Needle Smoke Fluid Filler vs Lionel Smoke Fluid Loader

Still cool. Still getting one.

quote:

Originally posted by MartyE:
Still cool. Still getting one.

Yep. This!

I do think the loader is a cool accessory but I know I would have trouble lining things up. For me that would make it more messy than I would like.

If needle point bottles are so very important for filling Lionel smoke units, why doesn't Lionel smoke fluid come in them?

I still think it looks cool but I can spend the $250 on something else and still put smoke fluid in my engines in the same controlled way I have been doing all along.In other words; "If it ain't broke don't fix it"

i agree with jim there is no reason for a needle just better smoke unites like mikes.

For the cost of a needle tip bottle you can put the fluid right where you want it without getting any on the engine. Depending on the size of the hole you don't need to use the needle tip all the time. I find the needle tip works great for my diesels.

http://www.megasteam.com/

I just use a eye dropper and bottle, get good ones at the pharmacy
clem

I use the dropper bottle that JT's Mega-Steam comes in, seems to work fine here. Occasionally, I have to blow to get the bubble broken on diesels, no big issue.

I use an empty needle-point bootle and fill it each time with only the exact number of drops for that particular smoke unit. This way, I'm not trying to gauge how much has been sprayed into the smoke unit.

The last 2 Lionel engines that I purchased came with a pipette and a small funnel.

Doug

After watching the video yesterday I wrote "talk to us" with your same question. They wrote back to me today and recommend that any engine be allowed to cool before loading with the smoke fluid loading accessory. I too think that the smoke fluid loader is very cool, and when I get mine I suppose I will let the engine cool down before loading. Fred

I'm thinking I will probably only use the loader with steam engines (or perhaps a diesel with no grille over the fill area).

Still will be cool to have though. Some of that might be driven by the collector mentality I am trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to get over.

-Dave

The guy who initially designed this accessory is a pretty smart guy there who probably thought about all the positives and negatives involved. You can make the fluid flow from a dribble of drops to a steady stream flow with the cab-1 or 2.
If you choose to use a needle from a bottle, that is your choice.

I think it is a pretty innovative accessory that is operated by command control. Lionel should produce some more innovative accessories like this one-easy to use and FUN!

[qoute]After watching Mike's two videos about Lionel Smoke units and knowing how well my Megasteam needle filler works, I am suddenly thinking the smoke fluid loader I have on order from Lionel may be a $250.00 lemon.

Looking at the video of Ernie's original (and fun to watch) accessory it seems it is going to cause the very thing Mike warned us against, some fluid forming a meniscus and hitting the heating element.

I am not sure at this point if its worth the cool factor vs the headache. Anyone else have any thoughts? Anyone who has one care to comment[/quote]

First let me tell you, your looking at old videos. The one I designed for Lionel is more precise. The boom moves out slowly back and forth so that you can position it over the stack. Also this version has a micro valve to regulate the fluid out of the tube. You can set it once for your engines and forget it. You can actually set it and count the drops

Secondly, I have never burned out a heating element during all my testing, so this is a false asumption and the way rumors start without any facts by someone who doesn't even have one. If folks like me leave the hobby and no longer design innovative ideas for our hobby, it sure is gonna get boring.

Third, the unit does not pour smoke fluid any faster into the stack then you would with an eye dropper. I run my engines on average 2 days straight at train shows using a prototype smoke loader without any problems what so ever.

Last but not least, You don't have to buy it. If you like to use your needle bottle, that's fine. But I like to design new and exciting products to keep the hobby fun with new ideas.

Ernie Emrich

I dought that Mike Reagan would say the Smoke Loader would burn out the engines elements, since Mike and I produced the first units while still under TAS label. Asumptions are usually what they are asumptions.

Ernie Emrich

Thanks Ernie for setting the record straight!!!Keep creating and Happy Railroading!!!!-Don Klose

I agree with Don, keep creating Ernie!! I appreciate and applaud your efforts, it's what will help keep this hobby going.

