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DC And Smoke Units...

StrummerStrummerOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Now that I've removed the electronics from my 6-38036 2-8-0 and am running on straight DC, I find it runs at a nice "peddler freight" speed at about 5 volts. (Nice of Lionel to have built this with a DC can motor... )

I left the smoke unit in place, as it looked like in order to get to the screws that hold it to frame, you'd have to drop the cylinders; something I didn't want to do. Since the unit is still there, I wonder if it would be possible to replace the faulty resistor with one of a different value so that I might enjoy smoke again. It seems to me that it would just be a case of "pigtailing" wires from the resistor to the hot and ground wires; fairly simple.

I see the original part is still available (27 ohms), but I'm guessing I would need a different resistor that would function on less volts, and obviously I'd want to use something that would be "safe". 

Is there such a thing out there that would work, or am I doomed to enjoy this fine running engine sans smoke?

Thanks!

Mark in Oregon

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superwarp1superwarp1OGR Forum Member

I'm sure Gunrunner will chime in here but you may need to do some experimenting on the right value.  Keep the same wattage resistor and start with 15 ohms and see how she's smokes but before that If you are going to run in conventional and no DCC, what do you think your avg voltage will be?  Max voltage the engine will ever see, you don't want to melt anything.  How much current can your power supply, supply to the track.  All things you need to consider.  Also a regulated supply in the engine to the smoke unit might be in order to keep a constant voltage to the smoke unit.

Last edited by superwarp1
StrummerStrummerOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

Thank you for your comments. The Heathkit unit I'm using is rated at 18V (DC) max, but I doubt I'll ever need to "go" that high. 

I went ahead and purchased (a couple) of the 27 ohm resistors from the Lionel site; will try one when they arrive and see what happens...

In the meantime, this sure runs well on DC; smooth and quiet. In fact, it's quiet enough to where now I get why I've read comments regarding how "loud" FasTrack is. Like most "roadbed" types of track, it really does amplify the train noise! 

Mark in Oregon

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