Best smoke fluid?

[RkyGriz]

Hi. I am a big fan of the Anniversary Edition 4-6-0 G Scale Locomotives. I currently own 4 of them. I also own 2 Lionel 0-6-0 locos and a Lionel 0-4-0 loco ( the Lionel G Scale locos do not smoke), a USA Trains caboose with a factory installed smoke unit( I believe that it may be a Seuthe) , and a Hartland Locomotive Works 4-4-0 that I bought on Ebay about 6 months ago, which I really like.  It has a lot of power and pulls well for it's size. I installed a Seuthe No.7E steam generator in it yesterday afternoon. I hooked it up to the headlight leads for power and also installed a slide switch to turn it on and off. It seems to work pretty well. I've been burning Bachmann Smoke Fluid in all of my smoke units and it seems to put out a decent amount of smoke. I'm wondering if there are other smoke fluids that make greater amounts of smoke and what you guys would recommend  to get the most smoke for my buck and which one is compatible with both the Bachmann smoke units and the Seuthe smoke units. Thanks guys!

[671]

Hi RkyGriz,

              671 here. I have tried several smoke fluids for the Bachmann/Seuthe style smoke uint. I find that the Bachmann fluid spits and pops during its' use. The top of the Loco gets fluid on it.

              LGB, Seuthe, Mega Steam fluids do not have the popping tendencies. These fuids do come at a high price and I find Mega Steam to be too strong a smell for the Train Room.

              Crest Smoke fluid ( Trainland $4.99...4 0z. yellow bottle ) Smokes as well as the above mentioned, long lasting, ( >15 minutes per fill ). I like to mix a few drops of Mega Steam into the 4 o.z. bottle for a mild aroma.

                             Give it a try...  :-) ... Happy Easter... 671

[Joe Satnik]

Griz,

You can also increase your smoke by adding diode bridges and diodes in series with the motor to slow it down.

The slower motor needs higher track voltage for the same speed, which means more power to the lights and smoke unit.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,27888.0.html

Read both pages.

Find the link to the Dallee diode and diode bridge circuit. 

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[RkyGriz]

Thanks for the replies. I've been thinking about buying a bottle of either LGB or Seuthe smoke fluid. I'll also be sure to check out the Crest. I'm not sure about the Mega Steam as, like you already mentioned,  there is a strong odor associated with it and it is a petroleum-based product that could be bad for your health. It's good to know that there are smoke fluids that don't make a mess out of your loco which is indeed a large problem with the Bachmann smoke fluid.
Adding diodes or resistors with a Hartland  Locomotive will not work as Hartland uses a self-contained motor block. The motor block contains the motor and 2 geared drive axles plus 4 power contacts similar to those found on LGB products. There are no electronics in these locomotives. They are very simple and easy to tear apart and work on. Plus, the Seuthe unit was putting out big chuffs of smoke as compared to the Bachmann units. It even blew a smoke ring, which I think is cool!
I just think that the Bachmann smoke fluid may not be as good as other brands and I don't want to spend a lot of money trying to find something better. Even in the Anniversary Edition locomotives you kind of have to look hard to see the smoke coming from them as it not only pops and makes a mess of your loco, but the smoke dissipates very quickly- which can be both good and bad.

[Hunt]

None is the best smoke fluid unless the locomotive is run outdoors. However, if you choice is to have smoke, the smoke unit is more important than the smoke fluid.

Click Here for some Large Scale Smoke Tips