Pal

Now Im getting 2 of them!

I would also like to add, as some have mentioned, the funnels go down below most pc boards, in addition to this, smoke stack design should go down past the board so the fluid drips into the bowl not let the fluid run along the top inside, and that is IF this is an actual problem. I think its a lot of over analizing

Ernie,

I do not see anyone saying a burned out element in this thread. What I was referring to was in Mikes smoke unit video where he advocates using a needle filler to get past a hot element to avoid crystallization of the smoke fluid on a hot heating element, which he says will prevent the unit from smoking until its takes several hours to liquify again (he talks about this at about 24 minutes in the video)

As for the meniscus issue he talks about that at 9 minutes or so in the video, once again he says the way around that is not to drop the fluid in but to use a needle filler.

I am torn because from day one the smoke loader has intrigued me (I missed out on the original batch) hence why I loaded the video onto my Facebook account when you first produced it and for whatever reason no one could get it to work (has almost 8000 hits on it so far) Furthermore as soon as you showed it to me at York when it was first announced, I called the LHS from York and told him I wanted one when it got cataloged.

So yes I am still interested in it very much, but with the recent emphasis from Lionel service about using a needle filler instead of filling from the top, I am concerned.

And yes it does seem to be one of the best designed TMCC accessories so far and there needs to be more

On a real steamer, have a large amount of any fuild going into the smoke stack would likey cause a nasty explosion.

I've had one of Ernies original units on my layout for over two years now and I LOVE it!!!!

I have never had a problem with its operation or any of the locos I regularly fill with it. The flow of the fluid is easy to control from one drop at a time to a steady stream and anywhere in between. Its a great accesory and a favorite of anyone who sees it in action!

Thanks Ernie!

FYI Prototype built for Lionel

So Ernie;

 

Are you saying that the one you designed and built for TAS isn't as good as the one you did for Lionel?

They both do the same thing. One is just more fun to do than the other.

Smoke Fluid (that Lionel sells, and probably others) does NOT crystallize - it is mineral oil.  Placing fluid on a hot element simply cools it off.  If there is too much fluid in the bowl, the element won't heat up well, producing low smoke volumes.  I find it easier to add fluid when the smoke unit is off simply because the fan is not running; however no damage or bad effect can come from adding fluid to an operating smoke unit that would not occur in a non-operating smoke unit.

I have the TAS original loader and it always works perfectly. I can set the rate from slow drops to a steady stream, and as long as you can eyeball the unit's pipe, you can line it up perfectly.

 

I actually lie the original a bit better than the forthcoming unit from Lionel, because mine has a smaller footprint. This allows for easier placement and takes up less real estate on my crowded layout.

 

Simply a great accessory from a really innovative guy!

I would like one also! I did not pre order one. Are this still available anywhere? An LHS perhaps?

do a google search for 6-38721.

 

http://www.lionel.com/products/finder/ProductDetail.cfm?ProductNumber=6-37821&CatalogUID=AAA8E101-BFA0-5546-2A010FF62ED81D2A&PageID=2051

I would like one also! I did not pre order one. Are this still available anywhere? An LHS perhaps?

 

Can someone tell Lionel to produce it already and stop dragging their heels around on this project. WE'RE ALL WAITING FOR THIS PRODUCT!

I like the idea of the smoke fluid loader. The drawback for me is that, because of the many 'scents' available now, it would make the loader impracticle, unless you are geared to one scent. May sound strange, but I assign different engines with different fluid scents. I may run one at a time, just to get the effect, or when I run several, you can distinguish the different scents. No, it doesn't get too crazy in there, almost like a mild flower shop, well maybe not that, but it is mild, and there is always that original train smell somewhere.

Super"O", Sounds like you will need to get one for each scent and have a smoke fluid loader complex.

I think I'll stick with the little funnel that came with my A.C.Gilbert 'Pacific' on my 6th Christmas. The trains long gone, but I've somehow managed to hang on to that funnel.