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I'm not a fan of the liquid "upgrades" - they are unnecessary as the original style units can accept pellets OR liquid and can be run dry without issue. Anyways, to get to your question on a short hurting the smoke unit, probably not as it is in of it self a direct short already - there isn't a practical way to "short it out more".
Some charring is normal and expected. Both videos look "normal" to me, just a different voltage or load setting or some other environmental factor (furnace vent near by?).
The amount of smoke the locomotive is going to make is directly affected by the amount of voltage applied to the train to make it move. The more cars you pull, the more smoke it’s going to make. Your test in neutral with the throttle cranked up is not indicative of what the train does when moving. How many cars do you pull around the tree?…if you have a gondola handy, a simple test is to stick a bunch of weight in the gondola and see if smoke improves as if you were pulling a longer train,……obviously pulling 3-4 cars around a loop isn’t going to yield a lot of smoke because the voltage is so low,….
Pat
@harmonyards posted:The amount of smoke the locomotive is going to make is directly affected by the amount of voltage applied to the train to make it move. The more cars you pull, the more smoke it’s going to make. Your test in neutral with the throttle cranked up is not indicative of what the train does when moving. How many cars do you pull around the tree?…if you have a gondola handy, a simple test is to stick a bunch of weight in the gondola and see if smoke improves as if you were pulling a longer train,……obviously pulling 3-4 cars around a loop isn’t going to yield a lot of smoke because the voltage is so low,….
Pat
Thank you Pat. All good points. I only pull 5-6 cars, and when it was running at about 14V of track power, it smoke really well - not far from the static bench test. I did test with 9 additional cars to get Voltage higher and it was still smoking like a champ. Same test now yields far less smoke.
@bmoran4 posted:I'm not a fan of the liquid "upgrades" - they are unnecessary as the original style units can accept pellets OR liquid and can be run dry without issue. Anyways, to get to your question on a short hurting the smoke unit, probably not as it is in of it self a direct short already - there isn't a practical way to "short it out more".
Some charring is normal and expected. Both videos look "normal" to me, just a different voltage or load setting or some other environmental factor (furnace vent near by?).
Thank you! I was on the fence between liquid upgrade and just replacing the heating coil and keeping it closer to original.
If this performance keeps up, I have no hesitation to buy a new coil, as long as it will accept liquid per your insights.
Crazy how fast people reply on this forum - what a great asset for all us newbies!
I’d also agree with bmoran4, those liquid smoke replacement kits are kinda bleak IMO, …as he suggests, ….I always opt for the original style resistor with terrific results even with smoke fluid. Seems they do a better job at lower voltages than the liquid “upgrade” ……
Pat
Yes, the original ceramic / wound elements are much better for use with smoke fluid.
Also, 4 drops is not nearly enough. With the smoke bowl/pot wicked well, I fill it to the top(level of vent / bottom of element) with fluid saturating the wicking.
Great advice here.
As well, dispense with the "fiberglass sleeve" you slid over the resistor.
I know it comes with the kit but it is not necessary, chars easily and forms a barrier around the resistor hampering smoke production.
Carefully cut it away from your present set up.
