I recently bought a 2 ounce bottle of “original” American Flyer smoke fluid from RFGco, and I am pretty happy with it. The smell sure reminds me of the original smell back in my childhood, and the quality of the smoke is pretty good too.
I notice that several other suppliers offer smoke fluid in plastic bottles ranging from 2 ounces to 8 ounces. Some claim a “cedar” smell or, in some other instances, a different smell.
My question is whether there are any perceptible differences in the quality of the smoke or the smell when you buy it from different suppliers. Is it really based on the original AC Gilbert formula or is it some form of re-creation?
I have found that RFG’s fluid is the best, although AN1 fluid is also very good. There is a seller on ebay who is also in NY (not RFG) that is selling a fluid that he says is the original formula, but I have found that it smokes poorly in every unit that I tried it in. It also lacks the smell of RFG and AN1 fluids, and that is just as important to me the smoke output.
There is another seller that sells Challenger smoke fluid that claims to be the original formula, but I haven’t tried it yet.