Lionel Smoke Unit Batting Alternatives?

Personally, I don't think that Lionel's shipping charges are too bad at all. But if you want to lower the per-unit shipping cost, why not buy a few extra spare parts at the same time? It never hurts to have a supply of spares for smoke unit batting, elements, fan motors, traction tyres, frequently-lost-screws, couplers etc. And this way you will also be sure of using the correct and genuine OEM parts. 

In my opinion pink fiberglass is the best output wise, tiki torch wick is good but not in my experience its not as good as pink fiberglass 

I have used Tiki torch and Fiberglas; both work. I have the best results with the Lionel wicks. The Lionel pre-cut squares really fit and smoke well. I had a problem with the Fiberglas and Tiki getting burnt and hard too quickly. I am a heavy user of smoke.

I did what Nicole recommended. I bought some blades, resistors, fan motors and more. I bought plenty of the batting. I change mine fairly often. Burnt hard batting really limits smoke output quite a bit. Order tonight online and most likely you will have it on Friday or Saturday.

DO NOT USE PINK INSULATION!!! or any color insulation for that matter! THe fibers of insulation are too fine and burn right onto the resistor  during the first operating session...... I know and was barely able to remove all of the charred insulation from the resistor.

 

IMO the secret to Lionels precut batting is its very coarse fiber that is very resistant to charring and long lasting because of it.

 

I agree with you on the shipping charges, your best bet is to order  more stuff as Nicole mention even if its a dozen smoke batting, batting doesn't last forever.

dont know how much is lionels but mth is 8.00,,somebody on a different thread was talking about oil lamp wick at ace hardwear..up also up in the air on these?

I put Tiki torch wick in my 765 about six months ago is is still working great.

 

might try this;

620-8312-200

http://www.lionel.com/CustomerService/ReplacementParts/index.cfm?setID=&productID=&doAction=productFilter&q=620-8312-200&match=0&submitButton=Search

Nick

 

   We have the batting P.N. 691SMKPKG5. We sell it 20% off list and $3.50 S&H

 

Bill

I just received some new batting (Lionel 691SMKPKG5) for one of my diesels but it comes a little big.  Do I trim, fold, or smash this oversized square pad to fit it into the smoke unit?    

I remember in Mike Reagan's smoke unit rebuild video, he does mention the batting should push up against the resistor. Not excessively I would assume.

Funny story about me changing the batting on an engine  It was right after our Christmas open house in december.  I installed new batting in a Lionel engine.  It was smoking better than ever.  All of a sudden Vinny comes in ( Who dresses as Santa Claus at the show ) and asks if I saw his eyebrows.  What eyebrows?  The white Santa Claus eyebrows that look very familiar  Well he found one  The other is still puffing smoke

I've used quite a few of these, and you just need to scrunch it up a bit between your fingers, and then you'll find that it does all fit. Be careful not to block the airway from the fan though. When re-fitting the heat element and circuit board, the new batting will probably provide some resistance. Just be firm but gentle, and tighten the screws gently and evenly. 

I recommend the 691SMKP008 batting. Anytime we rebuild/pack a smoke unit at Lionel we use this specific batting. It is what I used in the video too. Thanks, Mike

The scrunching did the trick Nicole.  We are up and smoking good again.  Next time I will order the same batting as in your video Mike.  Thanks everyone! 

Oh, I just remembered I was looking for an alternative originally, lol! I suppose I should have updated this with the fact that a few other parts needs did arise after my original post and I ended up getting a bunch of the official batting. Also, before I installed them, I made the decision to stop using smoke. The units were cleaned out with the batting replaced for originality's sake, but most of my smoke unit switches are left off now. Only my profusely and beautifully smoking Lionel ESE Hudson gets to puff away nowadays; I just couldn't stifle that one.

One of the respected regulars on the "other forum" has suggested substituting "rock wool" insulation for the fiberglass. Problem is, he hasn't tried it, and therefore is looking for a guinea pig. Anyone game?

 

wolverine

Someone once told me they use batting from a zippo. Has anyone tried that?

I have used leftover muffler packing from my CB750. Seems to work fine.

 

Steve

Muffler packing?

The Lionel batting is the best.  I use it on all smoke units.  The stuff is very cheap and gives the best performance.  Works great with MTH and many others.  If you follow the video Mike Reagan did on this subject you will come out a winner.  Short and sweet, pull it apart like he shows, put it in and you are good to go.

I just use the ticki torch wicks. I was impressed with the output in my Lionel 0-6-0.

I've been using tiki torch wick material, so far it's worked well for me.

Rockwool is not that easy to find. Usually you need to go to an Insulation company or distributor. The product does not burn or melt but I'm not sure how absorbent it is.

 

Also you may need to purchase a large quantity unless you find someone to break up a bale and sell you just one sheet. Even so you will have enough batting for a thousand years or you could repackage and sell off the excess inventory.

The color of the insulation whether pink or yellow is from the resin binders used to form the batts. There are some insulation products on the market that do not use a binder and they are white in color. CertainTeed Insulsafe is one of them but there are others. Even so I think the Lionel product is getting great reviews along with their premium smoke fluid. 

Another vote for tiki torch wick here.

I have used it almost exclusively for the last 3-4 years with very good results.

I have repaired lots of Lionel and MTH smoke units with it.

 

Rod