K-Line Extended Vision Caboose Hyper Seuthe Unit- Fixed

Actually, that's not a Seuthe smoke unit, it's a K-Line exclusive design.  One easy way to tone it down is put a 3A diode in series with one of the leads, that cuts the power down roughly half.

I'd determine or ask here if the Seuthe unit can operate on DC.  If so, then use an AC-to-DC voltage converter module (about $5) to convert track voltage AC to 8.5V DC.

I suppose you could "find" a resistor that would reduce track voltage to 8.5V AC.  But that would only work at 1 track voltage.  Presumably you're operating conventional and want to change the speed of the caboose by changing engine track voltage!

I seriously doubt this is a Seuthe smoke unit, I never saw a K-Line caboose with one of those.  I suspect it's just the stock K-Line smoke unit.

It will obviously run on DC, it's just a resistor in a plastic two-piece smoke chamber with a little wick material.

I don't see how an external resistor would help, it would get hot inside the caboose as well.  I prefer the diode for this task.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

...

I don't see how an external resistor would help, it would get hot inside the caboose as well.  I prefer the diode for this task.

Well, just the addition of an external resistor of ANY value lowers the smoke for a given track voltage.  So for a given track voltage, the caboose will get less hot AND there will be less smoke.  But smoke is still proportional to track voltage.  And if 8.5V to the smoke unit is "ideal", you still have the issue that a higher track voltages you may overheat the smoke unit.

Agreed, the 3A diode method cuts smoke power about in half.  Skipping the nerdy math, cutting power in half means reducing the voltage by about 30%.  So with the diode, if you want the smoke unit running at 8.5V, this corresponds to a track voltage of about 12V.  Well, 12V can move an engine-alone just fine but couple some cars and a caboose and I suspect you might need closer to, say, 15V track voltage to keep the freight moving.  15V on the track with the diode presents 10.5V to the smoke unit which apparently causes melting.  And, like the resistor method, smoke is proportional to track voltage.

Hence, that's why I suggest a voltage regulator.

I just quickly found the two examples above; I realize you only need one of each depending on which method you go with but gives an idea of what they at least look like!

The regulator method presents 8.5V to the smoke unit irrespective of track voltage.  I'd think this is what you want FOR A CABOOSE. That is, for an engine, I can see how you might want smoke to increase as you increase track voltage since the engine is presumably going faster, working harder, etc.

Thanks for the options guys. I stand corrected, it is not a Seuthe unit, must of had a senior moment, oh wait, I am a senior! I installed 1.5 ohm resistor which tamed the smoke and subsequent heat output. I positioned the resistor so it isn’t close enough to melt anything. The caboose will be paired with a BC Rail TMCC diesel, and I only own 1 BC Rail engine lol. I may need to change the resistor value, I haven’t tried it with a large consist yet.

Rich