Replace fan motor

I would recommend oiling the fans armature... that tends to shut it up. let it soak for an hour, then add some more.

I put a drop of oil on it but it didn't help. I'll try what you said. 

My luck is sometimes it helps and others it does not. If anyone has a good source for quality smoke motors I would like to know.

The real name of these in the electronic world are "N20" Micro DC Motor...... the ones used in most Smoke units are 1.5v-6v.  6mm length shaft is almost a standard in most smoke units....BUT it is almost to short in some applications. I've been trying to find a good source other than Lionel for a decent price. But I am having a hard time finding them in the Longer 9mm for a good price too.

I use the MTH BE-0000041 smoke fan motor in many Lionel products.  It mounts with the horizontal holes, there are certain places where the shorter Lionel motor is required.  The shaft is longer on some Lionel motors, but so far that has not been an issue where I've used the MTH motor.

GRJ,

Do you happen to know if the longer MTH motor will fit in a Lionel Genset?  That is what I'm working on.

Thanks

I haven't replaced any motors in the Genset, though I do have the NS model.  It is a diagonal mount motor, so sometimes they fit, and sometimes they don't.  I'd have to look closer at the smoke unit to determine if it would fit.

Bruk posted:

The real name of these in the electronic world are "N20" Micro DC Motor...... the ones used in most Smoke units are 1.5v-6v. 

What sort of RPM spec do the smoke unit replacements need? I have seen versions of the N20 with anything from about 1,200 to 30,000 RPMs!

I'd be interested in an alternative source too; I'm reluctant to go on using what's left of my stock of Lionel fan motors as I think that they all date from a time when Lionel had a bad batch of these (judging by the failure rate I have experienced). 

I don't know that the others you'd buy at places like eBay will be any more reliable.  I don't know the exact specifications for the Lionel and MTH motors, but I'd think I'd want to limit the RPM at 5V, you don't need a huge amount of airflow.  At higher speeds, they make a lot more noise and wear out faster as well.  I should break out the optical tach and check the RPM of a typical Lionel or MTH motor with the impeller attached...