@LionelAG posted:I figured I’d post the final list. Thanks for everyone giving their feedback on this!
Consolidated List – Best Practices for Lionel Smoke Units in Legacy/TMCC engines:
- Don’t run the smoke units dry! Don’t run locomotive with the smoke unit activated if you don’t intend to add fluid. Use mechanical switch or Legacy soft key to turn off smoke unit
- Smoke reservoirs vary in capacity and output from engine to engine; size/orientation of smoke unit in locomotive.
- General capacity: 25 drops of fluid is a “normal” fill for Legacy locos; 40-50 drops if the wick is bone dry. Overfilling runs smoke fluid over internal electronics; makes a mess.
- Best to keep the wick moist for long life.
- After a session of running with smoke unit on, put 4-5 drops of smoke fluid into the smoke unit when finished to keep wick moist
- Use needle-point filler and add slowly to avoid overflow, air-bubble. Get the needle past the heating element and down to the wick/batting.
- Over time, a regularly used smoke unit does require maintenance (service center); wick or batting replacement
- Locomotive smokes better if you let the unit sit for a while after filling (vs. running immediately after adding)
- Lionel Train Fluid (required to preserve factory warranty) or JT’s Megasteam fluid are most commonly used fluids.
- 30 mins is a good run from a single fluid fill
- Mike Reagan video - Smoke Units 101
Feel free to suggest other items missed.
LionelAG - Regarding the 5th bullet of your point form summary above, I would clarify that (following a session of running with smoke unit on) the engine should be allowed to cool down before adding the 4-5 drops (in accordance with Mike Reagan's attached Smoke Units 101 video).
