My Lionel b6 killed me with a loose tether. It would just cut out on turns and such. I took the gel superglue and put a small dab (I'm talking tiny, less an 1/16" across) on a tooth pick and then applied the glue to the corner formed by the plug from the tender and receptacle under the cab. You can't see a thing and I haven't had any problems with the tether coming out anymore.
I always run my trains for 15 minutes or more at a time. Consequently, I usually give my smokers a short squirt before start up. It probably equates to 15 drops or less if I had to make a guess. That seems to get me by but I usually run for a while too. I wouldn't refill after a short run session. This is horribly unscientific but I guess I just learned how much to put in based on my usual run sessions.
