How to add smoke fluid with needle-tip bottle?

Use an eye dropper.  Count your drops.  

Patrick,

I do use the eye dropper which makes it easy to count drops, but when I try that with several diesels, the drops hit the grates of the exhaust unit; resulting in some fluid going in but much of it spilling across the top of the diesel, making a mess.  Lionel has made diesels with removable tops to easily add fluid, but others like the SD50 don't have it. 

Maybe there's no trick to it, I was just wondering.  Thanks.

Lift the grate , fill the fluid, replace the grate, not messy.

Hello Jim,

Yes, but what if the grate isn't removable and the stem of a funnel doesn't fit between the holes of the grates?  If I just drop fluid out of the eye dropper onto the grates, alot of it makes a mess over the top of the diesel. 

Sorry if my post wasn't clear.  I know the needle applicator is a solution for small openings, but how are you sure the right amount of fluid is being dispensed? 

@Rob N posted:

Hello Jim,

Yes, but what if the grate isn't removable and the stem of a funnel doesn't fit between the holes of the grates?  If I just drop fluid out of the eye dropper onto the grates, alot of it makes a mess over the top of the diesel.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear.  I know the needle applicator is a solution for small openings, but how are you sure the right amount of fluid is being dispensed?

Hi,

I use a dropper for locos with smoke stacks, and on locos with a small hole or grate I use the needle bottle from J.T. Mega Steam. I just push the needle into the hole or grate, and then gently squeeze the bottle for approximately 7 seconds. Have been doing it that way for years with no problems, works for me.

@Rob N posted:

Hello Jim,

Yes, but what if the grate isn't removable and the stem of a funnel doesn't fit between the holes of the grates?  If I just drop fluid out of the eye dropper onto the grates, alot of it makes a mess over the top of the diesel.

Sorry if my post wasn't clear.  I know the needle applicator is a solution for small openings, but how are you sure the right amount of fluid is being dispensed?

You do know you can buy cheap syringes at your local pharmacy or off the popular shopping networks right? ….you can draw in a precise amount every time if you’re that worried about it,….

Pat

Craignor,

Thanks, it sounds like you have a good method without having to count drops each time.  I'll try something like that when filling the diesel units.   

Pat,

Yes, thanks.  I was just concerned because we have heard about overfilling/underfilling smoke units for years, and the manufacturers have always been cautious in the instructions about how many drops to add.  I wanted to avoid any damage when using the needle. 

@Rob N posted:

Craignor,

Thanks, it sounds like you have a good method without having to count drops each time.  I'll try something like that when filling the diesel units.   

Pat,

Yes, thanks.  I was just concerned because we have heard about overfilling/underfilling smoke units for years, and the manufacturers have always been cautious in the instructions about how many drops to add.  I wanted to avoid any damage when using the needle.

Understand, so add the precise amount to the syringe first, then shoot it in the engine ….problem solved,……no?..

Pat

Pat,

Yes, sounds good!  I will try that.  Thanks for your patience, sometimes a simple solution is not always simple for me to see. 

Thanks again guys.

@Rob N posted:

Pat,

Yes, sounds good!  I will try that.  Thanks for your patience, sometimes a simple solution is not always simple for me to see.

Thanks again guys.

Now you’ll be able to administer the proper amount to your fleet, and not OD them!…….”paging Dr.Rob, injection needed, stat!” …..😝😝😝

Pat

Could anyone be kind enough to tell me how much fluid is need via syringe applicator for new MTH steaming whistle units? I still experimenting and haven’t found the sweet spot yet. Seems like I come in with too little or too much. Any recommendations on the particular syringe best suited for this task?

thanks

I started using a syringe after getting frustrated with other methods.  Here's what I did: I used an eye dropper and counted out 25 drops going into the syringe. I then marked the syringe so from that point on all I had to do was dip the needle into the bottle of fluid and extract it until it reached my mark.

The problem that I had with the needle bottle from Megasteam with that mentioned already by Craignor: I could only guess how much fluid I was adding since I couldn't see the drops coming out.

- walt

I’ve had the exact same problem. I got a needle tipped bottle recently and not only is it hard to keep it from going everywhere as soon as you turn it upside down, it’s also hard to tell how much is going in.

I figured a syringe was the way to go, and I finally picked some up based on the suggestions from Walt and Pat. Solves both problems. No drips and easy to measure accurately.

I used the Lionel dropper to measure out 20 drops of Lionel fluid and it came to 0.4 mL. So that 0.02 mL per drop.

10 drops = 0.2 mL

20 drops = 0.4 mL

Easy.
I’m sure different fluid viscosities and dropper sized could yield slightly different results, but I’m just going to commit these numbers to memory and move on.

Make sure y’all find a cheap cheap source for syringes……over time, the little O ring in the syringe is going to swell up and roll out, rendering the syringe useless…..ask me how I know this!….

Pat