Weaver G5 4-6-0

Seuthe smoke unit. 

Thx Mike.  so not too awful bad but a far cry from what is on stuff now.  is there room inside for something like an MTH protosmoke unit?  or are there other recommendations?

Not a lot of room, there is a pc board also installed in the smoke box.

Wow!  Thx for that!  looks like the front light and the smoke unit itself are probably driven from that light.  any idea if anything else?  maybe the front marker lights, if those are active?  i wonder if that board could be moved?

personally i do not know how large the protsmoke units are.  i see removing the seuthe would free up some space.  unfortunately buyinf one of these is kinda expensive proposition just to find out!

how do you think this smoke unit performs in this loco? no sound in this, right (not until i add DCC!)?

do you know how many amps this thing draws at slip?

again, thank you Mike!

 Everything front is from this PC board.  This G5 has a very early Digital Dynamics TMCC upgrade, but it was difficult to wire all front items to the tender.  So the PC board and Seuthe unit are connected as initially wired.   

You also have a lead weight directly behind the smoke area.  It can be done, you more mechanical work then electrical.  A smaller VR board can be installed to support the headlight and markers, if you put smoke in.  Lead weight may need some trimming.  G

Ah - so that board is really just a voltage regulator board?  perhaps even moved remotely if the wires are extended to get it out of the way?  or a new circuit built?  although it seems relatively compact already compared to a homebuilt project board.  maybe a new one that just uses the components rather than a project board might work.

how much does a protosmoke unit cost to retrofit into something like this?  i assume they will work with a DCC unit such as an Economi?   or only PS3? (new to this stuff)

i am not afraid of doing this stuff, i would just like to understand the major outlays before i start making the commitments.

thanks to both of you - very helpful so far!

You can make a smaller VR board to do lights.  Or drive it from your decoder if your going LED.  I do not know what your DCC decoder can support.  You have Lionel and MTH units designed to work off track power for $35 to $50 cost of smoke unit. You have other units designed to be driven my a board which only have elements and smoke fan.  So it really depends on what you are doing.  Photos of MTH smoke in a Williams Brass converted to PS-2.   G

Thank you again!  The decoders I have been looking at generally have enough accessory outputs to drive led lights, so can probably drive them directly if i change them to led.  the one thing i struggle with, becasue i have not done enough research yet, is how to get a smoke unit like the protosmoke unit, to 'puff' in sync with the chuff sound/drivers?  do decoders or the PS2/3 board generally handle that if/when they have the outputs for smoke units?  or do they have a signal that rides on the engine output (where the smoke unit is also connected to engine output) for the smoke unit to detect?

$30 - $50 is more than acceptable!  are those fan driven units?

in general, given a choice between one of these Weaver 4-6-0 G5s and a MTH 4-6-0 G5 (looks like it has PS1 but already has protosmoke) would you recommend one over the other give my goals?  i am somewhat torn!  i am going to convert to some form of BPRC, either Bluerails (might have to wait on their new bluetooth to DCC stuff) or S-CAB like.  i wish i could afford both.

One of my first Weaver models on the second-hand market. 

that is the model i am looking to buy, but also considering the MTH I mentioned above.

MTH does it all with tach reader and processor control.  Yes fan driven.  Here is the MTH Upgraded with PS-32 which has a built in DCC decoder.  I would go the MTH route.  To get all you want would be too expensive otherwise.  MTH PS-1 has everything needed, just modify for PS-32 operation. Plus more light features with markers, firebox, cab light.   G

I ended up getting the MTH.  should be here by the end of the week.  thank you guys.

I put MTH smoke units in Weaver, Williams, and 3rd Rail brass all the time.  After you remove the circuit board and the Seuthe unit, there's usually enough room.  At times I've taken a small amount off the weight, but usually it fits without that.  All of these have been TMCC or PS/2 upgrades, so driving the smoke unit was accomplished by the upgrade electronics.