Hey all - My kids were gifted a 25 year old train set, and unfortunately when we set it up this year the smoker unit doesn't appear to be working, or at least working very poorly. I was only able to find Bachman fluid locally, and I can't get it to smoke. Only very small wisps. It's a Lionel 2 6 4 engine with an 8516-50 smoke unit.
http://www.lionel.com/media/servicedocuments/151-8611Complete.pdf I've done some searching about smokers online, but I'm not entirely sure what to do. What do I need to do to diagnose / fix this? Should i search for a replacement smoke unit (same part number), should I rebuild the smoke unit (new wicking material, etc...), or does someone make a "replacement" unit that would perform better than the stock unit and still fit in this engine. My two kids would greatly appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks!!!
Welcome to the forum!
The smoke unit in your locomotive would probably smoke better if you add more cars to make a longer train. This will make you turn up the power a bit more on the transformer, giving the heater element in the smoke unit a higher voltage. You can also try Lionel smoke fluid, available online if your dealer does not stock it. There are other smoke fluid manufacturers that you can use their product in your locomotive also. You may need to add 10 drops of fluid to get the unit to smoke more also. Hold the loco in one hand, and rig up your transformer leads to the loco; one lead to the front or rear truck, and the other lead to a pickup roller. Turn the power up and run the loco in your hand. See how it smokes with full power. If it smokes well, you may need to add more cars as suggested. If it still does not smoke well, it may be time for a replacement unit. Do try Lionel smoke unit first if your results are not satisfactory. You want to eliminate the smoke fluid as a cause of the problem.
The smoke unit in your locomotive is pretty much the unit that will work, unless you are handy, and are willing to modify the locomotive to put in a modern unit. I do not believe the smoke unit can be serviced, and is likely a sealed unit.
Larry
Hmmm.
I have tried running the steam engine and tender with a long (8 car) passenger set, and while it did smoke better than on the set with 4 passenger cars, it was hardly good performance. My recollection from when I was a kid is that these things smoked like crazy (at least my dad's old Marx set did). Perhaps my memories are more vivid than reality.
Thanks for the help! I'm gonna call a dealer or two tomorrow and see if I can get a new part.
Try different smoke fluid first.
The older Lionel smoke units used a smoke pellet, and smoked a bit better than the newer liquid units. Perhaps this is what you recall.
Larry
For what it's worth, I'll post the fix for anyone else who may search for this topic.
I finally got around to opening up the engine today to have a look. When I inspected the unit and manually moved the wheels, I noticed that the smoke lever arm never appeared to move. Somehow the lever arm was not in the proper location and not pushing on the piston to make the unit chuff smoke. I suspect the unit was dropped or jostled over the last 25 years along the way. The unit was smoking well enough to amaze my 3 year old! Thanks everyone for your opinions and advice!