Need Some Help With K-Line Milk Loader

So more experimenting was done since my last post.  The building was adjusted to different distances from the track.  The instructions indicate 1/2" between the side of the building and the side of the reefer.  

More than two milk cans and the next one tips over.  The brand of milk cans doesn't seem to matter.  I noticed that Lionel cans do not have the sharp edge on the bottom like the K-line cans do, so I figured they wouldn't tip over as easy.  So far that is true, but I still can't load more than two or three cans.  

If I load the cans by hand, I can get four or maybe five in the car.  

More testing is called for.  And if that doesn't work, I'm going to take the body off the reefer and have a look at the workings.

There is a video on Youtube showing the car in action with the body removed.

https://youtu.be/JCm4sgGszaY

A video of the milk cans being loaded would be better than one of the milk cans being unloaded.

Is the loading platform at the correct height? Even if it is, the cans will still drop off of the loading mechanism. You might try making the milk cans bottom heavy to help tracking.

That's all kind of confusing Dan. Are you addressing two or more tipping issues? #1 Loading vs loading by hand...huh? Top on top off? Loads where? How? Hatch? Door/Skipping the conveyor? #2 Are they falling while on the conveyor? Is the belt lurching? Does lower voltage help? (slower?) re: Something like that might use an emitter and/or light reciever or simple switch for detection and/or simply do occasional advancement of the belts to ensure vibration doesn't unload them backwards up the belt, etc.. Note: "Big L" cans with magnets are more bottom heavy. I'm also thinking about the thin stick-on weight strips for using shallow running fishing lures a bit deeper than designed. I use them under plastic figure bases for more "Weeble" effect. Just a slight champher to the edges, more like a quick polish of the bottom and edges, would prevent grabbing more. Maybe T-9 teflon dry lube spray or similar(a drop or on a swab), or dry bar soap rubbed on bottoms& eject platform, waxes, etc.. "Dry" lube for low thrust, light sliding, there is no surface tension to speak of...(grahite is messy ) Is the eject platform..I dub it the surfboard... is the surfboards edge smooth where the conveyor loads onto it? On an even plane with the coveyor? Is any offset contributing to tips? Is the surfboard level across it's plane; L&R,nose up&dwn etc..? Platform looked too low in the video. K-line track? Regardless, try different heights/shim something up. Might be for 0-27 originally, that would sit lower. Platform surface: polish wax for painted and for plastic, or plastic slicker-upper of choice on that. The old magnet based cans were the only ones I could get to slide extremely well across the platform without tips. Lots if cans on a platform helps some. The magnetics cans are were its at for me. I'd be adding a steel sheet on the platform deck if the cans worked in the car. Maybe a wood print on heavy high gloss paper/sticker; diamond plate, catwalk treads; black outline detail, dull midnight silver metallic on heavy highgloss sticker; paint; and or plastic overlay. etc... or raw steel

That's all kind of confusing Dan. Are you addressing two or more tipping issues? #1 Loading vs loading by hand...huh? Top on top off? Loads where? How? Hatch? Door/Skipping the conveyor? #2 Are they falling while on the conveyor? Is the belt lurching? Does lower voltage help? (slower?) re: Something like that might use an emitter and/or light reciever or simple switch for detection and/or simply do occasional advancement of the belts to ensure vibration doesn't unload them backwards up the belt, etc.. Note: "Big L" cans with magnets are more bottom heavy. I'm also thinking about the thin stick-on weight strips for using shallow running fishing lures a bit deeper than designed. I use them under plastic figure bases for more "Weeble" effect. Just a slight champher to the edges, more like a quick polish of the bottom and edges, would prevent grabbing more. Maybe T-9 teflon dry lube spray or similar(a drop or on a swab), or dry bar soap rubbed on bottoms& eject platform, waxes, etc.. "Dry" lube for low thrust, light sliding, there is no surface tension to speak of...(grahite is messy ) Is the eject platform..I dub it the surfboard... is the surfboards edge smooth where the conveyor loads onto it? On an even plane with the coveyor? Is any offset contributing to tips? Is the surfboard level across it's plane; L&R,nose up&dwn etc..? Platform looked too low in the video. K-line track? Regardless, try different heights/shim something up. Might be for 0-27 originally, that would sit lower. Platform surface: polish wax for painted and for plastic, or plastic slicker-upper of choice on that. The old magnet based cans were the only ones I could get to slide extremely well across the platform without tips. Lots if cans on a platform helps some. The magnetics cans are were its at for me. I'd be adding a steel sheet on the platform deck if the cans worked in the car. Maybe a wood print on heavy high gloss paper/sticker; diamond plate, catwalk treads; black outline detail, dull midnight silver metallic on heavy highgloss sticker; paint; and or plastic overlay. etc... or raw steel

Well, it HAD paragraphs an indentions... thank spellwreck

Last night I reread the instructions.  Imagine that !   There is a card-stock shim that is to be used with "O" gauge track.  It raises the loader building by about 3/32".  It did help but no more than four milk cans can be loaded into the reefer, by the loader.  Any more than that and I think what happens is that the cans push one another over in the reefer as they bunch up.  

I think I may remove the body of the reefer and watch as they are loaded by the auto loader, to see exactly what is happening.

The auto loader in an ingenious accessory, as is the K-Line milk car.  However, depending on the track layout, one cannot see the cans being pushed into the reefer, in most cases.  I could relocate the loader so that the reefer would have it's loading doors facing me.  It would still be within reach if something went awry.  

 

That all sounds right.  I had one of the loaders too, but removed it.  Mainly because for the most part you can't really see the cans being loaded and it did the same thing for the most part only like 3 cans before an issue.

When the cans load, they are pushed in the reefer, just as you would do by hand.  Problem is they are being pushed onto a rubber belt.  So they don't slide very easily when being pushed in my the loader itself.  

When you operate the reefer it goes through a cycle, then stops.  Depending where the first can is on the belt, the can may not com out on the first cycle (as the can as you run down the belt to get into position to exit the reefer) and you have to run another cycle, so that is normal.  It just depends how far down the belts you pushed in the cans when you loaded them.

 

 

Dan Padova posted:

I think I may remove the body of the reefer and watch as they are loaded by the auto loader, to see exactly what is happening.

The auto loader in an ingenious accessory, as is the K-Line milk car.  However, depending on the track layout, one cannot see the cans being pushed into the reefer, in most cases.  I could relocate the loader so that the reefer would have it's loading doors facing me.  It would still be within reach if something went awry.  

 

Dan, how can you NOT have opened that box car up, already?!?!?!?

Pop that puppy open and see what's happenin'!!