Smoke fluid left in unit.... NOT Good ?

[dbaker48]

I was reviewing some instruction sheets that came with a K-Line engine. Regarding the smoke unit, of course they had a comment about not letting the unit run without fluid.

But, I was a bit surprised when they said

"Note: Do not leave smoke fluid in the smoke units after running. Make sure you run engine until smoke fluid has run out."

This really caught me by surprise, I have never been concerned about leaving fluid in the unit, just overfilling or running dry.

What damage could occur? Doesn't make sense to me....

[ChiefEagles]

They are crazy. I do not now have an K-Line engines but I load my Lionels and MTH's up and they may sit for weeks before I run them. They seem to smoke better that way. All instructions say don't run them out of fluid with the unit on.

[Frank53]

a couple of years ago when I came across my original post war trains, after I ran them for a few minutes, they started puffing clouds of smoke from teh smoke pellets residue from about 35 years ago. I don't know about fluid, but smoke pellets seem to last forever.

[Anonymous]

If the units reservoir isn't tightly sealed or you store the loco in a postion other than upright the fluid will leak out and probably go places it shouldn't. On postwar trains this wasn't a big deal but modern trains crammed with electronics might not take well to getting a mineral oil bath. Personally I think you are more likely to break something trying to get the extra oil out than you are to just leave it alone.

[Jumijo]

We have several Lionel steamers, and it got to be a hassle figuring out how much smoke fluid to add at the beginning of each session. Too little in there and you damage the unit. Too much and it doesn't smoke well, and will overflow. I started storing the locos upside down with a cotton ball in the stack after each session. That let the remaining fluid run off into the cotton, emptying the chamber. Each time we started running one of them, we knew there was no fluid in the stack, and we added the correct amount every time. The steamers never smoked better!

Jim

[lyle_styles]

Hello jaabat,

I like your idea with the cotton ball and am curious on how long you leave the cotton in?

I myself have trouble with overloading my smoke units. Oh, another drop won't hurt. Oh boy. LOL

Thanks for the tip.

Lyle R Ehlers

[Jumijo]

My main problem was overfilling the smoke units as well. You don't have anyway of knowing how much is already in there, and I don't like to run them until they stop smoking. I leave the cotton in until the train runs again, but I'd say after an hour or so, most, if not all of the fluid has drained.

Jim

[MartyE]

I have been working on my layout about 3 weeks. Doing some scenery in the area pictured in photo fun. Haven't run my J in that time. I actually added 10 drops of fluid before I retired it for that time. Man that thing smokes up a storm now.

[Jumijo]

I've heard this approach before as well, Marty. The wick has a chance to really soak up the fluid. I tried that with our Polar Express Berk, but didn't have the results you did.

Still haven't re-wicked it either.

Jim

[johnandjulie13]

Jaabat:

How do you store your locos upside down? Do you have some sort of stand? I like your idea but I would be worried about them falling over/getting scratched.

Regards,

John

[spankybird]

Some K-line engines used Suethe smoke units and they may become cloged up if too much fluid is left in them.

[Jumijo]

I use carboard boxes, like shoe boxes or mailers for some. They get put in a large Tupperware container with silica gel to keep moisture to a minimum. You could make a custom one out of corregated cardboard and duct tape very easily. I also have a loco cradle that I made from a 2x4. Three pieces of 18" lengths glued and screwed together. I place a loco upside down in it, wait for a few hours (overnight usually) then just put the loco away right side up.

Cradle tip:
My Polar Express Berk has a delicate plastic whistle on top of the boiler. To prevent breakage of this item, I drilled a good sized hole in thecradle's bottom piece with a 1" spade bit. The whistle sits recessed in the hole and doesn't get broken off. Sick, huh?!

Jim

[laz 57]

I let the smoke fluid in all my engines never had any problems.
Knock on wood.
laz57

[dbaker48]

Maybe it only affects the warranty when you ship it back to them......

[Jumijo]

A guy gave us a Lionel 4-4-2 starter loco last summer. It had sit for 10 years without being run. You should see that thing smoke!

Jim

[Poppa_Zit]

Well, one thing for sure. It's a great way to keep smoke fluid sales high. LOL