2055 Smoke issue

[srguy]

I took this 2055 out of 15 years of storage and have been running it consistently for about 2 months now. I don't recall the smoke being weak prior to storing it but it seems that the more I run it the less it smokes. Using smoke pellets. Typically I run it at 12+ Volts on a KW with about 10 freight cars. I have lifted the unit off the tracks a bit and let it run at a high speed and it puffs and smokes heavily ... like I remember it should!  When I put it back running at a normal speed the smoke has all but disappeared. Any thoughts on what I might do to correct this situation??

[lionelsoni]

There are two ways to get more heat out of the smoke generator:  less resistance or more voltage, since the power is the square of the voltage divided by the resistance.

Some folks remove a turn from the heating element to reduce the resistance.  This is probably irreversible, but might be what you want to do.

Simply increasing the track voltage will make more smoke, as you discovered; but also makes the train run faster, which you probably don't want.  There is a trick of raising the track voltage, but then reducing the voltage to the motor inside the locomotive.  You can do this by putting a voltage dropping element in series with the motor.  I recommend bridge rectifier modules for this, like this one:  http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062580&filterName=Type&filterValue=Rectifiers

(You will not be using it as a rectifier, just as a voltage-dropping element.)  Connect the + and - terminals together and wire the ~ terminals in series with the motor.  This will give you about a volt less on the motor than on the smoke generator, which is equivalent to a volt more on the smoke generator than on the motor.

[SantaFe158]

I'd suggest checking that air hole above the piston, smoke pellet residue can get in there causing it to clog up. When that happens the puffing action is disabled, that's an easier fix that rewiring stuff if that's what your problem is. To clean it just get a thin piece of wire or a small nail and pass it through the hole until it looks clean. They really aren't the greatest smokers to begin with.

[arkady]

SantaFe158

I'd suggest checking that air hole above the piston, smoke pellet residue can get in there causing it to clog up. When that happens the puffing action is disabled, that's an easier fix that rewiring stuff if that's what your problem is. To clean it just get a thin piece of wire or a small nail and pass it through the hole until it looks clean. They really aren't the greatest smokers to begin with.

I agree with Santa.  My postwar 2026 stopped smoking, too.  So I dismantled the smoke unit and found that it was completely filled and clogged with waxy crud.  Now that I've removed the mess, the 2026 is the best smoker I have. 

I use liquid smoke in it now, but that's your call.

 

[srguy]

Are there any instructions on how to do this??? Also, does liquid smoke work with the original pellet units??

[arkady]

srguy

Are there any instructions on how to do this???

Yes:

http://www.lionel.com/ForTheHobbyist/GeneralTipsAndFAQs/TechTip2.cfm#Pellet

Also, does liquid smoke work with the original pellet units??

I've done it both ways.  The Lionel instructions given at the link above tell you how to install a conversion kit that turns the pellet smoke unit into a liquid unit.  I've done that, and it works.  It involves replacing the original nichrome heater unit with a small resistor and adding a small pre-cut fiberglass pad.

I've also converted a pellet unit by just prying it apart (using a small screwdriver or knife blade), removing the heater, cleaning the smoke chamber with a Q-tip and putting a pad of fiberglass in the bottom.  I just used a little wad of fiberglass pulled from the insulation in my attic.  If you do this, be careful not to block the air hole. Then I put the heater back in, snapped the unit back together and added a couple drops of smoke fluid.  This also worked very well.

 

[SantaFe158]

There's no need to do a conversion to your smoke unit. My postwar locomotives work perfectly on either pellets or fluid, but as I said before, you have to clean all that gunk out of them from 50 years of operation. It's way easier to burn a resistor from a conversion kit out than it is to burn the old style element out. It's up to you but I wouldn't replace the element with a resistor, just takes away from the originality of the locomotive.

[srguy]

Well, I found some instructions on ctt and cleaned out the unit and put a new fiberglass pad in the base of the unit. It smoked great for a few seconds and after I put in a new pill the smoke got weaker.  Ran it for a while at 14V and can barley see any smoke although it is better than before the cleaning, Did I put too many pellets in the chamber?? Thoughts.

[SantaFe158]

If you just put one smoke pellet in it should be OK. I usually put it in neutral for awhile on a higher setting and let it warm up, then I tap the lever near the pistons that the rods hit to make the chuffing to see if it'll smoke enough, then let it go around the layout smoking away. I don't recall that the 2055's were/are great smokers. I have a 736 berkshire that smokes beautifully on fluid, not so great on pellets so maybe you could try fluid in your 2055, just don't overfill the chamber and you should be good.

[arkady]

SantaFe158

I have a 736 berkshire that smokes beautifully on fluid, not so great on pellets so maybe you could try fluid in your 2055, just don't overfill the chamber and you should be good.

That's how my 681, 2026 and 675 are.  They never were outstanding smokers with pellets, but they put out all the smoke I could want on fluid.

 

[SantaFe158]

And there's a company out there called JT's Mega-Steam who make scented smoke fluids (pretty much any scent you can think of) and one of their scents is "Smoke-Pellet", haven't tried it but hear it smells a lot like it if you want to go for that classic postwar touch while using fluid.