Modify smoke unit tmcc

I only have an insight on the first of your three questions but I am sure that someone, maybe @gunrunnerjohn, will answer the others - especially whether this particular smoke unit can be upgraded with his SuperChuffer.

I do recognize the "[semi-]smart" smoke unit for this engine from the Lionel replacement parts pages. But this might be a substitute for the original stock smoke unit given that your engine dates from 2004 - does yours have a fibre sleeve on the resistor or instead does it look like this PCB and complete unit?

On the assumption that it does/this is the original equipment, these units originally came with a 6 Ohm resistor that was prone to overtax the AC regulator and the spec was later changed to 8 Ohm. More importantly, these are later models than the Lionel smoke units featured in what I think was Mike Reagan's "Smoke Unit 101" video about tuning up units that had fibre sleeves on 22 Ohm resistors by removing the sleeve and enlarging the air inlet hole above the impeller.

In any case I'd be very cautious about trying to enlarge the hole on your unit because (a) there are circuit traces near it you might accidentally cut and (b) these particular smoke unit PCBs are no longer available from Lionel so not easy to replace. In my experience they smoked like the Dickens right out of the box and maybe the best you can do is replace the wadding, although I'll be corrected about that if someone more expert has another idea.

I have not heard the pulsing noise you mention but then the engines I have with this particular smoke unit are very early Legacy and not TMCC.

Yes that is the one I have. I actually already enlarged the inlet hole but was worried that this may not of been the right smoke unit to do it to so I was worried about that.

it did have the sleeve over the resistor. I replaced the batting, resistor (original was 8 ohm too) with no sleeve, and enlarged the hole without hitting the traces. Was hoping this was okay to do.

pictures of old batting and installed unit.

The super chuffer won’t do anything to improve smoke output, only timing and puffs per rev when driven by the chuff generator. Smoke output is function of the resistor and batting type. If you keep the AC regulator the only option for the resistor is to replace the 8 ohm 5 watt one with an 8 ohm 2 watt resistor. Going to a lower ohm value will burn out the regulator. Going to a lower wattage resistor lessens the life of the resistor but they are cheap and easy to replace. On smoke units driven directly by the R2LC you can use a lower value resistor both wattage and resistance to a point.

Pete

Pete covered most of it, I enlarge the intake and I also enlarge the stack hole as much as I can.  Finally, make sure when you position the resistor that you leave enough space so that the airflow is over the resistor from the fan chamber to the stack, I allow about 1/8" to 3/16" between the resistor and the PCB as a general rule.  The resistor should be firmly in contact with the wick but NOT totally buried in the wick, the top part of it should be exposed to the airflow.

Thanks. I will check the clearance out later.

the pulsing sounds have found to be coming from the smoke fan motor. It confused me as the fan would run with the smoke switch in the on or off position. I will also oil the motor or replace it.

There were a few Lionel models where the smoke fan wasn't controlled through the smoke switch.

You will hear the fan motor run. If it squeaks it needs oil or replacing but the whirring sound is normal. Just make sure the fan isn’t rubbing on the PC board.

Pete

I've got a Lionel SP AC9 from the same era (2004). I haven't modified it for 4 chuffs a revolution yet but I did enlarge the smoke unit opening, remove the resistor wrapping, and repack the smoke unit wick. I got it early this year and it was brand new in the box, never run.

Here it is out of the box, very poor smoke production:

Here it is after the above modifications to the smoke unit:

How come it doesn't have smoke at idle, did you forget the Super-Chuffer II installation?

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

How come it doesn't have smoke at idle, did you forget the Super-Chuffer II installation?

It's got smoke, just no running fan. Yet