Who has given up on smoke units?

I love the smell of the MTH Christmas scent but the Proto 1 units can't be regulated only shut off and will smoke you out of the house. Thats why I had the exhaust fan installed. 

OK, I am assuming that you have a LOT of weathered steam and diesel locomotives, plus you are VERY experienced at doing the weathering yourself, in order to make such statements? Now, I am not able to do weathering myself (asthma), so I have a friend, who is a long standing custom modeler, scratch builder, and painter/weatherer do the weathering on EVERYTHING I own. He has also been doing my custom weathering since 1972, going back to my HO modeling days! EVERY SINGLE time I have attempted turning on the smoke units on ANY of my dozens of MTH steam models, or 19 Sunset/3rd Rail models, or 5 Lionel models, the dammed oil droplets spit out and fall down all over the top of the smokebox! All the clear/dull coat in the world isn't going to mask that crap sitting on top of everything!

Hot Water,

Johnnyspeed's comment, I think, is from the interpretation of smoke fluid "messing up" or "ruining" weathering meaning that the smoke fluid will physically destroy or melt away the weathering; like acetone and thinner can destroy the paint, not just because it "covers it up."

While I agree that smoke fluid remnants can negate flat or dull finishes, and chalk weathering with no overcoat to protect aside, a layer of smoke fluid certainly isn't going to hide any simulated rust, ash, dust, and similar effects.

Do you also have a lot of weathered steam locomotive models, and have also seen what that darned oil does to the nice soot effect on the top of the smokebox?

I for the life of me don't understand the "weathering" of engines....do you guys purposely dirty up your cars as well (just kidding!)?   Seriously, one of the reasons I really got hooked in the hobby was because of the improved smoking effect on these new locos.   Can't imagine running a steamer without it.....diesels, only occasionally only because it's not as impressive to me.... 

I assume your perception of all real railroad equipment is that it stays perfectly clean for ever?

Exactly what I meant John. I have never seen smoke fluid "eat through" any weathering that was properly sealed. I have never had a problem with it on my engines that I have weathered. Never had an issue with residue messing up anything on the layout either. Like I said, I don't understand the issue. Not saying it doesn't exist, but I don't have it. If you are getting a ton of liquid drops spitting from the stack then you are probably putting in too much fluid. Either way, a quick wipe down when done running and it's all good. Not a problem for me.

Smoke = Good IMHO. Steam engines that don't smoke look goofy to me.

smoking trains is one of the aspects i love about toy trains.fortunately the smoke doesn't bother my wife.

i always leave my smoke units on and never turn them off.i've had only two resistor's go out on me the last five year's i've been into O gauge.i have about 25 smoker's total so im having pretty good luck so far.

although i cant repair them myself no more i send them out to a pro for repair if need be.

thop........

Some people want to play with toy trains, some people want a scale model of reality.  Neither is wrong.

In the back of my mind I always wondered if the same principles used in a vaporizer could be used to produce non oily "smoke". I would think it would be healthier. I suppose it would add to the overall cost and the voltage could be problematic to get it to work. No wicks. When I used to use smoke fluid the refilling was fairly often, so I imagine a small reservoir filled with a similar eye dropper might be feasible..just a passing thought...fans are already used with the smoking oil..I realized the smoke units contributed a great deal to gunk on the rails, so I stopped using this option.

Bruce 

The incredibly realistic smoke effects are what attracted me to O gauge in the first place. Give up on smoke....never. If it makes a mess....well that's just part of the maintenance.

Fifteen or so years ago, when I had a garden RR, I always envied those O gauge guys with their smoke'n steamers....and then 'i saw the light'

Ray 

Give up on smoke units?  Wut? That's just  talk, there.

What's next, changing to HO?

The PRR Panhandle is set in the mid-1950s.  Lots of pollution, lots of smoke, but lots of prosperity.  In my recreation of this time, we are running 3 shifts with all 4 blast furnaces producing iron, and my 1:48 workers are fully employed.

George

That's a good thought. I was wondering if there's some technology in those new-fangled e-cigarettes that we could leverage. Minus the nicotine...

