Hello Rick; "tuned" my VL BB smoke smoke units (blowdown/whistle/main smoke) about two weeks ago with the strand wicking. Left the gap between thermistor and element as I found it; about 3/32" to 1/8". Checked elements and fan motors; all good; elements had brown residue and cleaned each VERY carefully with denatured alcohol and toothbrush. Really was generous on the Lionel premium smoke fluid in soaking the wicking (40 drops?) before assembling. The best tip as per Jon Z is to simply ensure the element and thermistor use the wet wicking as a "pillow" to rest on and conduct heat as necessary to the thermistor. There are some great youtube videos on the VL BB smoke units: "120 drops of Lionel Premium smoke fluid" is good info. I am not a newbie to this as I have a lot of scar tissue on these "tune ups"; you have some great info above. Wish you well; you will do fine; Falcon70
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