Diesel Smoke Ports Seem Too Narrow To Add Fluid

The exhaust stacks pop off on many LIONEL locomotives.

Andrew

I use a Syringe with thin needle.  Most of mine have no removable stacks  I squirt in a couple directions where I see or feel the batten

I use the eye dropper that comes with the MTH smoke fluid bottle. Drops mostly make it inside the opening with a little spillage that I wipe off. After that I run the engine for a lap around the layout with the smoke on. Usually, nothing happens. After the lap I stop and blow (one puff, not too hard) into the opening. After that I get smoke. Never fails with MTH products. Good luck with Lionel diesels. Maybe things have improved but all of the engines I have that I got 2-3 years ago smoked poorly. Just a bad design vs MTH.

Compressed air pressure is way too high I would think and that's why you get your mess.

The compressible plastic pipette Lionel now includes is a great improvement. Narrow tip, graduated markings, no dribbling, easy to use.

I use the needle tip applicator from an extra bottle.  Turn it upside down into the smokestack.  Apply the smoke fluid into the large opening.  Easy to count the drops and leaves no mess.

Ron

I also had to get the Ultra Fine Precision Dispensers from JT's Mega Steam. That helped me.

I got a set of small .5 mil droppers from a hobby store here locally. They are smaller than the standard droppers that come with smoke fluid and work great.

I later got a small fine tip funnel that came with one if my locomotives. I believe it was my LC+2.0 big boy. I now use that for everything.

I have never tried the needle applicators that go directly into the batting because I like to see the amount of drops I am using.

Brad

When you're going to blow into the stack with one of the diesels with the grate on the stack, hold your finger over about 3/4 of the opening and then blow into the small opening left.  You'll greatly minimize the possibility of having the fluid splash back that way.

I snipped the dead end off a small MTH tube ( the one that comes with a new loco) and use it of a funnel. Then I  chewed the end to flatten it like an 8 year old with a straw, and it fits most stacks.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

When you're going to blow into the stack with one of the diesels with the grate on the stack, hold your finger over about 3/4 of the opening and then blow into the small opening left.  You'll greatly minimize the possibility of having the fluid splash back that way.

Good tip John.

I also noticed my MTH Imperial Dash 8 from 2017 had the grate installed with a small drop of super glue. It popped off while I was putting it in a cradle to lube it. Instead of gluing it back in place I just pull it on on off to add smoke fluid. Works great!

Brad

3rd Rail diesels come with a lost wax cast brass funnel to fill the smoke fluid through the exhaust ports.  I suspect some of the talented 3D printing artists of this forum could come up with something similar for Lionel and MTH locomotives?

Lotta good ideas put forth here. Still amazes me the depth of “thinking outside the box” that is promulgated on the Forum!

Thanks for all the great ideas.  I think I need a smaller needle tip that fits into the slot.  Mine doesn't.

John

Or a miniature Funnel !!!

An ear syringe is a good way to clear a smoke fluid bubble. Get one at the drug store. Much better than a can of compressed air, not as messy.

JohnB

Another way to get rid of air bubble is to use a straw.  You can direct the air flow with the straw and it keeps your face away from the stack.

Printer cartridge refill syringes work well too

If your diesel has two stacks, put a finger over one and blow into the other.  That’s the only way I could get rid of a bubble that formed over the smoke unit outlet on my Lionel MEC GP7 (without taking off the shell).  I learned this from an earlier Forum post.

John

@JohnB posted:

An ear syringe is a good way to clear a smoke fluid bubble. Get one at the drug store. Much better than a can of compressed air, not as messy.

JohnB

The ear syringe is a good solution.  I use a “fancy” version which is a watchmaker’s dust blower.  It has a small metal tip allowing for more precision.  You can guess where to get one for less than &10.

Turn the smoke unit off, then add fluid, wait 15-20 seconds for it to run down into the reservoir, then turn it back on.

If you fill the path with liquid while air is blowing out the other end, its gonna make bubbles no matter what you use to fill it.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

Turn the smoke unit off, then add fluid, wait 15-20 seconds for it to run down into the reservoir, then turn it back on.