Pete

I am not sure I get the "gucky residue" and "oily mess" business exactly. 

I have been using JT's exclusively the last few years and I don't notice this at all, and I use the smoke feature a lot when running steamers.

I have a window exhaust fan and it passes a lot of smoke during an average operating session.

Now if there is a "gucky residue" inherent in the smoke it would be deposited all over the exhaust fan blades, right? 

A short while ago I had it apart for inspection, and guess what? No residue of any sort on the blades at all!

Another thing I have noticed. When a small amount of fluid is accidentally spilled on the side of a boiler during filling, I wipe it up as best I can, but it leaves a shiny residue unavoidably. By the next day this residue has completely evaporated leaving no trace of where it was. So how is a fluid that evaporates like this going to leave an oily residue? 

Maybe it's just me, but I think the concerns about oily mess and eating scenery are largely overblown.

For those that have had this problem, maybe consider trying a different smoke fluid? Just a thought.

Rod

Smoke is the business ! cant imagine any engine without smoke

We only run engines that smoke exceedingly well over here in the UK, its all part of the experience, have to have all the windows open or we cant see the trains and you can forget the smoke alarms (heaven knows what the insurance company would say )

If an engine doesn't smoke well then it has to go to the inhouse repair shop for new wadding and a good clean.

All mine smoke well and visitors especially children love the smoke particularly on the steam locos

I have to close by saying first prize over here goes to Mike W who's engines have the most incredible smoke !

We have no problem with smoke fluid residue on the rails, could this be a case of a leak or some overfilling ?

Rod

It may depend on what specific smoke unit is used. Perhaps even the fluid. I know that once I stopped using these units the blackish gunk from the rails vanished to a great extent. When I wiped the track and looked at the paper towel, it was black..like oil..and had a very similar consistency. No recent oiling of engines or cars had predated this build up. As they say, results may vary..and I don't have an exhaust fan which may be a contributing factor.

i concur. I too use MegaSteam and I've never noticed any residue on anything. I also don't suffer from 'spitting' or oil droplets on the bodies of my locomotives. But then, I am careful when filling (I use the little funnel, and add fluid slowly.) and I ensure that the smoke unit is turned off and has cooled for a few minutes before I add fluid.

As Rod states, any time that I have spilt a drop or two onto the body shell, it wipes off easily and leaves no marks after a few hours to allow for evaporation.

I normally run smoke on everything that I have running, and I don't consider it a good day if I can still see across the room after a few minutes! 

I don't use smoke due to poor ventilation in the trainroom, and the mess it makes over time on the locomotives, using the traditional fluids.

We do put 10-15 drops in the smoke units from time to time to keep the wicks okay and for the occasional times the locomotive comes up with the smoke unit running.

This picture was posted by another forum member a couple weeks ago. This is what happens when you mix weathering with smoke fluid. Steam or diesel, 100 layers of Dull-Cote, it can, and usually does happen. It's not going to "eat" plastic, but its a lot like dripping butter on your shirt.

I use JT's and MTH smoke. The only way I have ever had an engine look like this was when my son was little and just learning. As was mentioned above, turn the smoke unit off, let cool, do not overfill. Any little (not like this) spots are wiped off and evaporate soon after. Obviously this is different for different people. It would be interesting to find out what the variables are because I simply don't have this problem. If I still owned my weathered steamers I would post a pic, but I don't. But that much fluid would be visible on factory painted engines. My son runs full smoke all the time on his Railking engines and even after a couple hours they have never looked this bad.

Perhaps a light coat of smoke fluid sprayed all over this KK4 would actually enhance the appearance?  Or at least even it out...

We run our smoke units all the time. As stated by many above, its a great feature and adds to the realism and fuels our imaginations!

My American Flyer 312 K5 was a great smoker as a boy and I have fond memories of the hefty white puffs along with the 'authentic' Gilbert Choo-Choo that was severely lacking in my friend's 3 rail trains...

I haven't.

My 13-year old has severe issues with the smoke, so I make sure not to have the smoke unit on if he is around when I'm running the trains.  Otherwise, puff away!