Too much batting in MTH Premier??

I have 2 Premier Proto-Sound 3 SD50s (20-20424-1) that do not produce that much smoke compared to my Premier Proto-Sound 2 GP40 (20-2758-1). Same thing went for my Premier Proto-Sound 3 AC4400CW (20-20383-1).

 

The Premier Proto-Sound 3 locomotives manufactured in the last year seem to have a large wad in the smoke bowl. It certainly feels that way when I probe around with the needle tip applicator on the smoke fluid bottle. Even on the MAX setting the smoke output isn't as prolific as it is on older models like my GP40 (2007).

i know2 if you take to much batting out you'll burn up the heater, bleive it is a fine line between to much and not enough,always remember the fluid acts as a cooling agernt for the heater.

Alan

P.S. if you ask the guru's on these mth web forum's they will tell you they ususally don't add fluid daily only when smoking slows down significantly !

Alan

My limited experience with smoke units is that each and every unit is unique and must be treated as such. I find myself opening each smoke unit and adjusting the wadding, the heat element height/location, check/lube fan motor and test it while open to get it to perform they way I like.

Yes, too much batting is not good. Adjust accordingly...

It's not that there's really too much batting in there, MTH wraps the batting around the resistor, blocking the hole most of the time. If you unwrap the batting from the resistor, wad up the batting and stuff it down in the reservoir, it will smoke even better. I'm not sure why they do that, but it burns the batting really bad most of the time. Every one of my MTH was done in this manner, and I changed it when doing smoke unit maintenance. 

I think the MTH engines I have opened have all (or almost all) had the same thing with the wick wrapped around the resistor. I rework the wicks as you do.

 

I think it would be very interesting of someone could explain the thinking behind this and why they do it that way. I would like to hear any thoughts behind doing it this way.

I always thought the idea of having the wick pinched between the heat source of 2 elements is far superior to hoping a single element is sitting in a flat wad of padding.

 

The new MTH Wick is a single thicker cord like piece.  I pinch between the elements and just ensure it sits down in the bottom of bowl so there is an air gap between fan housing opening and wick.

 

If you tested your engines circuit board on a board tester you would see that not all engines are programed for smoke the same way.  Some have higher effective voltage going to the element.  Some of the newer PS-3 seem to have more prototypical smoke release.

 

Real diesels don't pour black smoke out the stack intentionally.

 

I would check the fan motor too.  Sometimes an impeller is slipping and that is the reason for reduced smoke.  Or the gasket has swelled and is restricting impeller motion.  G

Mine worked great pinched between the elements when they were new, but they burn, badly over time.   Thats why I just wad them up and stuff the batting down in the bowl just like Lionel does. Its still in direct contact with the resistor but doesnt burn as bad, as quick, if you keep it soaked. You still have more smoke than you can handle for long periods of time.

That's how I started doing mine. As long as the element is in good contact with the batting. But there has been a lot of batting stuffed in there lately. Enough that it blocks the exhaust port.

The way I control for realistic smoke output is through the remote. But when I want to have a smoke fest its there if they are working properly.

I recently added Legacy to my layout along side DCS. Sadly the Lionel engines I have out smoke the MTH. That's what got me adjusting the MTH units. But still the Legacy engines are winning significantly. I'm surprised.

There is clearly a programming difference between later issue PS3 diesel engines and earlier PS3 models as well as PS2. The ramping up of smoke output according to the amount of "effort" the engine has to put out is certainly meant to be more prototypical  than having a large volume of smoke on or shortly after startup. MTH did not makes a big deal out of explaining this; if you don't know about it the reduced smoke output at idle and low labor will certainly seem like underperformance compared to PS2.

 

I wonder how many PS3 diesels have been returned for servicing because of this when in fact they have a different operating characteristic.

I went to the trouble of creating a little electronic module so I could reduce the smoke output of my TMCC upgrades at idle, it's a great feature.  The MTH smoke unit operation has always been top-notch IMO, they do a very nice job with the smoke feature.

 

A simple push of the batting from side to side by the needle tip applicator created more smoke. I didn't have to remove any wadding or unwrap it from the heating element.

 

I guess I got accustomed to the amount of smoke my PS2 GP40 emits. I figured that was normal for an MTH smoke unit. It's far from prototypical like the newer PS3s but it does look cool.

 

I still find that the smoke set on any other setting besides MAX produces next to nothing.

I do have one RK Scale RS-3 (2014 catalog and got it around March '15) that has a smaller smoke unit (and only one element) than other MTH engines. It only outputs a small amount of smoke compared to all the others. It had only a couple of pieces of wicking tied around the single element. Much less than is usually used in the dual element units.

Marc, Based on comments here, you must be the only one. In general, MTH smoke units out perform Lionel.  Normally trouble free unless under or over filled.  G