You will have to check all the usual suspects.
-Is the element heating up appropriately?
-Is the smoke lever exerting a full stroke on the piston?
-Is the piston moving freely up AND down?
-Is the cylinder-to-bowl vent clear/unobstructed?
-Is there adequate wadding in the bowl?
-What smoke medium (pellet/liquid) are you using?
Using the 2046 as a good working example, you can probably drill down each of these items. Both locos can be run with the cabs off to compare them side by side.
Rob
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
thanks guys, now that i think of it, didn't Chief post something about making post war locos smoke better not too long ago. anyway, now i have something to follow.
Mike
I've mentioned this many times before: You can effectively boost the voltage to the smoke generator by dropping the voltage to the motor (and the headlight if you want). Making the motor voltage lower than the smoke-generator voltage is the same as making the smoke-generator voltage higher than the motor voltage.
You can do this with a resistor, but getting the right size is tricky. A better way is to use rectifier diodes, not for rectifying but for their voltage drop. A convenient way to get diodes for this purpose is to use packaged bridge rectifiers, like the Radio Shack 276-1146 4-ampere 50-volt bridge, and connect the + and - terminals together. Then connect the other terminals (maybe marked with ~) in series with the motor and any other bridge-rectifier modules you use--but not the smoke generator. You can use several of these in series if you need to and have room for them. Each one will lower the motor voltage by a volt or so. If you find that you need finer adjustment, you can use half of a rectifier module by connecting to the (wired together) + and - pins and either or both of the other two pins.
Bob Nelson
Bob is right. He taught me how to do this in reverse. I wanted to smoke a dummy diesel. To prevent too much smoke and burning out the smoke element, we reduced the voltage with these. I also have used it in several application to reduce voltages. 5 turne dout to be too many for the smoke unit at 18V in command. 3 was the majic number for that.
Chief,
Is pink fiberglass better than yellow? I know you recommend the pink.
jimtrumpie wrote:Is pink fiberglass better than yellow? I know you recommend the pink.
Jim, the color doesn't matter. Both work the same.
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Jim,
Thanks for your reply.
Chief, excuse my ignorance but what does OGR (O Gauge Railroading??) stand for and is it a free video clip or one to purchase?
I recently put a new pill-type smoke element in a 2037. I also placed some fiberglass insulation under it. It smoked great. Then one day this week, I took the shell off to swap with a better shell. I put it all back together and ran the engine. No smoke. Eventually I detected the problem. When I put the new shell on, I accidently knocked the puffer lever out of it's grooves, and it wasn't pumping. Once I fixed that, it started smoking good again. If that lever isn't moving, or moving far enough, it won't puff smoke.
Jim
ezmike wrote: Chief, excuse my ignorance but what does OGR (O Gauge Railroading??) stand for and is it a free video clip or one to purchase?Mike
Backshop Videos are not free. You have to find the right volume #. Check OGR site [O Gauge Railroading].
ezmike,
Among other things, OGR is a magazine, store and a Q & A forum. Their forum is still free; lunch is not.
http://www.ogaugerr.com/
Thanks guys, yes, there's no such thing as free lunch, there's always a catch. I appreciate the help. I'm gonna go through that check list tonight and see what happens. I'm not sure I understand what has to be done to the rod, but I'll compare it to the 2046 and see what I come up with. I'm still feeling my way around so it takes a little longer. At least I guessed right with OGR!!
Later!
Okay guys, I went through the check ist last night.
-Although I don't know what proper heating would be, I dropped a pellet in and it melted pretty quickly.
-I both hand turned the wheels and ran it in test mode and it looks like the piston comes all the way down without coming out and all the way up.
-Looks like the piston moves freely.
-I cleaned out the vent.
-I replaced the wadding with "new" pink insulation.
Still not as much smoke as the 2046.
