Are Smoke units worth all the trouble

I don't use smoke in my diesels. When it comes to steam, more smoke the better!

I do like smoke, but most have an off switch for those that don't...

I only use them occasionally for 10 minutes max. I don't like breathing in all that crud.

They are somewhat delicate (at least my lionel units are) and I have taken the view that they will require routine maintenance. 

They do add great interest to a steam loco however. 

use them on steamers

I love using smoke but when a smoke unit needs to be fixed multiple times it gets old very fast.....

I can honestly say, Nope! Never had one that smoked, never wanted one that smoked.

I love using smoke and the scented smokes are the best especially like popcorn smell, root beer, grape, etc. I run them on steam or diesel and I have seen prototype diesels that do smoke so tough....

 

I agree that the units are a lot of maintenance but after I teach myself how to repair and service it I move on and have fun. Postwar and MTH appear smoke units appear to be the most reliable but that does not stop me from running what I like.

 

Yay smoke!!!!! 

I have mostly steam engines and I agree with SJC the more the better!  However, they have caused me issues.  I just posted tonight the smoke problems with my new legacy steam engine.  However, I have mostly MTH steam engines which have given me few problems over the years and I have always been impressed in how much steam they give out compared to other competitor engines   I am not sure if I would be buying more steam engines if it were not for the smoke. 

For me, I run steam engines and one diesel engine. I have to see smoke blowing out of the stake at highest intensity possible. I have a couple engines that have smoking whistle that I also keep full of fluid. 

I found out early from forum members that when adding fluid you need to get the air bubbles out so it will smoke well. I use 6" long pipette to force air in the stake after filling and that eliminated my smoke issues. Yes, my diesel also smokes.

When I smoke up the room it is just me breathing it, no one else to worry about and no pets. The label on the smoke fluid says "harmless" so we all know that when a label says that it can't possibly be incorrect

I love smoke and just replaced the units in three of my MPC era locos with units aquired from Jeff Kane at the Train Tender. They work great.

I especially like the MTH smoke fluid because of the way it lingers and fills up the room. Unfortunately because of others in the house I can only use it when no one else is around. So I usually use J.T's Mega Steam which dicipates a lot quicker and doesn't linger or fill up the room.

No.

I love Smoke, Best of all I like the double Smokers (main stack & Whistle smoke).To me it makes a steam engine look like a real steam engine when running. I know they are trouble at times, but I think the Good outweighs the bad by far.

Absolutely!  Nothing like a big steam engine with all the smoke effects to bring a smile across this face. Smoke units are the weakest part of most engines. So I learned how to repair them myself. I run smoke for about 10 minutes and the turn it off. Smoke is great for the photo shoots too.

In general, smoke units don't cause many problems if they are used as intended. Don't overfill them, use a good fluid and don't run them dry.

The main exception to this (In my experience anyway.) has been due to the batch of dodgy fan motors that Lionel have encountered recently. But even this is normally an easy fix. Due to my being in Europe, it's not a quick matter for me to ship locomotives back for repair, and so I've obtained a small stock of spare (good) motors from Lionel (Thanks Mike! ) so that I can quickly  swap them out if they fail. It only takes a few minutes to effect a permanent repair. 

 

I love having the smoke running, on both steam and diesel locomotives. It adds so much atmosphere to enjoy when running my trains. 

Can't really figure out smoke units.  I have a MPC starter 4-4-2 from the 80's that smokes like it's on fire.  Another of the same model does little or nothing.  Also, my Polar Express berk puts out like the dickens, but my Chessie Steam Special berk barely puffs.  My 0-8-0's from recent starters either don't work or barely work.

 

I'm a bit 'meh' about steam, simply because of this.  The fact I'd have to sit down and fix them to get any level of consistency is a turnoff.

I run diesels.  Smoke is more trouble than it's worth most of the time.  The awful burnt-plastic smell  drives my wife nuts (even when masked by the scented stuff).  The thing that bugs me is that it always gets on the locomotive body, which means I have to clean it off.  The Mega-steam dropper bottle was especially useless.

 

I do like the "look" of the mild fan-driven output on my SD40-2's though.  Looks very realistic for a diesel.  Still way more trouble than it's worth.

