Bullfrog Snot

[Scoopster]

I saw that a member applied clear silicone to the driver wheels instead of bullfrog snot...any comments?

[bing&kathy]

   Clear silicone = insulation. 'Nough said.

[twhite]

Well, yes, silicone insulates, but then so does the Bullfrog Snot.  The only thing I'd be wondering about is whether or not the silicone would go on the drivers evenly.  I know the Snot tends to even itself out as it's applied.  I will admit that I was a little hesitant about using the Bullfrog Snot at first, but after putting it on one set of drivers of my Proto2000 USRA 2-8-8-2 and watching the pulling power almost double--without interfering with the electrical pickup, I applied it to another loco that was a "meh!" puller, a Custom Brass Rio Grande 4-8-2.  Again, a rather remarkable increase in pulling power and no noticeable decline in electrical pickup (I'm DC, btw).  So I certainly recommend the Snot. 

My only concern about the silicone would be even application to the driver tread and longevity.   I applied the "snot' to these two locomotives about six months ago and so far have not had it wear off the treads.  I don't know how long silicone would last.

Tom

 

[Geared Steam]

Frogsnot insulates the same way silicone does, it's not conductive.

 

[Paul W. Beverung]

I thought about using Bullfrog but a friend of mine said that it transfered to the rail and caused problems. Anyone have that problem?

[RR_Mel]

I have a large fleet of Rivarossi Articulateds and I used Bullfrog Snot on one Cab Forward as test.  The Cab Forward I used for the test is a newer version with full power pickup in the locomotive, front drivers left rail pickup, back drivers right rail pickup.  I applied the Bullfrog to the insolated drivers only, four drivers on each rail.

 

As one of our fellow readers said it will pull the paint off the walls.  I have only done one locomotive and I haven’t put very much run time on it yet, maybe 30 minutes over several weeks.  At this point I haven’t experienced any problems with the track or any other locomotives.

 

The Cab Forward with the Bullfrog runs very good, I might add even a bit less noisy.  The test Cab Forward is operating off a Soundtraxx Sound Decoder and I can’t tell any difference in operation other than increased traction.

 

I have re-motored (Faulhaber 2224, single or dual Canon EN22s) and added weight (8 to 12 oz) to all but three of my 16 Rivarossis so I can’t say how well it would work on a stock Rivarossi.  The test Cab Forward 4294 has a Faulhaber 2224 motor with 10 oz of added #8 birdshot.  The drawbar on my bench test track measures 6.4 oz to stall, the wheels will not slip with Bullfrog Snot on the insolated wheels.

 

At this point I’m still in test mode and don’t plan on expanding the use of Bullfrog yet.  I’m not one for jumping in deep water to test the temperature.

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[BRVRR]

I have used the Bullfrog Snot on a couple of Bachmann 4-8-4s, a Daylight and a NW 611, that were both abysmal pullers. With the Bullfrog Snot on one set of drivers their pulling ability easily doubled. While neither engine gets a lot of running time, they have been in use for a couple of years now without any noticeable wear.

I just did a cleaning of all of my track and found no evidence of transfer either.

A good product that does what it claims to do.

[Burlington Steam]

If there's a down side to Bullfrog Snot its that I've heard it tends to dry out in the container rather quickly, considering its cost is there a way it extend its life?

[selector]

I haven't opened my bottle of Snot in five years, and now I'm afraid to look.  I used in on a total of four locomotives and I have been generally pleased with the results.  As for transfer to the rails, sounds like it was not cured when the item was placed on the rails.  I have never encountered a transference problem.

[twhite]

I've had my Snot for about six or seven months now, and though I've heard of it drying out in the jar, I haven't had that problem, yet, and hopefully won't.  I keep it in a cool, dry and rather dark place, which is probably helping.  And since I've used it, I have had no problem with wheel to rail transference.  Just remember to let it dry for a MINIMUM of 12 hours before running the locomotive.

Tom