I was testing my 3462 and 3472 milk cars yesterday. Both are great cars but each has its own set of problems that keep them from operating the way I want them to.
The 3462 needs 16-18 volts to operate smoothly. The man still can come out slow at times, but I would say 6 out of 7 cans come out standing up. The main problem with this car is that the couplers heat up very quickly because they activate when the car operates. Is the voltage need too high for this car and is it normal for the couplers to get hot???
The 3472 needs 12-14 volts to operate smoothly. The man always fires out quickly, but the car vibrates a lot compared to the 3462. Im lucky if 1 can stays standing out of 7. I feel like the vibrations from the car is causing this. Any way to get my 3472 to have the success of the 3462 or is a good milk car hard to come accross?
A milk car should operate well between 12-14 volts, don’t give it anything higher than 14. As for your 3462, take it apart and clean everything Take the mechanism off the frame of the car, remove the man, and remove the two screws that hold the coil and plate to the mechanism. Set the coil and plate aside for now. Use an old paint brush and Zippo lighter fluid to clean the mechanism. Use a cotton swab and Zippo to clean the plunger and plunger tube in the coil. Once the lighter fluid has evaporated, use light oil on the pivot points. Now for the 3472; does yours have metal or plastic doors?
I’ve been tinkering with a 3472 myself. I needs 14VAC or more to function and then just so so. I’ve finally decided to replace the electronics actually an electromechanical solenoid along with conical return spring to see if that smooths up its operation. I’m keep my eye out at local train shows and Ebay for the parts. The 3462 had a different return spring arraignment. As for the couplers heating up, are both heating up or just one?
A good cleaning and lube will definately help. Check to see that your UCS and controller are wired correctly. The milk car should not operate the same if you press the uncouple button.
Also make sure the couplers uncouple with the uncouple button. Make sure they open.
When i put the 3472 over the track and push the uncouple button the couplers dont work, but the motor in the milkcar buzzes a little. When I put one coupler over the circle in the middle it uncouples fine and the motor in the milk car doesnt react. When I push the unload button the couplers stay closed and the milk car operates.
When I put the 3462 over the ucs track and push the uncouple button the couplers both open and the motor makes a little buzz sound. When I push the unload button the car operates along with the couplers.
ALSO, I hope im not opening a can of worms here but when I operate my milk cars the green light on my ZW slightly dims and then when I let go of the button its back to normal. I also have 260 bumper on the track and that dims more noticably than the ZW light. Is this normal?
Both 3472’s metal and plastic doors) have magnetic coupler plates. These couplers will only operate with the center electro-magnetic (red) circle.
The 3462 has the celenoid couplers and operate by way of the hot shoes along the 4th and 5th rails of the UCS.
I added a piece of electrical tape over the tops of the screw heads on the UCS at the platform to guarantee that the platform doesn’t short out the UCS. The dimming may be a short.
I put a strip of tape along the screws and no change. So I swaped that ZW with my other ZW (both postwar) and the same thing happened. How many amps does a milk car use up? could it be that the spike of amps used my a milk car can be close to the max capacity of a ZW?? Maybe if I oil the cars they will not use as many amps to get the job done…
Like I said it is only a VERY slight dimming of the ZW lamp but was just curious.
transandmusic, thanks for confirming that. I figured that would be the case.
Also, I think I found the problem with the 3472 not being able to leave the cans standing. I noticed that the “milk man” is at a different angle than the man in the 3462. He is angled inwards toward the milk can ramp. Part of the rubber man is hanging off the metal piece that moves him in/out of the car in the 3472, which is why I think they are not standing up. In the 3462 the man is fulling on the metal piece and the car works great.
I will lube both to improve operation, but how do I go about repositioning the “milk man” in the 3472? Do I glue him down in the right position or can I pull him off the platform and reposition him?
The figure is glued onto a metal upright. You should be able to bend it back to the proper angle.
I can unload all of my milk cars (3462, 3472 metal doors, and 3472 plastic doors) at 10v on the KW (11.5v actual) without any problem. Sorry, I do not have an ammeter.
