@LionelAG posted:............................................
- What’s the real consequence of overfilling?
- ........................
- Is it okay to run the smoke units dry? And is it best to shut the smoke unit off when it is out of smoke fluid or does it even matter?.......................................................
Are there any NoNo’s for modern Lionel smoke units that I need to take into consideration?...........................
The consequence of overfilling is the same as if you overfill a drinking glass. The fluid gets all over everything as it's quantity exceeds the volume of the smoke units fluid reservoir. It's not fun to open up an engine just to clean smoke fluid mess off of everything inside.
Don't run the unit with the smoke unit activated if you don't intend to add fluid. There is a mechanical switch to turn the smoke On or Off that overrides the ability to control it with the CAB-2 setting. Setting this to "off" protects the smoke unit if you run without fluid.
Running with smoke "on" and not adding fluid will cause the resistor that provides the heat to burn out, it would need to be replaced if you ever want the engine to smoke again. You will also have charred smoke wicking that will no longer work and will need to be replaced.
It's not going to happen instantaneously if you happen to not notice immediately that the smoke output is diminished before you add some fluid, but it will happen if you make a habit of running it with no fluid.
-Dave
