Who has given up on smoke units?

I like running with the smoke on but with my basement layout ventilation is a serious problem.

I love the smoke feature and run all of my steamers with the smoke "on".

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.

Not me. I love my smoke units, and have re-built any that have suffered from problems. The best bit is, that they normally work even better than they did before, after I have rebuilt them with new wadding and careful assembly. 

Jim don't be so discouraged. Smoke units are like the victory arch, the icing on the cake, you just have to spend some time and service them... Now some engines like the Lionel S-3 it takes an act of God to get inside, these are a royal pain in the rear and I tend to only turn the smoke on once or twice a session. 

I know the 0-8-0 and the 4-6-0 are  NOT friendly either... I would leave them off until your ready to repair them.

I like to service my smoke units to top operating condition, then switch them off. It's just way too messy an affair, and the most enjoyment I get out of them is knowing they are in good working order should I ever change my mind on smoke again.

My PW smoke units all work fine.

Oh, you mean...

Nicole,

I have to rebuild a smoke unit on a 2004 Rio Grande TMCC SD40-2.  What wick material/ wadding do you use when rebuilding.  Thanks.

Best to use Lionel's original wick material. It's available direct from Lionel's parts department, and usually the strand works better than the pre-cut square. Mike Reagan's famous smoke unit rebuild tutorial will do the rest of the talking:

Besides messing of weathered models, the smoke residue gets all over the track & scenery. Remember, all those little "oil vapor" droplets that go up, must come down onto SOMETHING!

I haven't given up on them.  I just turn them off and not bother with them. 

Smoke means nothing to me.

Rusty

I use smoke on steam engines, but not on diesels. I have not given up on them but expect them to have problems if not taken care of.

Charlie

Your lungs (and those of anyone in the building) will thank you .  Mineral oil and the like are best not inhaled.

I use the Lionel standard pre-cut wadding. I bought a good supply of it last year, and it works great. 

I think I will repair my smoke units.  Then I will flip them off and only turn them on when I want to put on a show.  

The only time I use my smoke units is when I am putting on a show.  When the locomotive first starts moving it is great to see the huge plumes of smoke and then I turn the unit off as the steamer gets up to speed.  Hotwater is correct...the oil droplets end up all over the layout plus the fact that it is not likely to be good for one's lungs.  So....while I enjoy the smoke feature, I don't use it all of the time....

Alan

As a bronchiectasis sufferer I have now reluctantly turned off all my smokers.

Loved the coal fired scent do miss it & the atmosphere it gives to the old locos.

Typing whilst on my nebuliser so a poignant reminder

James

The smoking electrics are just silly without passenger cars... Diesels? Guess I buy them for the paint, with or without smoke I almost never run them... Smoking hotboxes make me smile wide... My steamers without smoke are seldom ran, and my best smokers get run most often... Guess I find smoke units to be an important "element" in my R.R. choices, not to mention the showboating for visitors..just choose off, and add a switch if you must, don't cripple them unnecessarily... Mercy!.. Not to mention resale... Im betting a smoking Pere Marquette gets more attention than a non-smoker... You'll be back! Do you how hard it is to stop smoking forever?  

Now your talking sense. Don't let the rain, and heat cloud your judgment like that man. Besides, das boat is a smoker too isn't it?

Yes that boat is a smoker and it will be smoking!

I love my smoke units; the more the better, especially steam. Diesels only once in a while. I run most diesels on low setting. You definitely need a good exhaust fan in the train room though.

The other night my wife came down briefly and said "That smells nice" I just about passed out from shock. That was a first. I was running JT's Spring flavor.

I have very few problems with MTH smokers, and when a problem pops up they are easy to service. Lionels seem to be more prone to troubles, but that may be just coincidence on my part.

I am not trying to start any kind of brand war debate. I have just as many of one as the other, and the new 3751 is one of the best Lionel smokers I have seen yet.

