Lionel/American Flyer Mikado smoking capability

[arnoldafl]

What kind of smoking capability has anyone who operates one of these steam engines seen? I have one which usually puts out just a barely noticeable whiff of smoke but on rare occasions puts out large puffs of the stuff. I would like to see it puff that way all the time but it won't. A question to Lionel support came back with a very short response: "The Mikado smoke unit is a seuthe smoke unit. It comes out as a steady stream and does not puff." I don't seem to remember that description in the advertisements.

Bill