Problem with lionel oil drum loader

Jules,
Here are some things I did.
1) tilt the unit to help the drums roll down the ramp. I put a penny spacer there.
2) watch the voltage, I run mine at 6-7 volts. It can't go too fast.
3) try a piece of electrical tape to help the drums slide off the rotating part.
I'll send pictures in the morning if needed.

I had the same problem with mine and came up with a solution that works 100 percent.  As the drum tilts into the loader it will slip on the bottom and instead of standing up in the loader, it will lay down and fall off.  To cure this problem, glue a small round piece of sandpaper into the bottom of the loader.  So now, as the drum tilts and slides into the loader, it won't slip and will stand up.

Here is a video of my loader in action.  It's a fun action accessory!

 

Thanks! so much for the suggestions.  I will try the sandpaper idea.  Dana

There should be NO need to modify and ruin your loader. There are little tabs on the front of the loader cart. The right one pushes the tilting tray so the drum loads onto the cart pan. If the drum is not standing up properly on the cart pan, the tilting tray is not being tilted far enough. Gently bend outward the little tab on the front of the cart to get the loader cart to tilt the tilting tray a little more and this should resolve your problem.

 

Gandy

Gandy is spot on.  I made the same adjustment to my loader several years ago and it has worked flawlessly since.

Curt

Mine has worked flawlessly since I installed it about two years ago, without making any changes, and it is one of the favorites for my guests.

 

David,

Does yours run at the speed your nice video shows, or did you slow it down with the video software? The reason I ask is that although mine runs fine, it is runs about twice as fast as yours, and yours obviously is a better, more realistic speed. (I have to admit that I have not tried running it at a lower voltage, but I will give it a try, as suggested above.)

 

Thanks!

 

Alex

 

PS. Automatic Operation

I added an IR detector that detects when there are no more drums on the conveyor. Then, I adjusted the built-in timer on the detector so the fork truck stops after unloading the last drum, and is about half way back to the supply conveyor. A push button switch along the layout edge allows the guests to start the action, and a relay latches on (via the detector circuit) until the drums run out.

I will have to disagree with Gandy and Curt.  The drum tilt mechanism is activated by the metal arm that moves the loader cart and not by the tabs on the front of the loader cart.  Those two tabs are used to dump the drum into the waiting gondola. 

David:

I misread the original post and was thinking about the point in the action where the drum is dropped into the car.  That said, a similar adjustment to the small extension or tab on the platform part of drum loader itself will make it more cleanly receive the drum from the ramp.  Simply take a pair of needle nose pliers and carefully bend that center tab upward just a bit.  This causes the drum to tilt slightly back toward the loader, keeping it in place for the move to the unloading point.  Once you make this adjustment, you will then need to make the adjustment to the two small tabs Gandy mentions above to ensure the platform will tilt sufficiently to drop the drum into the car.

It has always surprised me how relatively minor adjustments to these accessories can make all the difference between working poorly or working well.

Curt

Dearborn Dave is right, I had it backwards. You need to take the shed off and inspect the arm mechanism. There is a swivel point, make sure it is secure. If not then make sure that connection is snug and does not allow slop. If the swivel point is snug, then you will need to gently bend the assembly so as to move the tab the cart rides on towards the tipple just a little. These can get out of adjustment by a child grabbing the cart during operation or the cart hitting an obstruction while the accessory is operating. 

 

Gandy

I operate the oil drum loader at 7 volts and took David's advice and glued a piece of sandpaper to the bottom of the loader. Sometimes the loader works flawlessly and sometimes it fails. What should I do next? My loader is the reissue AF version with the swing arm.

This accessory originally came with a small, thin piece of FOAM on the bottom of the Loader. In time it wears off. Cut yourself a new THIN piece of FOAM and glue it to the bottom of the Drum holder. Mine has now operated Flawlessly for the past 8 years!!!

 

Fred

Dave, 

 

I really enjoyed your video.  Your idea made sense and it looks like it works simply and repeatedly.  When it was over there was a series of other videos of accessories but there was one of a Hungarian Zither artist Magya Citera playing her zither in a small room which was fascinating. A happy surprise. As always, you never know what you will find on this forum and that is what makes it great. 

Fred,

The foam padding is not old. I guess I could replace it. Where did you buy the foam?

 

Update...I found some foam but the problem continues. Sometimes the drums load perfectly on the loader and sometimes the drums don't quite make it all the way onto the loader. Not sure what to do...?

The Foam should only be about 1/16 of an inch thick. I cut mine off of a larger piece. It needs to be a very soft foam.

 

Fred

I have the original Flyer version of this and it works perfectly (with no foam).  Probably my best running postwar loader accessory.

 

Dave,

Thank you for posting operating enjoyment.

The train manufacturers ought to have you test their prototype items, as you have an array of operating goodies that work flawlessly, due to your ability to adjust the functioning mechanisms just right!

All of your operating items are fun to watch.

Take care,

Ralph

I have the 1980s version of this.  At that time, it was still an S-scale accessory, which meant it was way too short for use on an O-scale car/track. I cut and placed pieces of wood under the sides of the accessory to raise it up.  

 

As shown in the video, the barrels are falling"onto" the edge of the car.  If you raise the accessory up the barrels will fall "into" the car, because they won't be hampered by the edge of the car.

 

I also had to bend the tabs on the forklift to get it to dump well, and so the tilting part didn't stay standing upright after it dumped the barrell.  Mine runs much slower than the one in the video, and works flawlessly.    

 

Pictues attached.

I hope this helps.

 

rick s,

Thank you for your video. I have the same loader. However, my drums don't always make it onto the loader. I'm still searching for a fix.

There are two things I did that makes the barrels roll down the loading ramp.  This reduces friction between the barrels, and between the barrels and the ramp.

1. I lightly pledged the ramp and every barrel.  Remember to pledge the inside edges of the ramp also.

2. After I've loaded all the barrels in the ramp, I push each one to the left (away from the forklift side), starting with the first one to load and going backward.  That gives them a little free space to their right as they roll down the ramp.  That works wonders for mine (works every time).

 

Also, my foam pad on the forklift where the barrels load wore away years ago.  I played with felt, and other things.  It works best for me with nothing there but the scrap of original foam and the bare metal.

 

The other adjustment I made is.

*  Sometimes, when the forklift dumped a barrel, the metal pad stayed in the upright position.  So, when it went back to get another barrel, the barrel wouldn't load because the metal pad was not in the correct position.  In the picture below, I bent the left metal arm so the metal pad can not go straight up and down.  I have it so it is still leaning backwards slightly even in its "full upright" position.  It has no choice but to lay back down after the barrel dumps. I bent that tab so it actually hits the forklift base. That is it's stop.

 

I left the right tab alone.  That tab hits the raised plastic "stop" that actuates the dump.  

 

"Louie" is one of the best working, never needs adjusting, accessories I have.

 

 

I agree with Mark that if the barrels don't load properly it is because the wedge shaped metal piece that tilts the barrel on the ramp is not tilting far enough.  His suggestion of increasing the length of the wedge will work.  I solved the same problem another way, I bent the moving arm that the fork truck moves on, very slightly towards the barrel ramp.  A very small amount will solve the problem and if you bend it too far, then at the other end, the barrels will not tilt far enough to fall into the gondola.  You may need to remove the building to get at enough of the moving arm, the building is screwed on from underneath.

Mark,

I'm going to give your idea a try. In inches, how far should the extension be?

I tried a number of suggestions but nothing seems to work. Most recently I extended the wedge. I guess this accessory becomes a non operating structure on my layout.