There have been innumerable tips and suggestions on this board promoting relatively easy ways to increase the smoke output of Lionel locomotives. The most frequently mentioned easy fixes are removing sleeve from resistor, swapping out the batting and changing the resistor. On a current thread a forumite has posted video showing how impressive and dramatic a change there is going from a 27 ohm to 20 ohm resistor. I'm wondering if there are any drawbacks, i.e., negative impacts on either the locomotive's motor, electronics or smoke unit itself by going from a 27 to 20 ohm resistor? Will it shorten the life of the smoke unit? Is there greater heat generated or built up which might adversely stress the smoke unit's parts? By what factor are the intervals between refilling the smoke fluid chamber "shortened"? If adverse effects are minimal, then why don't the manufacturers install a different resistor to begin with? Your thoughts and/or personal experiences most welcome.
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