The Lionel Hot Box Reefer set I ordered came yesterday so when I put smoke in the engine I notices a ton of smoke was commming out from between the cylender and the boiler, is this a problem?
my berkshire does that also, I think they call that steam chest smoke
Try blowing down the stack to clear any air bubbles.
If you have an air bubble, smoke will find a way out.
Dave
There is nothing wrong, so relax and enjoy the set. Some locos smoke frome the sides. Some don’t.
I have the same set and found that the Mikado smokes from the cylinders and boiler much more so than my other Lionel engines.
[:)]Thanks for the help guys.
[#offtopic] Check the direction of that fan in that HOT BOX REEFER. Mine was running backwards. Now that mine is running correctly, it makes a ton of smoke. [:)]
Hey guys, We wen’t from polar Express smoke issues to hot box 
Does anyone have a picture of the correct wires to swap. Is it the to that actually go to the motor or the two that go to the board?
And if it is just me thinking the smoke isn’t good enough and I swap the wires will I burn up something or will it just not work? Thanks,
Mark
My PE Berk does this too and I love it when it does…looks so authentic! Real steamers have smoke and steam pour out all over the smokebox area. The puffer piston has a lot of clearance within its cylinder through which smoke will sometimes travel. I tight fit piston wouldn’t leak smoke like that but would puff and suck, puff and suck smoke up and down the stack…that wouldn’t look right would it?
Roland
My Polar Express throws a lot of smoke out the bottom. I think it looks cool. Don’t care whether it’s prototypical or not.
All the Lionels I have purchased in the last few years are as described above. Even the ones I have purchased from Lionel parts. Should turn clockwise. Reverse the little fan motors wires and, as Buckeye says, she will smoke.
Cheif…Didn’t we learn about the fans rotating backwards from that book on fixing trains? BTW, when I put the new smoke unit in the SD-80 this summer, I made sure the fan was turnning clockwise.
Is that Chinese clockwise or Swiss movement clockwise? [:)]
How could something so simple go so wrong? If I understand you, the manufacturing problem persisted for a couple of years? Were the wires backwards, were the fan blades mounted upside down, or were the blades manufactured with the pitch backwards? Amazing. Imagine if Smith and Wesson got it backwards. [#oops]
Jack
The wires were hooked up reversed.
For those who’ve completely missed the point of this thread, here is the original post:
“The Lionel Hot Box Reefer set I ordered came yesterday so when I put smoke in the engine I notices a ton of smoke was commming out from between the cylender and the boiler, is this a problem?”
He’s NOT talking about the fan-driven unit in the reefer, but rather the mechanically driven smoke unit in the engine.
In the Lionel “Baby Berk and Baby Mikado” there is a recent variation on the Post War puffer unit. It uses a plastic cylinder and piston, and the piston is situated so that it sucks smoke down and out on the down stroke. This smoke then exits around the top of the steam chest area where it meets the boiler casting. And it doesn’t really puff out, but rather leaks out around the edges, giving the engine the look of a very sloppy packing job.
I’ve been told that there are two ball bearings in the top of the piston that work as a check-valve for the down stroke, and that these must be unobstructed and free to move.
To gain access, you’ll need to remove the shell, using the two screws in the bottom of the steam chests and the two under the cab at the rear.
There is then a screw holding the smoke unit to the frame that will have to be removed. Once this is done, you can lift up and out the unit, and look at the check-valve.
Let me know how it works, and I’ll do mine! Oh, and good luck re-situating the headlight bulb!
Jon [8D]
Jon,
I think it’s a reading comprehension issue. Please let us know how your smoke unit repair goes.
Jim