I decided to start a new thread on this topic to catch the attention of all interested parties who have responded to my earlier thread on my leaking smoke unit.
Some of you say to put only a few drops of liquid smoke fluid into the smoke unit, no more than 8 to 10 drops. Others say fill it to the brim as long as you don't create an overflow situation. Which advice is correct? Or, is either approach OK?
What I wonder is if the smoke unit is filled to capacity, can the coil heat the liquid enough to produce smoke, or is it more effective if the wick is wet but not submerged?
In my case, I had apparently overfilled the smoke unit so that it overflowed, creating what I thought was a leak. I couldn't get the unit to smoke again until I turned the engine upside down overnight to drain the excess.
So which is it? Fill it or just wet it?
Rich
Alton Junction
Rich,
I've always put in 8-10 drops. Gilbert stuffed a lot of wick into the lower chamber, so I wouldn't be real concerned about overfilling. I'd rather take my chances using more fluid rather than running it dry and having to do a rebuild IMHO.
When one of these smoke units overflows, it isn't always due to excess fluid. Even when using a funnel, an air bubble can form in the brass tube and prevent the fluid from entering the lower chamber. Since the fluid can't go down, it comes back up between the funnel and the inside of the tube, then goes everywhere.
I was looking at some old instructions and it was refering to the little red fluid ampules and it was saying to add half of one when the smoke started to thin.
I've had good luck adding 8-10 drops when the smoke stated to thin out and I use a funnel.
Jim
i use a glass mediceine dropper.i put about a inch's worth when servicing customers engines; this allows the lower half of the wick to stay wet in the original smoke boxes. for the later open chamber and solid bottom castings you can use a little more if you run the engine a long time.
now remember for the early units,when you run the engines a lot, the element will dry out the wick from the heat. that is why if you let the engine rest for 20 mins or so, it will smoke again because the wick has cooled down and capillary action has pulled the fluid back up the wick to wet it again.(if you modify the wick holes to the lower half,by drilling them out with a 1/8th or 3/16th's drill bit, the fiberglass will not dry out as fast and you cut back on the above drying out issue)
as for the bubble in the stack or upper chamber,i always use a Flyer funnel in the stack. when you are done filling just give a strong puff into the funnel to break the bubble up. and if you use the Lionel smoke resistor i mentioned in my previous post, then place it as low in the smoke unit as possible. this will allow the element to stay inmersed in fluid and smoke longer.
hope this helps. Mike
So, what am I to conclude?
As long as the smoke unit is not filled to overflowing, is it OK to fill it even though it seems to be prudent advice to limit it to 8 to 10 drops?
Not that filling it would damage the smoke unit, but will it smoke if "filled to the brim"?
And, while we are on the topic, how much smoke fluid will a boiler mounted smoke unit hold?
Rich,if you fill it to the brim,the smoke production will be slim at best. You need the element to get hot enough to vaporize the fluid. too much fluid and everything stays cool and wet, And there is always the chance the vaccum of the piston on the back stroke will pull fluid into the sound chamber and then it will leak out through the screw holes if filled too much.
As for how much fluid a boiler smoke unit can hold,i would guess not much more then a tablespoon. never was interested in that question. I am 52 and been repairing Flyer since I was 16 yrs old. I can assure you my advice is based on sound experiance and observation.
Mike
rrlineman Rich,if you fill it to the brim,the smoke production will be slim at best. You need the element to get hot enough to vaporize the fluid. too much fluid and everything stays cool and wet, And there is always the chance the vaccum of the piston on the back stroke will pull fluid into the sound chamber and then it will leak out through the screw holes if filled too much. As for how much fluid a boiler smoke unit can hold,i would guess not much more then a tablespoon. never was interested in that question. I am 52 and been repairing Flyer since I was 16 yrs old. I can assure you my advice is based on sound experiance and observation. Mike
Thanks, Mike. Based upon 36 years of experience, I am with you. I will stick to 8 to 10 drops at a time. I appreciate your advice.
Anytime Rich. glad to help.
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