Best Replacement Smoke unit for Polar Express and Hogwart's engines?

I'm NOT the electrical wizard some of the other forum member are, but one way you can create a little more smoke is by changing the resistor in the smoke units. My PE has a 30 ohm resistor that I am going to change to a 27 ohm resistor. Some, I believe, have gone to a 22 ohm.

I also opened up the holes in the base of the smoke unit two drill sizes. I get more smoke, but I also get smoke out the bottom of the unit. I bought a new smoke unit and I will not be opening up those holes on the new unit. Something to think about. I'm sure a few others will chime in!

I just changed the resistor in the Docksider from the 30 ohm all the way down to an 18 ohm.  I also added a bit of extra wick to give it a bit more capacity.  Since many of these locomotives will roll along at a pretty good clip when you first crack the transformer throttle, you don't get much smoke because the track voltage is so low.  The customer actually brought the docksider back claiming smoke didn't work. 

With the 18 ohm resistor (has to be ceramic, too much metal around it), the docksider still isn't a prolific smoker, but you can actually see that it has smoke at normal operating speeds.

If the smoke volume still isn't up to his expectations, I'm going to add some series diode pairs to the motor to slow it down at given track voltages.

When you look at the resistor is it ceramic coated?  The later ones use the open wire wound 27ohm and they smoke better.  So you can order a new resistor from Lionel or a parts dealer.  G

I have all sorts of values that are uncoated and coated.  For the Dockside switcher, you need a coated one, the resistor is way too close to the metal sides and the post that holds the unit together.  I looked at putting an uncoated one in, but I nixed the idea.  FWIW, this was a brand new set unit, and it had the 30 ohm coated resistor in it.

I buy the coated ones from Digikey for peanuts and just hit them with the Dremel wire brush, in less than a minute I can have the bare wire-wound model in the value of my choice.  I keep from 18 through 25 ohms in those, and I have the stock 27 ohm Lionel ones and the 16 ohm MTH ones as well.