Also, check your wiring on the milk cars. These typically are brittle, and broken, and may be causing a short.
and found where I had measured several years ago that my 3472 draws 4 amps.
I have since aquired a second 3472, as well as a 3462, and would be interested in comparing them to my original one on which the measurement was made.
In any case, though, I might add that I have a hard time getting my 3462 to work reliably, while both of my 3472s are extremely reliable. My problem is that the mechanism won’t reliably return to the point where the another can drops down, despite the many hours I’ve spend adjusting, cleaning, and lubricating things to try and get them to work. I suspect that the installation of a spring on the solenoid, such as is used in the 3472, would improve things greatly, and may order one the next time I make a parts order. In the mean time, my 3662 doesn’t ever get unloaded.
Regarding the milk car man-When I acquired my second 3472, it was completely missing the man. I was able to obtain a replacement for a few bucks from my parts dealer. There is a metal stake in the floor of the car on which the man is attached. If necessary, he can by carefully and gently pried up and removed to acess this stake. It’s often more efficient and easier to make big adjustments by doing this. By the way, the man is absolutely necessary for the proper operation of the car-otherwise, there’s nothing to sweep the cans out of the car. This is also why it’s necessary for him to be properly adjusted.
One final thing-I’ve used both the magnetic and non-magnetic cans extensively. I never use the non-magnetic cans anymore. I’ve had far too much trouble with them rolling off the platform and onto the track, causing shorts. With the non-magnetic cans, I would almost always have one out of 6 roll off, even if they did all get set out upright. I can generally reliably unload 18 magnetic cans in a row without a bit of trouble.
Great info as usual on this forum. I did notice the small metal stake when I moved the man up slightly, but I wanted to make sure this is ok before I start anything.
I have a modern version of the automatic milk car, and it works great. But I’d like to buy some magnetic milk cans, as I’ve experienced the same thing Ben has. So can someone provide the part number for the magnetic milk cans?
No luck after repositioning the milk man. Came to the conclusion that the car is a CM lower than the platform and the cans are tipping over when it is moved from the car to the platform.
I am going to try to elevate the UCS or lower the platform somehow…
I used post-its and slid them under the tracks on each side of the the UCS (not under the ucs itself) to elevate the UCS track and the milkcar a bit. I kept adding a few postits until the 3472 operated properly. Now it unloads about 5 out of 7 cans standing and the 3462 still unloads 6 out of 7 with the elevated track.
A few notes: The cans are magnetic so I think the 3462 being a little higher doesnt matter. Also, I have a strip of electrical tape on the UCS screws to prevent a short because elevating the UCS track causes the screws to touch the milk platform. I am going to also wrap the post-its with electrical tape for safety reasons (sparks from rollers) until i find a new way to raise the tracks.
The questions about the cans standing or falling or flying across the room reminds me of one of the Lionel video blooper series where they showed the number of times they operated the car before all 7 cans stood up. Same with the cattle car and some of the other accesories. I wish I could remember the name of the tape.(Anheisers strikes again!!)
Ive seen that video as well. Cant remember the name but I thought it was hilarious. I had a cattle car I was going to fix up but that video changed my mind and I just sold it.
The total oposite would be that old lionel video called Iron Ponies (I think thats the name). They show all the accessories working perfectly. They doctored up that video pretty good. Although, I can’t talk because I find myself taking out my postwar accessories and expecting a good operating session every time I watch it [sigh]
The milk can platforms adjust ower for O27 track, higher for O track.
The main reason I don’t have a bunch of operating accessories on my layout is because they aren’t dependable, and that leads to frustration, which leads to unhappiness. I run our trains to relax and have fun. I’ve read too many stories about OAs that don’t work right or break soon after purchase. Who needs that? No me.
My milk car tosses the cans out and rarely do all the cans stand up. Usually, they go flying out and wack against the platofrm’s back rail. But I have found that two things can help reduce this. Lowering the track voltage and pressing the unload button a little lighter.