There are no dumb questions here, right?
I dont model steam, but my daughter saw a smoke ready steamer at a show so I got one. My question is do I need to keep the smoke reservoir wet with fluid? Will it harm the loco if it runs dry?
Thanks
what brand and scale?
some are ok without fluid, others like Bachmann’s HO steam equipped need to keep it full, else they will burn up the loco.
I have a Bachmann HO 0-6-0 with smoke. I’ve never put smoke fluid in it. It runs fine, though after maybe an hour or so of running the loco begins to smell bad.
Generally, if the locomotive is run without smoke fluid, the heater element in the smoke unit will burn out. Safety wise, it is no worse than a filament in a light bulb burning out. This failure mode is not covered by any warrantee. Cost wise, expect to pay $10 or so for the smoke unit, plus labor, if you do not replace it yourself. They are not repairable. A burnt out smoke unit will not affect the other operation of the locomotive.
Smoke units are not good for model railroads, as the “smoke” is really a vapour that then condenses on everything, leaving a dirty oily film.
I have two “smokers”, one is a Bachmann 0-6-0 and the other an IHC (Mehano) Camelback. IHC was smart, as they put an On/Off switch in the engine and the instructions advised running the smoker if no oil was present as this would burn the unit out. Bacmann on the other hand hasn’t done this. I am on my second “shell” as the first has a hole in it from where the element had loosened itself and fell against the shell. Whether or not the element was loosened by the fact it overheated is not known But I do know the element runs very hot without oil in it, hot enough to put a hole in the shell without warning.
Fergie
My Bachmann smoker came with the warning Do Not Run Without Fluid More Than 30 Minutes As The Unit Would Burnout.
Phil
I have an LGB G-scale steamer with a smoke unit - I’ve tried it once and not filled it since - not had any trouble. Having said that, I did notice when I tested it that it only started smoking at near to full speed, which looks far too fast for a small narrow-gauge loco like this - I usually operate it far more slowly (lower track voltage and therefore less power going through smoke unit) which may be the reason I’ve not had problems. Sounds as though if you’re going DCC you should wire the decoder to have the smoke as a switchable function - the factory-fitted LGB MTS locos have this.
I run my Bachman Consolidation (Old Reading type,not the Spectrum) on DCC. I hooked up the smoke to run off the decoder function, so that I can actually turn the smoke on and off at will![:D]
Just another advantage of DCC!!! [;)]
Thanks all
More smoke questions for you guys. One of the gals at work has some goofy little Halloween haunted house from Michael’s Craft House. It has a smoke/steam unit that runs off of water! And it’s some of the best smoke I’ve seen from a smoke unit. This would be cheap to refill obviously, as well as eliminate any film that would build up or harm anything on the layout.
Anybody seen these or heard any option of the on model railroad applications?
Just a thought.
5150