I know this seems like a dumb question but since I've only recently acquired some decent HO steam locos, and never taken one of these apart I don't really know what I'm looking for or at.
I've recently made a number of related posts regarding this subject. But, how do I know if the smoke generator is filled or has adequate smoke fluid?
The problem (for me) is that I seem to be getting inconsistent smoke results. The locos CV are set for smoke ON at power up. After doing a hardware reset on one loco the smoke worked great. Then, after turning the layout off, and the next day turning it back on, there was way less smoke (barely detectable). Increasing the CV for heater power made no difference. I've put several more drops of fluid in. Looking down the stack with a light I can't see anything.
EDIT: The reason I'm asking is because the owner's manual and other documentation is somewhat inconsistent. One place is says add 2-3 drops. Another place is says add 5-6 drops. While in other places it warns of damage to the loco if operated without any smoke fluid, or with too much. If one has been adding fluid, turning up the heater power, and getting inconsistent results how is one to know if too much or too little fluid has been added? Certainly this can't be the same issue with 5 different locos!
I'd too like to hear more about all of this. "Bump" ;-)
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
In the O gauge world it works like this, if it's a liquid smoke unit and you can't turn it off keep it "wet", otherwise it'll burn out.
If it's a traditional Lionel post-war pill type smoke unit you don't have to do anything if you don't want to, that old nichrome wire technology is pretty tough and doesn't need to be fed all the time.
Not much help with HO I know, but if the manual's not so well written on the locomotive you've got the best thing to do is contact the manufacturer for a clarification.
If the old nichrome tech worked well and is reliable, plus easy to use (ie: a small tablet/pill), why isn't this implemented today? These are $500 to $1K locos I'm talking about!!! Surely that little piece of wire can't add that much to the cost!!
I finally did get an answer back from BLI regarding the S2 Paragon 3. It turns out the CVs shown in the steam manual are incorrect. There was supposed to be an insert included with the manual showing the correct CV values & ranges. This particular loco also is unique in that it has a diesel decoder in it. Apparently BLI has not changed the online documentation in the manual.
The correct CVs for the S2 turbine are:
CV233: Delay between start-up and when smoke starts. Default value: 2 Rang of values: 0-255CV234: Fan speed at idle. Default value: 40 Range of values: 0-255CV235: Fan speed at maximum. Default value: 150 Range of values: 0-255CV236: Temperature of heat element at idle. Default value: 6 Range of values: 0-110CV237: Temperature of heat element at maximum Default value: 110 Range of values: 0-110
They went on to say it's not possible for a CV value to go above its value range (as I thought had happened due to a derailment that caused a short & consequent power shut down). It was just the misprint in the manual that I led me to believe something else had happened.
While my overall experience with BLI customer service has been excellent, maybe all of us BLI steam loco owners who are upset with the inconsistent and unreliable performance of the smoke units to send our locos back all at once in a coordinated manner so they get the point, and more importantly, do something about it - even if it means leaving this feature off if it can't be made better.
On a slightly different note, but similarly related experience, I have another BLI loco, a RSD15 which I currently use on a siding with a few freight cars & caboose just to make noise and crew/radio sounds. I made a "macro" recording of the crew sound events and play it back. But like the smoke thing, its difficult to know if the playback sound is on/off. F26 is supposed to perform the on/off. But it seems every time I start it up I have to press F26, and then press it again to make the playback work. It doesn't matter if the Digitrax thottle displays the F26 as on or not. I still have to go thru the process of finding out by pressing F26 and waiting until I hear something before engaging another loco to the throttle. Likewise pressing F7 and having F7 displayed on the throttle is no indication of whether the smoke unit is on or off. It just adds to the confusion.
Why'd they (Lionel) go from nichrome wire to the present smoke units? I suppose greater smoke output from liquid smoke fluid is the answer, and the present O gauge smoke units from MTH, Lionel, and others do have a greater output than the old pill units did, plus the new units are fan driven and a pill set up wouldn't work too well. The interesting thing is the old pill units work just fine with smoke fluid, but don't drop an old Lionel smoke pill down a liquid unit!
Just speculating mind you. There had to be a good reason for the change.
But you know what, let me ask over on the Classic Toy Trains Forum about this, and if I get an answer I'll get back to you.
OK, I've asked on the CTT Forum about Lionel's change from pill-type to liquid smoke units and several of the "old hands" were gracious enough to reply.
So far the consensus is there were probably several reasons but no one reason, pill units being produced until 1969 or so. Both American Flyer and Marx had very good results with liquid smoke, so that probably influenced the decision. A Lionel employee held the patent on the smoke pills themselves and was making and selling them to Lionel, so possibly Lionel wanted to end the arraingment. (I think he was a former employee by that time.) And, quite possibly the liquid smoke units were just more versatile and easier and less expensive to produce.
There's was also the possibility that Lionel was a bit nervous about the smoke pills themselves being confused by toddlers with candy and wanted to head off any possible lawsuits concerning same. At any rate, production of the original smoke pills was terminated in 1972.
If I hear any more I'll let you know.