REBUILT SMOKE UNIT AND A HOW TO ON CHANGING FROM 2 CHUFFS TO 4 CHUFFS PER REV WITH PHOTO'S AND VIDEO

What about this?  Do you think if I changed it from 2 to 4 chuffs that THAT mod would make it smoke more?   And is it possible to do on this engine?

 

Roger

This locomotive has synchronized chuffing, but I'd think that you'd need smoke volume before more pulses would do much good.  Have you ever run this TMCC?  How is the smoke output on a TMCC layout?  This appears to be a newer model, it may have the smoke unit regulator, I'll have to see if I can find out.

 

Looking at the parts list, it looks like it doesn't have a separate smoke unit regulator.  It does indeed say 6 ohms, don't know what to think about that.  I think I must be missing the regulator board, I can't imagine they're driving a 6 ohm resistor directly from the R2LC.

Nice job Alex.  Thanks for sharing.  That is something I need to try on some of my engines.

mtnhi7 -

 

Could you please give a little more detail on how you went about building the lobes with JB Weld and how you did it?

 

I have 3 engines I want to convert.

 

Thank you.

John,

I've never run it TMCC, so I don't know how it would look. All I know is, my PW steamers and of course  all my MTH stuff blow away this smoke unit.

 

Roger

Thanks very David for the nice comments

Alex

Thanks very much David for the nice comment

Alex

I'd probably consider asking Lionel if they have any tips to improve the smoke.  They have some videos on smoke unit upgrades as well.  I don't have any engines with that particular smoke unit to look at.

John,

I've had very little luck trying to talk to a Lionel tech lately. Their customer service people answer the phone and rarely let you speak with a tech. The few times I've actually spoken to one, I got alot of arrogance and rushed conversations. They've changed the way they handle their phone calls......maybe good for them, but not for the consumer.

Send an email to Mike at Lionel, his forum name here is Mikado.  He's the head cheese at Lionel technical support and has been very responsive to questions by folks here in the forum. 

John,

I assume you're referring to Mike Regan (sp?). I've watched alot of his videos. What is his contact info?

 

Roger

Go to his profile at Mikado and click on the link on the right Extended Profile.  His email is there.

Hi guys- I did the cam lobe conversion 5-6 years ago. Since the early scale Berkshire and the scale GS-2 didn't have a tach tape and reader on the flywheels, I suspected they'd have a micro switch and a cam to trigger the smoke unit fan and chuff. I did the Berkshire first, removed the boiler shell and determined that the cam was under one of the large pc boards on the second driver axle. I took a photo of the wiring/plugs before unscrewing and lifting off the pcb. Once the pc board was off, the cam was exposed . I used Q-tips and pipe cleaners with ScaleCoat thinner, and also denatured alcohol, to remove all oil and grease from the cam. I roughed up the 2 hollows in the cam that are between the cast-in lobes, then mixed some Quick JB Weld and installed the goop into one cam hollow at a time with a toothpick, carefully shaping the JB Weld into a lobe. After the JBW hardened, I trimmed the new lobes with a very sharp hobby knife so each looked like a bell curve (best description I can make) and rotated the mechanism by turning the flywheel so the cam rotated and contacted the micro switch, making the switch's contacts close. You have to be very precise to get the JBW lobes exactly opposite each other and the same distance from the cast cam lobes so the chuff is even at 6, 9, 12, and 3 o'clock on the side rods. The peaks of the JBW lobes need to be centered in the hollows of the cast cam, with nicely sloped sides so the micro switch's contacts slide over each lobe peak smoothly. Once the job was done, I replaced the pc boards and wiring, then I ran the engines with the boiler shells off to verify that I'd made the new lobes correctly. There were no adverse effects on the smoke unit and fan pulses; fan pulsed at 4 chuffs per revolution of the drivers and as engine speed increased the fan went into the usual full blowing mode. Once everything worked, I used a bit of grease on the cam lobes. I do recommend getting rid of the woven fiberglass batting that was commonly used a few years ago. I now use part no. 691SMKP008, which is a finely stranded fiberglass rope about 1/4" diameter. This is wound into the smoke unit chamber and the heating resistor is supposed to nestle into the little hollow that results from the winding. Be sure to keep the fan air exit into the smoke chamber unobstructed.

 

If I'm ever to post a video I'm going to need some instruction. Thanks.

Some great info mtnhi7, I like the whole idea but it sounds like a lot of work and it all must be precise. As for the batting in the smoke unit I use the one that BOXCARBILL

sells, it's a square fiber pad and it holds a lot of smoke fluid. I rest the resistor deep into it without covering the top of the resistor and, as everyone can see theses engines smoke great.

 

P.S. mtnhi7 you can post a short video, you can do it the same way you post a picture

just make sure the video is less then 100mb. I hope I explained it right if not let me know 

 

Once again thanks for some great info, Alex

I KNOW THIS WAS POSTED IN ANOTHER THREAD BUT JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 

HERE'S THE OLD BERK ALL DONE IN A NEW ROAD NAME WITH ALL NEW PAINT DECALS

4 CHUFFS AND UPGRADED SMOKE. I KNOW THE NUMBERS ARE NOT CORRECT FOR NEW YORK CENTRAL BUT THAT'S MY FAVORITE ROAD NAME.

 

HERE'S THE LINK ENJOY AND THANKS TO ALL, ALEX

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/d...ent/8187868188835046

I tried posting a video but it didn't work. Followed Rich's directions.

Hi mtnhi7 let me know how your posting the video and I can help you get it on this thread. I have a very easy way to post videos.

 

Thanks, Alex