Hi
Just a quick question. I have recently purchased two Broadway limited imports PRR I1s locomotives with smoke generators. Which is the best oil/fluid to use.
Thanks
Chris.
Unless you really enjoy cleaning track, skip the smoke oil because it will leave an oily film on everything in your layout room.
The stuff they ship with it?
You might want to check some place like Micro Mark for a really tiny funnel - or use a syringe. The actual smoke generator where the fluid goes is the smalelr tube inside the stack, if you just try to drio fluid in there, it will get on everything, including the outside of that tube, which will lead it right to the blower fan on the smoke unit. The smoke fluid kinda softens plastic, so what happens is over time the fan impeller starts slipping on the motor shaft and you no longer get the puffing smoke effect. The first of the Paragon 2 locos with smoke shipped with a little funnel, but after that they saved the 2 cents and stopped including it, leading to people having to send the locos back for repair.
So, be careful, don;t be sloppy, and don;t overfill it, a few drops is all it takes. And also if you aren't going to have it smoke, use the switch in the firebox and turn off the smoke unit - running the heater with no fluid in it will cause it to overheat and burn out. In DCC you can turn off the smoke with a function key, but that is reset when power is removed and turned back on, the little switch in the only way to truly shut off the smoke and keep it off until you want to turn it back on again.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Hi.
The reason I'm asking is none was shipped with the locomotives. I don't intend to use it often but it's nice to show off for visitors.
None was shipped with my last two new purchases, a J1 Hudson and a J Class 4-8-4. Oh, wait, also with my BLI 2-10-0 I1 sa. I sent an email inquiry about that to BLI maybe May, but have heard nothing...
I'm not pleased with that performance.
Crandell
Ya whats up with that? I didn't get any smoke fluid with my BLI PRR 4-8-2.
But all my MTH steamers came with fluid. Go figure.
I tried a couple of different types, and they didn't produce good smoke. Only the MTH fluid was the best. So try to find of that. It smells like coal too.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Randy, et al,
You are correct that the smoke is on at power up of BLI locos, as they come out of the box. If you reset CV246 from the default value of 128 to a value of zero (0), that will change the power up from on to what ever the last smoke setting was. So, if you shut down the loco and use F7 to turn off the smoke, then the smoke will still be off on power up. If the smoke was left on at shutdown, then it will power up as on.
Also, I am not sure that todays smoke fluid is an oil. I once spilt some fluid on a page of a book, and when it evaporated, it left no visible stain of any sort. That leads me to think that smoke fluid is an aqueous solution.
Bill
One of the better "smoke" effects I've seen, unfortunately not for HO scale: http://www.megasteam.com/
MotleyBut all my MTH steamers came with fluid. Go figure.
Hi guys,
I have quite a bit of experience with smoke fluid form working in O scale. All of the commercially available smoke fluids are a very light weight mineral oil, but different manufacturers use slightly different weights and scent additives, both of which effects the smoke output. Lionel and MTH use the lightest weight oil and both offer an "un-scented" fluid which has the highest smoke volume output. MTH and JT's Mega-STeam also offer an assortment of scented fluids. The scented fluids produce noticeably less smoke, but they can be used to highten the level of realism. Engines can be fed oil, coal, diesel, or wood scented fluid where appropriate. JT's Mega-Steam is particularly good at producing a convincing aroma. You can also get scents that are less offensive to non-modelers, such as cinnamon rolls, potpourri, bacon and eggs, etc.
The recommendation to get a small funnel is a good one. You can make quite a mess with the standard Lionel or MTH dropper bottles. Both tend to leak as you tip them upside down. It's managable with O scale stack sizes, but in HO they're way too sloppy. JT's comes with a pretty good eye dropper built into the bottle, but by far the best applicator is a needle bottle. JT's sells a nice needle bottle with a bent applicator needle. You can also use an empty LaBelle oil bottle or buy an excellent bottle from Rockler Woodworking Supply.
BTW, all the of these smoke fluids are so light that they will evaporate without leaving a residue. If you have a spill just wipe off the excess and the rest will disappear in a few days. The old wives tales about oily residue on your rails and scenery are bogus.
Hope that helps.
CJWWhich is the best oil/fluid to use.
None of them. It leaves an oily film all over everything. If you don't want to gunk up your track quickly and experience poor running locomotives, stay away from smoke oil.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I'm beginning to wonder if someone did some work on the feature in the hobby in the past 10 years and found a better product than the one that has led so many to warn against using smoke oil. Either it's an urban legend, and not really true when critically examined, or oil that was used in the smoke units in the past was not a great product because of the film it left behind, or smoke units are better, or the oil, itself, has been improved if what Dave claims is true.
I'm not trying to start anything....just thinking analytically about why the disparity in claims.