Anyway, smoke is in for me.

Rod

I wish I could get blue smoke to come out of some of my diesels.

I love smoke in everything. We have pretty good 3-season ventilation systems, though. (House is sealed up in summertime ... can't stand the humid heat)

Unfortunately smoke units are a regular maintanence issue, just the way it is.

The more often you use it, and the higher the setting, the more often the need for rebuilding.

This is compunded by the fact that the newer legacy units have "jumbo" resisitors that can only be run a few minutes before additional fluid is needed.

IMO the  "add ten drops" is a joke, the folks that mention adding an entire eyedropper at a time are probably correct.

I run mine on the lowest setting  and get good smoke production.  I also only use the smoke for short periods to extend the service life, but I know the units will eventually have to be rewicked. Its the "nature of the beast".

I guess i'm in the minority here, but as the smoke makes my eyes water and nostrils burn i do not run smoke under any circumstances. There's a guy in our train group that loves the smoke and would turn on the smoke in my engines when i wasn't looking. I've since found wire cutters solved that issue.

jackson

I like the Smoke in my Steam engines, they don't look right without it, But I do turn them off pretty quickly. The basement fills rapidly despite my fan blowing out the window. Perhaps another fan on the opposite side blowing in...

I am not much for the smoke either.  I have a few units that can do it, but I never turn it on.  I have acquired engines that had no smoke on/off switch, so I asked a very nice friend (a forum member) to install the switches.  To be honest, I can't recall the last time I used and engine with smoke.  My 5 year old likes the smoke, so that is when I turn it on, but I do not think she has asked me recently to do.

Smoking steamers are definitely a crowd pleasers, and when I get them going on all four of my mainlines, they'll smoke out the room pretty quickly.

I understand the frustration, though--I have six MPC starter set steamers that heat up fast and smoke like crazy, while several locomotives made within the last ten years are either very weak smokers, never worked, or have stopped working.

Fixing stuff like smoke is a required skill if you have a lot of smoking locomotives.

Pretty much the same here......I weather my locos....and run in the basement....so smoke is for visitor dispay only!

I like the smoke but in my basement it gets cloudy after a while. I'm considering just turning the smoke on occasionally especially on one loco that makes more than it's share of smoke.  Don

I am not understanding why more folks who worry about clouding up the train room, don't simply put in an exhaust fan?

If you have even one window in the room, its a natural, and there are plenty of exhaust fan options available at Home Depot, etc.

Then you can run smoke as much as you want, and you won't upset management either!

Rod

I get that the oil will come down, but I still don't agree with the argument that it will mess with weathering. A proper coat of clear or Dullcoat will protect that weathering in just the same as a factory clear protects the factory paint.

For me it's a no-brainer. Steam engines must have smoke. That is one of the biggest reasons to model in O scale after all. I take the opposite view... I am a 2Rer and I try to figure out how to transplant 3R smoke units into 2R brass steam. I just can't for the life of me figure out why someone would not want it if it was possible. Back in 1991 or so I saw the Lionel Scale Hudson with smoke and RailSounds at Trigg Marine in Boardman, OH. I have never been the same since ;-) Sound and smoke are a requirement for me. I'll deal with whatever maintenance comes along. It is worth it to me.

Heck, I wish they would go back to the AF Smoke In Tender idea. Keep everything easy to work on and have a much bigger reservoir so you don't have to fill it as often. More, more, more

I say, "Smoke 'em if you got 'em." The MTH smoke units are superb, two steps above all of the rest, and a "must use" on a steam engine.

Nicole, Nick,

Thanks for the info.  I saw the video of Mike repairing the unit...and that inspired me to tackle this rebuild.  Thanks again.

I had a bathroom exhaust fan installed in my train room (seperate on switch from the lights) and it does a great job of pulling the smoke out from those proto units. You can even smell the pine scent outside lol.

I don't run mine except occasionally. It bothers my throat.

All mine smoke