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The tip is?
Great diagram. Very helpful. Thanks. Joe
Okay...
Useful, and tips might be drawn from it, but not really a "tip".
More like: " The anatomy of a modern smoke unit".
HEY GUYS - IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL "TIPS" ADD THEM TO THIS THREAD
THAT'S WHAT MAKES THE FORUM GREAT
The only thing to add is do not use the fiberglass pad mentioned. Use the new MTH braided wick. Much better smoke.
TIP: A tiny drop of oil on the metal shaft of the fan motor will quiet down a loud smoke unit. Used this trick on several of my MTH locomotives!
The tip is that folks like me do not have access to MTH literature that shows how things go together. So I make my own sketches, and I thought that others could benefit from them.
It floors me that anybody can make a critical post about Bobby Ogauge's drawing.
Thank you for sharing this information.
Thanks for the information. There was information that the Lionel smoke units are supposed to rotate in a clockwise direction of rotation. Not cupping, rather displacing. Is this true for MTH as well? As our Lionel smoke units are anemic at 16 volts I've never bothered to look into them. In 12 feet an MTH locomotive can out smoke a Lionel one running for 150 feet.
I'm new here so this has probably already been done but, this or a variation if home built could be used for smoke from buildings, cabins, factories. If you need more smoke, add resistors. This would make it much more realistic than some of the fake looking wool or whatever is sticking out of some smokestacks I've seen.
Okay I'll bite, cause I'm always looking for a good tip (and the answers to things swirling around my head)...
Whats the recommended number of Smoke Fluid drops that folks typically use...???
Before storing an engine, would you lay a few drops in to keep the wick moist, or would run the smoke to completion (without burning the wick)...???
Do you run smoke at full volume at all times, as I'll assume that will reduce the units life expectancy...???
And if anyone has any idea on how to convince my wife that Smoke fumes smell great, and don't hurt the environment, I'd like to hear how you get around this one...lol...
I use all the smoke fluid needed to do the job. 
The recommendation is to put some fluid in the smoke unit before storing it.
The wife trick is use scented fluid that she likes the smell of.
gunrunnerjohn posted:
The wife trick is use scented fluid that she likes the smell of.
Negative, John. I know for a fact that my wife likes cinnamon rolls. I also know for a fact she has forbidden me to run my MTH "Cinnamon-Roll" branded smoke while she's awake.
*I* think it smells great.
Doesn't help that the warnings on the bottle basically say you and all your children will die if they ingest any of the smoke liquid. It's an exaggeration, but the label on the bottle makes it clear that the product isn't exactly "safe and friendly".
