Smoke Fluid

[bbmiroku]

Part 1:
What is in the Bachmann smoke fluid?  I've heard propylene glycol, glycerine, and both.  And I'm wondering if I would be able to use vape juice in a pinch, because there's a vape store down the street and the local hobby shop (flea market permanent booth) is a bit small in inventory, specifically accessories.

Part 2:
If I wanted to use non-Bachmann smoke fluid, whose would cause the least 'spitting'?

[Len]

The bottle says it's propylene glycol and glycerine.

Vape juice is also propylene glycol and glycerine based, with nicotine and flavoring ingredients added. That extra stuff could gunk up your smoke unit, and make a mess on your track even worse than straight smoke fluid.

'Spitting' is due to the "fluid boiling in a pot" design of the smoke unit used in Bachmann locos when over filled, not the type of fluid used. Smoke units that use a wick generally don't 'spit'.

Len

[bbmiroku]

Oh my, that would indeed make a mess.  Thanks for the warning.

Would I be able to make an approximation of the fluid from P Glycol and Glyerine from RiteAid or Walgreens?

[dutchbuilder]

My experience over the years is that it makes an awful mess of your model.
Waying it up against the effect i would advise not to use it.

Ton

[Trainman203]

Dust is a big enough problem on layouts with oily vapor settling on in.  If the smoke itself was realistic, it "might" be worth the mess, but there's nothing realistic about model railroad smoke.  Physics can't be scaled down.

[bbmiroku]

I don't have to worry about dust too much, as I set the whole shebang up only around Christmas time.  I just blow the dust off the fragile stuff or wipe the dust off the building before boxing it away.

I might keep a small circle around, but not up, just as a test track for new purchases.

[Len]

You could just order some smoke fluid on line. If this is a Chrismas layout, JT Mega-Steam has a bunch of different Christmas scented smoke fluids.

Len

[jward]

do they have one that smells like coal smoke?

[Captain Crutch]

do they have one that smells like coal smoke?

Evidently this company has a bottle that smells exactly like a Union Pacific.
http://www.megasteam.com

I've never used it myself so I couldn't tell you if it works, but somebody makes it.