After only 60 years, the pellet-type smoke unit in my Lionel 2018 is dead. Am I better off getting a replacement pellet smoke unit or converting the old unit to liquid?
Cheers!
Keith
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I have a 2026 that I converted last year. Very simple job and it smokes great now.
I prefer the pellet units because you can let them run dry without worrying about them burning out like a liquid unit does. A pellet unit will also work with the liquid in addition to the pellets. In my experience, they work just as well, if not better, when rebuilt than a liquid unit does.
Agree with both statements above. Converting to liquid gave me a much more volume of 'smoke' and I could use all the liquid smoke scents, but don't run 'em dry, because they'll burn themselves out, as the pellet type is more forgiving. Rebuilding these postwar smoke units is pretty easy, whichever direction you choose.
Keith, is the heating element the dead part? Is it overly clogged? I would just try to clean and repair what you have. You can get a replacement element for about $10.
I replaced a broken heating element in an early 2026 last year (with help from this forum). Easy fix. You can use fluid in the pellet type units and they smoke great.
JD2035RR posted:Keith, is the heating element the dead part? Is it overly clogged? I would just try to clean and repair what you have. You can get a replacement element for about $10.
I replaced a broken heating element in an early 2026 last year (with help from this forum). Easy fix. You can use fluid in the pellet type units and they smoke great.
Yes, the heating element is dead. I haven't been able to find it by itself, just the complete pellet smoke unit. Would you know what the part number is for the element?
JD2035RR posted:I replaced a broken heating element in an early 2026 last year (with help from this forum). Easy fix. You can use fluid in the pellet type units and they smoke great.
I can't put it any more clearly than this. All of my PW smoke units are the pellet type. All of them smoke just fine on liquid.
I run all my PW steam engines on liquid smoke and the units are pellet type. No issues. Just put a few drops in & you are fine.
Just like everyone one else here, I use PW pellet smoke units with smoke fluid. The replacement is dead simple.
The replacement heating element is #2026-29 available from The Train Tender.
Larry
TrainLarry posted:The replacement heating element is #2026-29 available from The Train Tender.
Larry
Thank you!
Here is a link to a prior post on the same subject: https://ogrforum.com/...ting-back-to-pellets
JD2035RR posted:Here is a link to a prior post on the same subject: https://ogrforum.com/...ting-back-to-pellets
Excellent information. Thank you!
