modern lionel oil pumping rig

[traindood]

hello: received for Christmas new  version of lionel's oil pumping rig, not the old 455. curious why glass tube does not bubble vigorously. it bubbles but slowly with small bubbles. i have seen other ones that bubble quite strongly i am using an 18watt bulb because i will use command soon. i run rig at full power on my modern zw. 

[Anonymous]

There can be a lot of things that effect the bubble rate.

1. Ambient room temperature
2. The oil inside the tube has not warmed up
3. I think Lionel changed the liquid at some point. If memory serves me correct, the original bulbs contained a toxic liquid and if they broke you could get sick if the liquid were ingested. I still would not recommend breaking a vial and drinking the contents.
4. Make sure you are supplying a full 18w to the bulb.

[traindood]

hello: thanx for quick reply. a fella told me there is a oil stone compound at bottom of glass vial, and depending on amount of this compound at bottom will determine the force of the bubbles rising to the surface. i never heard of this, but there is a lot i haven't heard  of! quality control of these products is the pits! would you believe i waited two yes two years for this product after ordering from the train station in mountian lakes nj!!      

[sir james I]

I'm sure you know lionel doesn't make the bubble tubes they are the same ones used in christmas lights. The only way to get bubbles from them is lots of heat. A 14 volt bulb at higher voltage will work but shorten the bulb life.

[seasonalrailfan]

I dug out my original 455 oil rig from the late 50's for this years holiday layout.......unfortunately it has NO bulb in it!  I know it used to take a GE455 12v bulb which I can probably find somewhere, but I have the same concern as you. I run TMCC and boost track and accessory voltage to the max. does the 18v bulb you have still use the standard bayonet type socket?

[joeyj1575]

You may like to checkout this link on bubble lights and how they work.

http://www.oldchristmastreelights.com/bubble_lights1.htm

Joe J

[lionelsoni]

The GE number 455 is a 6.5-volt 50-milliampere flasher.

Here are some candidates, in order of power at 18 volts, and their average lifetimes:

  53, 2442 milliwatts,  69 hours
1445, 2700 milliwatts, 137 hours
 433, 4500 milliwatts, 250 hours
  57, 4960 milliwatts,  25 hours
1895, 5580 milliwatts,  74 hours
 293, 6820 milliwatts, 245 hours

The first two are G-3.5, the rest G-4.5.  All are miniature bayonet.

[traindood]

 hello: i use a 1445 18watt bulb. easy to find, about 2 bucks or so. first one that came with it burned out pronto! and ye it is good to be the king! have a good one! thanx.  

[traindood]

hello: great idea! will do asap. first honey do's. thanx, have a good one! 

[traindood]

hello again: yes they are all bayonet type,see ya!

[traindood]

hello: i am currently using a 1445 bayonet type. first one that came with it burnt out pronto! i will check these candidates out asap. thanx! have a good one!

[traindood]

hello: if i use a no. 263 type bulb at the high milliwatts, will it adversely effect the oil rig with the electronics because it is a modern type?

[lionelsoni]

A 2.4-volt 263 would burn out very quickly even if you could get its screw base into the bayonet socket.

A 293 however would simply draw 379 milliamperes at 18 volts.  Whether that could be a problem for the accessory, you'll have to ask Lionel; but I doubt it.

[traindood]

 hello: my mistake; i meant a 293 bayonet type bulb. too much bubbly! thanx!

[lionelsoni]

Traindood sent me this message:

"hello; have been on the phone with lionel. asked them about variety of bulbs you suggested. lionel is going to send me a 18v 200 milliamp bulb. part # 6109165300. i know you sent me a list of bulbs in milliwatts. how do you convert milliwatts to milliamps? also #1445 according to lionel is rated at .2 milliamps. hope this solves the problem. thanx!"

Lionel probably meant not .2 milliamperes but rather .2 amperes, which is 200 milliamperes.  But that is not the rating of the 1445.  GE rates the 1445 at two voltages, 135 milliamperes at 14.4 volts and .150 milliamperes at 18 volts.

The power (in watts) is the product of the voltage (in volts) and the current (in amperes); or, equivalently, the power in milliwatts (thousandths of watts) is the product of the voltage (in volts) and the current in milliamperes (thousandths of amperes).

If you know a lamp's rated current at any one voltage, you can estimate the current at any other voltage by multiplying the rated current by the .55 power of the ratio of the voltages.  Likewise, you can estimate lifetime using the -12 power of the voltage ratio.  For example, the number 53 lamp is rated for 120 milliamperes at 14.4 volts.  To find its current at 18 volts, take the .55 power of 18/14.4, which is about 1.131, and multiply 120 milliamperes by that.  The result is 136 milliamperes.