I'm new to this forum. This is my first post. I need a little information!

I just got a new Lionel Lion Chief plus Mikado today. I Put new batteries in the remote, put four (4) drops smoke fluid in smoke unit and started running the Mikado. She was smoking like a WWII destroyer. Ran it for maybe 20 minutes. Went to supper. When I got home I went to the train room to run the Mikado again. I did add two more drops of fluid. However it didn't make hardly any smoke. It was very faint. I turned it off to do some things my wife wanted me too do. When I returned again and started running the Mikado I didn't get any smoke at all until I ran the Mikado very slow. Just creaping??

This is my second Lionel Mikado as the first one stopped smoking all together. The fan motor quit. I returned the first one and they sent me a replacement.

I've been in O Gauge trains sense 1946. I've got post war and 1990's MTH. This is my first new Lionel I've gotten sense the 1980's? 

Can anyone give me a little help as to what I'm doing wrong? I'm sure it's me. I'm thinking these Lionel engines should pretty much be like my MTH Railking Hudson, Torpedo, Smoking F-3's?

Plus what's the little clear plastic tube that comes with the Lion Chief - Plus that looks like a turkey baster?

Thanks for any help that you can provide!

Jack

OK. I'll try that. I am afraid that I've cooked the smoke unit because now it's not putting out anything t all. This Mikado is doing the same thing as my first one. It only lasted about 20 to 30 minutes. This second Mikado is about the same. It started out really putting out allot of smoke. It would drive you out of the room. After I parked it for a few hours and then tried again it slowly stopped working. After adding more fluid it only smoked if I ran it real slow and the smoke was real light?  Now I have nothing at all. I can feel the heat coming from the smoke stack. If I run it real slow I can feel the heat  smoke fan puffing. My first Mikado the smoke fan quit! The smoke heater worked but the fan stopped. 

I hate to take it apart it's new but this is my second one in two weeks that has failed?. I repair my MTH and old post war Lionel have for years. In fact I just replaced the wicks in my MTH Rail King Hudson, Torpedo and my smoking Pennsy F-3's. They smoke like WWII destroyers!!

The second time I ran The Lionel Mikado would not smoke at all so I added another 4 drops of fluid. I am using MTH smoke fluid. I thought they were all the same. MTH fluid works well in the Lionel Polar Express and all my post war engines?

I sure wish I knew what I was doing wrong. Wish I knew a real Lionel service engineer? I love this engine it kills me that she will not smoke!

Jack

Thanks to chessie41 I stumbled upon why the Mikado was having smoke problems. chessie41 told me that the pplastic dropper supplied with the Lion Chief plus Mikado was for putting the fluid into the smoke generator!

Lionel does not identify the eyedropper in the Mikado manual. They just say use 4 drops of smoke fluid? Well there's four drops and there's four drops.
What volumn are we talking about. I use a oiler as a smoke fluid container. It gives pretty small drops. Where if you use the supplied eyedropper to provide
four drops your getting allot more smoke fluid. 

I went to the Local train store to see if they had Lionel smoke fluid. They are really an HO store but they do handle some O Gauge. I bought two other brands of smoke fluid. They didn't have any Lionel smoke fluid. The Model Power fluid is allot thinner than the MTH fluid. Anyway, I used the supplied Lionel eyedropper to put four drops of Model Power smoke fluid in the Mikado. Then a added four more. Gave it a little while for the fluid to drain down into the smoke generator. Then I started up the Mikado.. She started giving lots of smoke.

So the real problem was I was not supplying enough smoke fluid to the new Mikado. I'm use to MTH RailKing motive power sense the 1990's. The little oiler work fine for them but not the Lionel!

jack