LC+2.0 Big Boy - lack of smoke

#1 are you sure that you have cleared any drops of fluid blocking the smoke port? Typically people say to blow down the stack, however, I recommend only doing that with the smoke unit off and you know the resistor is cool to prevent blowing hot steam into the impeller fan.

#2 can you hear the fan run running and feel warm air exiting the stack?

Did try blowing gently with a straw to clear any air bubbles.  Can't tell if the fan is running or not with the engine sounds going.  I do feel warmth rising from the stacks when I get close to it with my nose...

What do you consider a "sufficient amount of fluid" to be?

Mine has been a great smoker.

If you cannot hear the smoke fan kick on and off when you cycle the smoke you may have a bad fan motor. Even if you got lucky and got a good working quiet fan motor from Lionel you should still hear it running.

Also, I have never had good luck with the recommended 15 to 20 drops advertised. Mine smoked alot better at 30+ drops new out of the box. 15 to 20 drops just isn't enough for a dry fan driven smoke unit.

Brad

Appreciate your feedback, guys!  I did add about 1.5 full droppers of fluid.  I'm a bit paranoid about overfilling it.  I have a feeling the fan may be the problem...

Well, 1.5 droppers full should be enough for good smoke, so if you don't have an air bubble, it's likely that you have some issue with the smoke unit.

One easy test to narrow the issue down is to monitor the current to the locomotive with smoke turned on and off.  If you don't see a change, that indicates you're probably not getting any power to the smoke unit.  If you do see an increase with smoke, I'd be looking at the fan motor.

Thanks John, I'll look into that.  I have a feeling a trip to Henning's Trains is in the making.  Not comfortable attempting such a repair myself.

Folks, for a new loco straight out of the box, how much smoke fluid would you recommend?  I'm skeptical of the manual's recommendation.  Is 1 full dropper enough?  Or more?  I'd hate to overfill it...

It sounds like you added enough fluid with the 1.5 dropper. I wouldn't add any more if you have no smoke at all like your post stated. That should have got you smoking. If you used the dropper that came in the box it may have been a little much. Maybe after you run it for a few minutes it will start to smoke. That has happened to me if I add a little too much fluid. If you notice smoke coming out of the sides blow lightly down the stack to clear fluid bubbles.

Brad

I have come to the conclusion from experimentation that .5 mil is 10 drops. So a 1.5 mil dropper is around 30 drops which should be enough for some good smoke in a brand new fan driven unit.

Brad

Thx Brad.  Yeah, I reached same conclusion. 1 full dropper is about 20 drops.  But no smoke at all.  And I did run her around the layout for 5-10 mins.  So, not sure if it's the heating element AND the fan, altho I do feel some warmth rising from the stacks...

For a brand new smoke unit, you first need to consider how large the fluid bowl is, some are larger than others.  For a full sized unit, I typically put a full dropper in to start, and probably about 1/3 of a dropper more.  I've never overflowed a smoke unit yet, but there's always the first time.

Important note:  Special cases exist, some of the MTH small steamers, diesels like the VO-1000, and the whistle steam on MTH steamers, have a much smaller smoke unit.  You do not want to put more than about 1/2 a dropper in those.

@Midnight Express posted:

Thx Brad.  Yeah, I reached same conclusion. 1 full dropper is about 20 drops.  But no smoke at all.  And I did run her around the layout for 5-10 mins.  So, not sure if it's the heating element AND the fan, altho I do feel some warmth rising from the stacks...

The heater and fan are separate outputs from the logic board, so if you feel heat, it's likely the fan, wiring, or the board output.

Noted.  Thx John!  I only own Lionel Legacy engines and a couple of LC +2 units

How much smoke fluid should be added when refilling a smoke unit on average? My legacy steam engines always seem to have low smoke output compared to videos I have seen, maybe I’m not using enough.