Skip to main content

Reply to "Lionel Smoke Question"

phrankenstign posted:

Is there a difference between the three Lionel fluids I have (#6-02920, #909 & #6-2909)?  If yes, can either of the older smoke fluids or the 3rd party fluids damage the #8624's smoke unit?

Since nobody here was able to answer my questions, I decided to try calling Lionel's Customer Service telephone number I saw in a video on YouTube.com.

The guy I spoke to told me the first three smoke fluids were too old.  He couldn't find them in his system, and he recommended that I NOT use them because they might damage the smoke unit.  I told him I'd been using the first two for years with engines (#233 & #239) from the early 1960s.  He told me back then the smoke units used pills.  I told him my dad bought those engines new, and he'd always used smoke fluid.  He never knew anything about smoke pills, and the smoke output was very good.  I asked him if the smoke units in those engines worked differently, because those engines don't have a switch to turn the smoke unit off.  When the fluid has run out, I've continued to run them for hours.  When I later decide to put fluid in them, the smoke immediately starts pouring out again.  The smoke units have never failed to work.  In fact, I never knew anything about the possibility of any wick burning up in those engines.  However the book for the #8624 engine states:

Caution: Slide the smoke unit switch to the OFF position if the locomotive remains in neutral. The smoke unit will become damaged if the locomotive is left sitting on the track with power on.

His recommendation to increase the smoke output was that I put a few drops into the smoke stack of the #8624.  Then I should put the engine in neutral for awhile to let the smoke unit heat up.  I should then run the engine forward.  That should result in an increase in the smoke output.

He told me as far as he knew, the smoke units in the 1960s used pills, so he doesn't know how those worked.  He then told me the third one was probably made in the 1990s.  He recommended I not use that one either, because it may also damage the smoke unit in #8624.  I asked him how he knew when that third one came out.  He told me the numbering convention was different back then.

Since I originally asked him what the difference was between all four types, I never mentioned THE THIRD ONE CAME WITH THE SET ALONG WITH #8624 in 2008.

  1. #909 Smoke Fluid
  2. #6-2909 Smoke Fluid
  3. #6-02920 Smoke Fluid
  4. #6-37841 Premium Smoke Fluid

 

I asked him about other brands, and he told me he recommends only using Lionel's Premium Smoke Fluid to avoid risking damage to the smoke unit.

 

The bottom line from him was:

Use only Lionel's Premium Smoke Fluid, because the older ones and other brands may damage the smoke units.

 

I don't trust his judgment based on the following reasons:

  • He didn't know anything about the formulations used in any of the three older ones.
  • He thought only pills were used in Lionel's smoke units in the 1960s.
  • He wasn't specific about how long the #8624 should be in neutral before running it.
  • He misdated the third one and then recommended against using it.

 

I would have respected him much more if he'd just told me, "I don't know, and I don't know how to find out the answers to your questions."  Trying to appear authoritative when he doesn't know something makes me not ever want to call Lionel's Customer Service again.

 

Last edited by phrankenstign

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
×