20-3293-1

All MTH large smoke units used in O gauge steam/diesel locomotives are the same. There is no "best". The only difference between them is the brass cup on top used to connect the unit to the stack in the shell. A non working MTH smoke unit is usually caused by:

bad fan motor

burned out resistors

damaged FETs on the board

It's pretty easy to diagnose and repair the issue most of the time. The most common failure is a bad smoke fan motor.

This engine will use the standard steam smoke unit.  However, it's unlikely that you'd need to replace the whole smoke unit, more likely it's the fan motor or some other issue like wiring and/or a board.  There is only one smoke unit for this locomotive and when it's working correctly, you'll get plenty of smoke.

Thank you very much gentlemen

I can change a smoke unit

however not so good at repairing them

I may need some assistance when I get it

hope you guys don’t mind the silly questions

Well, it's likely it's not actually the smoke unit, but some external fault.  The first step is to diagnose what is wrong before you go changing parts.

Thank you

I just bought it yesterday and it won’t ship till tomorrow so I’m expecting to see it by next Tuesday or Wednesday so please if you don’t mind I will definitely be asking questions

Realize that this may be a faulty part on the smoke unit, but can be a bad harness wire, a bad board component, etc...  Would be best to get to a repair tech that knows what they are doing and diagnose and repair right.  You can replace a $50 smoke unit and that not the problem.  Could be a $10 harness.  G

Thanks guys

the seller decided to fix it before he shipped it

just contacted me an hour ago