Ever have a smoke unit catch fire???

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

So i was trying out my trackplan tnite with one of my 671 engines. It always smoked a little too good. I looked over and the stack looked like a blast furnace! I shut it off. Looks like the liquid smoke kit is going in tomm. ANyone else ever have that happen. It is an original postwar pill type unit. Needless to say it was kinda interesting in a strange way.

2

Jimtrumpie told me that he used cotton as smoke unit wicking and it caused it to catch fire in his 671. It never happened to me though, thank god!!

3

Yes, the cotton was a very bad idea![:D] I blew out the flame and stuck the 681 in the freezer to cool it. There is a possibility that the element may still be functional. Maybe you just torched the lining.

4

I never heard of that. I’ll have to try that in the smoke unit in my Alco.

5

Yes and the plasticville people just stood there and did nothing.

6

It wasn’t the lining. The thing was glowing bright as a light bulb. No actual flames per say. Looked like a blow torch…I think someone unwound a few too many windings.

7

3railguy - I got that. Good one. [(-D]

8

[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

That is two this week with fire in the stack. HUMM

9

Hmmm,

I think I remember that the post-war “Pill Type” Smoke Units had a grill that the pill fell on, was directly heated, and disintegrated into a smoky vapor. A white residue remained and the kids could swallow the pills.

Liquid Smoke Units had heater resistors wraped in fiberglass that held the liquid as it was turned to vapor. No residue, kids could drink the liquid.

As a result, I read somewhere, that Lionel and MTH used harmless Mineral Oil (not poisonous, no fire hazard). Other brands ??? that make more smoke, are often Petroleum based, have a poison warning on the bottle, and (if you get carried away) can burn.

10

Fifedog, I’ve been pressing mfg’s for flame shootin Alcos for some time. If they don’t shoot flames, they ain’t Alco. LOL.

11

Have my dad’s old 2020 with the pill style smoke (but not the bulb type). At one point in my adventurous youth, I would load her up with WD40 and some other items that would make it smoke pretty well. Never caught fire…but I suppose I am lucky. God does seem to watch out for fools…

Dennis