Crandell-..I don't understand either, some people won't touch the new stuff or the old. I have the smoke in my BLI steamer going all the time, I like the smell, It doesn't bother my eyes or throat, and has never bothered the track , that I've noticed. I don't think BLI would give an answer about an alternative to there oil, but I don't really understand why it would be a problem to keep it on hand. .
I agree with Crandell. I use the JTs Mega Steam, and it doesn't leave any residue on the track.
The key is moderation. I only use it for about 20min or so. Maybe once a week or less.
It has to be a change in formulation. Today's smoke oil isn;t the same as the Lionel smoke fluid from the 40's and 50's. Or even 70's - I had a battery operated bulldozer in the early 70's that smoked, had a capsule of smoke fluid you put in the stack and it smoked, classic smoking locomotive smell. And it was oily all over. The Suethe smoke generators we had in some building in the 70's likewise would be oily around the smoke outlet, like on the roof of the building the generator was in.
A couple years ago, there was a lengthy discussion on the Garden Railways forum about smoke fluids. A chemist who chimed in said he had analyzed several brands of smoke fluid and found them to all be basically nothing more than scented mineral oil.
We purchased a quart bottle of mineral oil at a drug store and have been using it in a Micro-Mark fan-driven smoke generator for our club's IRS building fire for a couple years, now. I rigged up a push-button switch for open house visitors to push to create the smoke instead of it being on all the time.
The biggest drawback to this is the time it takes the smoke to begin emanating from the building windows. There doesn't seem to be any oily residue, and pure mineral oil without any scent added doesn't smell very pleasant.
Hey, Chris
I did a web search under BLI smoke fluid, and there were a handful of places that carry it, including Factory direct trains, and E-Bay.
Good Luck
Philip
On a related topic, where would I purchase the small funnel used to add smoke to HO steam locomotives? My LHR didn't have it.
Either your drug store or amazon will have dental irrigating syringes. Amazon also has micro funnels
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Is MTH smoke fluid also called " Proto Smoke"? A friend of mine gave some to try, but it didn't seem to work very well in'my BLI locos, but other people say it works great. Have any of you tried in a BLI?
Mike C.
My grandsons have a fixation on steam locomotives. We have several BLI locos, a couple of Niagaras, a Hudson, a Mike, a Pennsy T1 and a G1. The boys run them occasionally with Mega-Steam scented smoke fluid. We haven't had any problem with oily residue on track or structures.
The little funnel that Rick mentioned came with each of the smoke capable steamers and I think you can buy them from Mega-Steam as well.
Frankly I don't like to 'smoke' the engines because my train room is small, 10 x 10, and it fills quickly with engine smoke when only a couple of the engines are smoking.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
Next time you go to the doctor (or know someone who is, or works there), grab some of those little black things that snap onto the gizmo they use to look in your ears and nose. Technically, they're nothing more than small FUNNELS! They're usually in a dispenser on the wall, and are different sizes. The smallest one is good for a BLI smoke unit. The other sizes are useful for other things. When the doctor leaves the room (or while waiting for him to get there), grab a pocket full... don't think you didn't PAY FOR THEM already....!
wobblinwheel Is MTH smoke fluid also called " Proto Smoke"? A friend of mine gave some to try, but it didn't seem to work very well in'my BLI locos, but other people say it works great. Have any of you tried in a BLI?
'Proto Smoke' comes in a white plastic bottle that outlines the side view of a steam loco. and has 'MTH' on the container.
Could you be experienceing BLI smoke generater problems?
As far as I know, my smoke units are working fine, although I've always thought they could be better. The lighting in my room leaves a lot to be desired, so the smoke is hard to see anyway. The reason I wanted to try the MTH smoke fluid is, on so many of the YouTube videos of the ho MTH stuff, the smoke is unbelievable! Naturally, I wanted to see if their fluid had something to do with it. It doesn't. The MTH fluid is kinda thick and greasy, and didn't seem to smoke well at all. I have tried BLI, Seuthe, MTH, and Mega Steam. In the BLI units, the Mega Steam is the best so far.
The MTH/Proto Smoke I watched go down a stack yesterday at the LHS was not thick and greasy. It did make nice smoke. I have never used any MTH/Proto Smoke.
dave hikel BTW, all the of these smoke fluids are so light that they will evaporate without leaving a residue. If you have a spill just wipe off the excess and the rest will disappear in a few days. The old wives tales about oily residue on your rails and scenery are bogus.
I agree.
I've had 4 BLI steamers running at the same time - all producing lots of smoke (cloud in the room). Quite frankly, I've had fewer "dirty rail" problems after running them for several months on my layout than I did before I started running locos with smoke.
I agree, it seems the more I run my smoke-equipped locos, the less I have issues with dirty track. Then again, I could be imagining things. I have been known to see things that aren't there... and then come the "voices..."