out the rather simple (but seemingly effective-ish) efforts being made elsewhere at the time.
Problem with that is all the other Intamin Impulse coasters that have been built come with some sort of cooling system, Volcano was the only one to never have one. Still have no idea *why* Intamin and Kings Dominion felt that was acceptable.
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Volcano had no precedent at Intamin — first of its kind, in an era when all this stuff was still being figured out the hard way. The options for cooling then became either retrofit or nothing... a very different engineering challenge from designing it in from the start. The Impulses were built after Volcano, with the exception of Linear Gale, and I don’t recall whether LG actively cooled its LIMs. Perhaps it did. I think the shuttle nature of the impulse rides like LG made cooling a day-one design priority, whereas perhaps it seemed less necessary to have active cooling on a full circuit launched ride system that only had to operate once apiece per train. There are some major problems with that logic, but these things aren’t as obvious a priori as in retrospect.
Regarding my comment specifically: I was talking about sit-down launched rides contemporary with Volcano’s time on the drawing board, and the fact that they too opened with no active cooling on their mag propulsion systems. Constantly blowing overhead high-speed fans or water mists on Volcano’s boarding and returning guests might have made for an interesting theme, but it surely would have caused major complaints as well. So a retrofit on Volcano would have required more major hardware changes.
I dont believe so. I believe it is still air cooled by fans, but my guess is that these newer systems were designed with specific cooling systems built in to the design.
There definitely are liquid-cooled, chiller-assisted systems in the more general linear motor space, but I don't think there are any in use on amusement rides. I could be dead wrong, not sure. Lots of cool stuff is being done these days... 🤷♂️
There's a joke in here somewhere about The Chiller suffering for lack of a chiller. But it isn't very good.
There's a joke in here somewhere about The Chiller suffering for lack of a chiller. But it isn't very good.
It wasn't even the lack of a cooling system that brought Chiller down. It was just an awful product down to the footers and I'm still shocked Great Adventure spent 10 years trying to make it work.
At least Volcano had its teething issues worked out after its opening season so that it would operate somewhat consistently. It wasn't until 2016-2018 that Volcano really started falling apart and Rockwell and Intamin had to come in and fix some things.
Yes, it was bad from stem to stern. In fact, it started to spoil the day it was hatched as a concept. It didn’t even wait until it physically existed to start sucking,
Volcano Coaster Cutout
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I hope KD/coaster dynamics come out with a twisted Timbers and I305 one of theseVolcano Coaster Cutout
Precision laser cut out of birch plywood and 100% made in the USA, Coaster Cutouts press fit together like a 3-dimensional puzzle to create models of your favorite roller coaster train cars. The models are reasonably priced and make amazing display pieces.www.coasterdynamix.com
I thought the pause would have more to do with block zone issues than cooling the LIMs?
I think so too. It seems that the train usually launches after an other train clears the "2nd lift/launch" block.
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It's entirely for spacing of the trains. It just so happens it also helps the LIMs cool down after constant use.
By the way, the Volcano nanocoaster was indeed a huge hit with my son. He built it right away and was very excited by the gift. Super pleased with how that worked out and really glad I decided to give it to him as a birthday gift.
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