Smoke Fluid

If you search the forum, there are numerous threads on smoke fluid.  Since I am the destroyer of smoke units and consequently their fan motors and nearby circuit boards, I am now using Lionel scented smoke fluid in my Lionel locomotives.  Per Jon Z., Lionel's smoke fluid is a non conductor and will not harm circuit boards if you overflow fluid onto them.  But hey, someday I will figure out the right dosages.

The smoke fluids will work in all, however lionel is generally recommended for lionel especially if your lionel engines are going to sit without frequent use.

Thank you

RickM46 posted:

... But hey, someday I will figure out the right dosages.

If you ever do, please make a chart and post here for the rest of us (especially me)!!   

We need something like a 'smoke fluid gauge' similar to the 'gas gauges' in our cars...or a filling device that shuts off when smoke fluid is full, like a gas pump. Sure wish I was smart enough to think of something like this... 

RTR12, I know that there are factors in determining when to add drops of smoke fluid: time engine was run since last fill; volume of plumes being produced; the smell of plastic burning.  If you can establish a point where you know your wick is saturated, then use engine run time and observe smoke volume.  I burned out a new smoke unit in my Big Boy by running it for 20 minutes at medium smoke; now, I am thinking that 10 minutes max and then adding 20 drops - maybe 2 drops per minute gets consumed - wild guess.

The 'Wild Guess' method is about the way I do it too. My post above was supposed to be somewhat in jest, as I think this is quite a PITA sometimes and you can easily mess up unknowingly. Maybe someday there will be a better, more reliable way? Seems that this comes up fairly often around here.

I haven't really burned anything up (yet), but I have had a couple of nasty, messy over fills (anything worth doing is worth over doing). I use MTH smoke fluid so it must be non-conductive as well? However, nothing burned up, as in the electronics that got very well oiled with the fluid. They were certainly covered with fluid and the units are still running without problems and it's been 4-5 years since the first massive over fill. I have really tried to cut back on doing that though...

Could a plastic syringe be subsituted with measured cc instead of eye drip were you sit their and count everyone of the going into smoke unit. An eye drop is how many cc, knowing that we can use more scienfic methods and actuate merthod fill them and not have these over flow or under filled smoke unit that burn out parts

nvocc5 posted:

Could a plastic syringe be subsituted with measured cc instead of eye drip were you sit their and count everyone of the going into smoke unit. An eye drop is how many cc, knowing that we can use more scienfic methods and actuate merthod fill them and not have these over flow or under filled smoke unit that burn out parts

The last few Lionel locos I purchased included plastic droppers that where marked off in just such a manner..

I have been buying Lionel scented smoke fluid since last year (I think scented came out last year); the dropper is graduated in easy to read .25ml increments.  I found that .25ml equates to about 10 drops from that dropper.  I use it because Jon Z. indicated that it is non-conductive and Mike R. indicated that it is a bit thinner than competitors.  Nonetheless, a good working smoke unit is one that is not dry and not overfilled.

I have seen posts in the past where some gents keep a log of dates they refilled their units for each locomotive - I have started that for my AC-9 and will for the Big Boy. 

Rick, I can't see how that accomplishes much, the frequency of refilling is usually correlated to the amount of running with smoke you do.

GRJ, I am thinking the log should contain date, run time, drops, smoke setting but aside from that still requires observation of the smoke cloud. 

I would turn the smoking unit off before I bothered with log books and such.  Definitely not worth the hassle to me!