I'm gonna take her apart again to check that the piston is not coming out of the cylinder at all, I don't think it is. If when I do that I want to ensure full stroke of the smoke lever, where do I bend it and in which direction? Also, the smoke unit is one with a metal top.
Thanks again for you assistance.
ezmike wrote:Okay guys, I went through the check ist last night......Still not as much smoke as the 2046.I'm gonna take her apart again to check that the piston is not coming out of the cylinder at all, I don't think it is. If when I do that I want to ensure full stroke of the smoke lever, where do I bend it and in which direction? Also, the smoke unit is one with a metal top.Thanks again for you assistance.
Okay guys, I went through the check ist last night...
...Still not as much smoke as the 2046.
Try a 2026-44 spring above the piston. Picture on this page:
Smoke Unit Parts
The spring is a good suggestion as I used it in all my postwar steamers as per Lionel's original service manual instructions. they originally had said it's for quieter operation but I think it helps force more smoke out of the stack.
If this doesn't help I would take a turn off the element or replace it. I have heard that repro elements need a turn taken off of them as well. I have some original elements from Jeff Kane at traintender so he might still have some.
Mike S.
I'm ordering some parts from Jeff either tonight or tomorrow. I'll try the 2026-44 spring. I don't know what you mean by "need a turn taken off the element". The smoke unit looks original. I'll also check with Jeff about these too. Are you suggesting to use original Lionel elements or a repro from Jeff?
I got orginal elements from Jeff and I'm pretty sure he still has them. A few years back I installe a repro one and was never happy with the output. Some old-timer told me to unsolder the nichrome wire from the ceramic element and cut off one turn of nichrome wire and then resolder.
Even Lionel recommends this in their original service manual for greater smoke output. Of course you will most likely shorten the life of your element if it burns hotter.
I have never done this but have heard about it many times.
Mike s.
Chief, the part that goes up into the piston has a little "tongue" that points towards the front of the loco, do you bend that up or down or do you bend the part that goes up towards the stack, if so which way (towards the front or back)?
msacco, sorry, you did say Jeff had some original elements, my bad. But I still don't know what you mean by the other statement.
Mike,
Sorry our postings "crossed in the mail". I think I know what you mean.
I think.
ezmike wrote: Chief, the part that goes up into the piston has a little "tongue" that points towards the front of the loco, do you bend that up or down or do you bend the part that goes up towards the stack, if so which way (towards the front or back)?msacco, sorry, you did say Jeff had some original elements, my bad. But I still don't know what you mean by the other statement.Mike
I bend the flat part coming from the cam at the end.
My 681 smokes great.
Make sure the new insulation is thick enough so that it's touching the heating element. Soak it with fluid and run it for a while. You might not notice a difference at first, but the longer it runs, the better it will smoke.
If that doesn't work, try a new element. You might want to consider one that goes in a 2025 instead. That one has less windings and heats the fluid at a lower voltage. That part number is 675-225 at Olsen's.
Chief, is that the little piece at the very end, up inside the piston pointing towards the front of the loco? Do you bend it up or down?
As for the other suggestions, I'm going to take it apart again tonight, re-fill with enough insulation to touch the bottom of the bowel (I had it filled more but the element/cap wouldn't stay on but this time I'll soak it first) and see what happens.
I did see more smoke last night, not as much a the 2046, but more. Let's see what happens.
You will still need to put about 3 drops down the stack on the heating element. Then just let it run with some heavy cars behind it. The higher the voltage, the stronger it will smoke.
Just a FYI, I just took off a turn off my 2056 heating element's nichrome wire since it never smoked that well. Boom, I've just doubled the output using regular sp pellets. Now, it still can't compare to a good modern puffer, but it puffs way more than ever before. I've always wanted to try this but have been too lazy.
I've pretty much abandoned fluid in my postwar locos because I'm gettin tired of the smell (even JT's) and the dirty track. When I run with pellets I do get less smoke but my track is much cleaner. Liquid smoke is really messy.
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