Zinc Pest Strikes Again!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I disassembled my K-Line Plymouth to see about sticking a ERR MiniCommander 2 in, and guess what I found!  I suspect I won't be using this smoke unit!

First time I've seen this in the K-Line Plymouth, good thing it wasn't the actual locomotive body!

I don't know about you, but this zinc thing is getting old.

John, …I’ll assume you’d like this in your box with your Hogwarts build?…..it must be your lucky day,…..looks like someone took a drill to the big hole, but to be sure you can fashion your stack back in it,…..this unit is zinc pest free!…..😉

Pat

Hmmm - I wonder if some epoxy would hold it together to keep it usable?

I think it may be past epoxy!

Duct Tape?

Jon

Sad to see, in the modern era that this is still an issue, when it can completely  gotten rid of

That's bad news, something else to worry about. On a happier note, Harmonyards to the rescue.

It's amazing that we keep seeing this.  I've had a number of MTH smoke units crumble in my hand with the same issue, most were 15-20 years old.  I have to wonder in another 10-15 years, how many more diecast parts will succumb to the problem?

I never knew any internal parts were diecast. I figured the shell and trucks were the only concern.

FYI...The smoke unit on my MTH Genesis P42 #20-2189-1 totally disintegrated due to zinc pest.

@Will Ebbert posted:

I never knew any internal parts were diecast. I figured the shell and trucks were the only concern.

All the smoke units used to be diecast, now Lionel is using plastic for the new stuff.  AFAIK, MTH still uses diecast for their smoke units.

John do you think the plastic is any better.  being exposed to high temps repeatedly, I would think they would become brittle, like a plastic impeller in an automobile water pump.

It’s the luck of the draw where the vendor gets their raw material from……..not all zinc castings, or zamac castings are doomed to failure, …….I believe it’s the raw material vendor that either A. accidentally produces a bad batch of ingots, or B. don’t care that they produced a bad batch of ingots…….

Pat

@coach joe posted:

John do you think the plastic is any better.  being exposed to high temps repeatedly, I would think they would become brittle, like a plastic impeller in an automobile water pump.

I have no idea what kind of Plastic Lionel uses for the smoke units.  If it's a cousin of Bakelite, it would be very temperature resistant, but I really don't know.

Yes John,  this Zinc issue is sad. I have a beautiful 6-38076 Chesapeake Ohio 2699. Runs perfectly and smokes beautifully. Just this week I have a zinc issue. Part of shell broke. Just ordered  a Pere Marquette shell that should work.

Wow, Ron.  So glad you were able to get a replacement shell.  How about posting a pic?  Also, did Rich or Alan ever create a pinned thread on this Forum where known affected pieces can be catalogued, so others know what to look for?

Ted, the shell where you screw the chassis into shell are breaking apart. So now I can’t screw the chassis to the shell. I’m on vacation right now, so can’t do pictures as of now. It took a lot of searching to find shell because they’re not available. Lucky and found a shell for a legacy in a newer model that is a match.

@harmonyards posted:

It’s the luck of the draw where the vendor gets their raw material from……..not all zinc castings, or zamac castings are doomed to failure, …….I believe it’s the raw material vendor that either A. accidentally produces a bad batch of ingots, or B. don’t care that they produced a bad batch of ingots…….

Pat

I think whether or not one encounters zinc pest, IS the luck of the draw, along with how many steam locomotives are in one’s collection.

As a smaller operator, I’ve had probably no more than 6 or 7 die cast steam locomotives over the past twelve years ( I’m more of a diesel man), all Lionel. And in that time, have never experienced any zinc pest.

It’s likely and proportionate, that the more locomotives one has over a longer period of time, zinc pest will eventually getcha. 😉

@Ron Casamento posted:

Yes John,  this Zinc issue is sad. I have a beautiful 6-38076 Chesapeake Ohio 2699. Runs perfectly and smokes beautifully. Just this week I have a zinc issue. Part of shell broke. Just ordered  a Pere Marquette shell that should work.

Not necessarily zinc pest. Was the entire shell warping and showing cracks throughout? It could have simply broken from a casting problem or a fall.