If you fill the path with liquid while air is blowing out the other end, its gonna make bubbles no matter what you use to fill it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

That probably works better when the switch is on the top instead of underneath especially when you want to add more fluid as the steam runs out.

John

@Craftech posted:

Thanks for the suggestion.

That probably works better when the switch is on the top instead of underneath especially when you want to add more fluid as the steam runs out.

John

Its a button on the remote....

I just spill it all over the place and don’t worry about it. 😂

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

The compressible plastic pipette Lionel now includes is a great improvement. Narrow tip, graduated markings, no dribbling, easy to use.

These work well for me too.  They can be bought in bulk from various sources.  Or you can get extras by buying more Lionel engines.

@Boilermaker1 posted:

Its a button on the remote....

Not on the universal remote.  The app has a button for smoke, but not the universal remote.

John

Well, the pipette seemed to work even though it is too wide for the slot because it is soft plastic and flattens when you shove it into the slot working it's way in.  Then you can squeeze the bulb and get the fluid down into the bowl. 

Thanks Mark and Len.

John

Anyone try an old metal tube applicator from one of the light lube oil products out there?

I used a small round file to open up the tight ones just a bit.

@RON ARNDT 091718 posted:

I use the needle tip applicator from an extra bottle.  Turn it upside down into the smokestack.  Apply the smoke fluid into the large opening.  Easy to count the drops and leaves no mess.

Ron

I was quite taken by the simplicity of this suggestion, and was eager to use it next time I topped off a smoke unit. And I did, and was horrified when the metal needle tip contacted something inside my Legacy diesel. Pop, buzz, magic smoke, and, diesel death. I’m pretty sure I toasted the smoke unit, if not worse. I write this as a PSA. I hold no anger toward Ron, but am still amazed at my own stupidity for not turning off the power. Feel free to pile on with the “what a moron” replies, but don't repeat my mistake!

I normally just shoot it through the grate on those diesels.  Bummer about the sparks, is this an MTH or Lionel unit?

FWIW, my complaint with the needle-tip bottles is you have no idea how much you're putting in.

Legacy

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

I was quite taken by the simplicity of this suggestion, and was eager to use it next time I topped off a smoke unit. And I did, and was horrified when the metal needle tip contacted something inside my Legacy diesel. Pop, buzz, magic smoke, and, diesel death. I’m pretty sure I toasted the smoke unit, if not worse. I write this as a PSA. I hold no anger toward Ron, but am still amazed at my own stupidity for not turning off the power. Feel free to pile on with the “what a moron” replies, but don't repeat my mistake!

I am really sorry to hear that Mark.   What a terrible turn of events.

Regards,

John

Mark....sorry to hear about your experience with the smoke fluid applicator......I'll buy you a strong drink when we have lunch in May!!!

Peter.....Buco Australia.

For all of my MTH diesels I put 8-10 drops in one port using the little plastic tube or the eye dropper from the big bottle. Wipe away in excess with soft towel. Then lean over and give a short puff into the port where the fluid was added. No fluid comes out of the other port. Run for a lap with smoke on. If no smoke give another puff. That has never failed me. With Lionel Legacy engines I've had mixed results. Sometimes they just don't smoke at all.

If it makes you feel any better I spent 30 minutes painstaking soldering wires to a new speaker for a PS2 Switcher I purchase. Only to find that it was too big for the speaker well.

Scott J, I use the same method with good results on my MTH diesels, but it didn’t work on my Lionels.  Only putting a finger over one stack of a Lionel worked for me.

John

It's so easy to stick a finger over the stack it seems like a no-brainer for me, it's not going to hurt anything even if it's not needed.

I use pipe cleaners they work great to clear clogs.

Like TrainCzar, I use a hypodermic needle to fill the smoke unit on my locos that have tiny exhaust grill openings.  You can get them at your local pharmacy.  Use a graduated hypo.  Ten drops = 1/2 ML.  They don't last forever as the smoke fluid eventually attacks the rubber plunger, but they are not expensive.