I think the smoke is cool, especially on steamers.  I love the new stuff with the whistle steam effect, and I want more!

 

I don't always run smoke on the diesels, but seeing a triple-headed MU of diesels all with exhaust is pretty neat at times.

 

Good ventilation for the train room is necessary if you use a lot of smoke, my smoke detector will tell you that.  It's a pain to run up and reset the panel before the fire department gets called!

I like the PW smokers that used the SP pellets. Don't care much for the "modern" smokers that use liquids.

 

Same OL story when you take them in to get fixed."Your putting to much in""Your not putting enough in"Your not using the right kind of bottle"Its to bad ....Love to see smoke spewing out going up a hill.

I don't "take them in" to get fixed.   Smoke units are actually pretty simple items, and there's nothing in there that a typical modeler can't fix.  If the electronics fails, that's another matter, because that usually calls for spare parts.  However, the wick, motor, or smoke resistor are simple to deal with.

No. Cruds up yer engine, messes up yer weathering.

You just can't have a steamer running without lots of smoke.

What are you thinking?

 

Diesels; well not a big deal there.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Rod

I may be a little strange but i will admit, the one and probubly my biggest pet peeve is when one of my steamers quits smoking.

Its depressing. 

 I will stop everything. Pull it off the layout ,rip it down and spend as much time as it takes to put a new resitor in, repack the wadding in various positions, drill it out ,whatever  etc.. until its smoking heavy again. I keep a bag of 27 and 8 ohm on hand  and seem to replace at least 2 every 2-3 months over a dozen or so engines.(with alot of hours run time on them) Thats just me though.

I agree with Patrick. I keep maintaining them because I enjoy them. Also, how many of you would purchase a steam locomotive that did not smoke in this day and time?

Whew; glad to see I'm not alone here!

 

Rod

My first Lionels that I purchased a dozen years ago created anemic smoke, not worthwhile.  Later steamers around the Polar Express era make nice smoke rings, enjoyable and worthwhile, but not that impressive.

 

My recent steamer with the whistle-steam effect and JTs mega-steam  WOW, what a great effect, definitely worthwhile and adds a fun element.  Fills the train room after 20 minutes so I have to vent the room.   But it looks so cool I have to run it with smoke.

 

So not surprising that the value of having smoke depends partly on how well it works.

 

I don't have diesels with smoke.

Puffing smoke on steam locos is part of the novelty of O-gauge. I don't want smoke on diesels or on every loco. I typically alternate running different trains so I'm not getting prolonged smoke. I turn off the smoke on my BigBoy because the volume is too heavy and the fan-drive smoke isn't as fun as the puffing action. My 2026 blows comical smoke rings.

 

I use Lionel Premium smoke fluid in my PW steamers, and get excellent results.  I have no interest in modern electronic locomotives, so I can't comment about their smoking ability.  But if I were buying one, I'd consider smoke a necessity.

I don't use smoke in my diesels, but have to have it with steam locomotives.  Running steam just wouldn't be the same if they didn't smoke.  More smoke the better!  Bo 

 

 

Visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

Big smoke fan here. High output setting on steamers and low output on diesels works for me. Always have a nice selection Mega Steam flavors on hand. Change the scent on all smokers every few weeks running same scent in all engines.  Gotta have the smoke.  Lots of it.b 

I like my diesels to smoke like Russian diesels. 

 

 

Flames are optional. 

 

Nicole, Now your talking, I just can't talk the wife into that flame effect.

 

Thanks for the video's.

 

Sometimes I wonder..........  But no, I must have them, for the reasons cited in this topic.

 

Nicolle - WOW....  Smokin' B.....  How'd you do that?  Great smoke, great flame effect....

Nah.

Honestly, I think the fan-driven smoke unit that MTH introduced was one of the great things this hobby has seen and one, of many, things that brought me back into the hobby in the 90's.  If they were outlawed tomorrow, the hobby IMO would be the lesser for it.

Yes...now days chemistry sets are only allowed to include chemicals that can be safely eaten. Woe be to us if they include smoke fluid in that restriction.