[flygopher]

I have recently got an old but nice Triang R259 loco with a nice smoke generator.
But I am not sure what type of oil/fluid I can put in to generate more smoke.
I have tried new Hornby oil but the smoke is barely seen.

Is there any other domestic oil can be used?

Thank you for help!

 

[John Webb]

The Triang smoke generator was made for them by 'Seuthe' who still make smoke units. Try www.firstclasstrains.co.uk who I think sell them. It may be that your smoke unit has developed a fault; but it should be easy to fit a new one.
Regards,
John Webb

 

[dwb]

One of the Forum's advertisers - DCC Supplies - sell a variety of Seuthe smoke generators. They have pictures on their web site. If you view enough pages on the Forum, there banner ad will appear and you can click through to the DCC Supplies site where you can view more information and place an order.

You have a couple of choices to make. The first should be easy enough since you can do it "on sight". This is to choose whether you get one which has heat insulation around it and a narrow top or one one which is uninsulated and is a straight forward cylindrical shape.

The second choice is the operating voltage. The more commonly used type works at a lower voltage but takes a higher current. The second type has a higher voltage but takes a smaller current. The total power used (current * voltage) is the same for each model. Tests I did recently indicate that the minimum voltage really means what it says. If you don't reach those volts, nothing happens; so if you're maximum voltage is 12v and you pick the low current 16v version, you won't get any smoke.

You should only choose the low current version if you are using DCC and have a very low current "budget" for accessory outputs. Most OO/HO decoders have up to 500mA available, so unless you are using incandescent lamps as well, the higher current, low voltage will be fine.

The situation for DC is a lot less critical, but I would still go for the low voltage model.

David

 

[flygopher]

Great! Thanks a lot! Also adding my own findings, I happened to pass a model shop nearby and popped in just now.
The elderly fellow told me that I can actually use any light machine oil which does produce thicker smoke besides
bad smell. I tried some and are happy with the light machine oil. It does the job and actually let me
feel a more realistic running loco. The only drawback is that I need to open the window to clear the room before my
family complains the oily smell

Thank you all for kind helps.

Happy New Year!

 

[Makemineadouble]

I've done a lot of bench tests with smoke units recently, mainly with the Seuthe 22, and also with the 100. running them with different currents, and resistors.
Richard Johnson mentioned Johnsons baby oil as a good substitute, and this smokes nicely and leaves quite a nice smell, probably a blend of Seuthe and Baby oil would be a good one. At one point I had four smoke units going simultaneously, and even then the smell wasn't over powering. So try that rather than machine oil.

I also have a bottle of first class trains smoke oil and find there's no difference between that and Seuthe's

 

[flygopher]

Thank you very much! Yes, that is a great idea. I have tried it just now. I happened to have a bottle around. And it does the job with no bad smell at all. Although the smoke is not as thick as ones produced by the Rapide multi-lube oil I used before, it still produces thicker and more visiable smoke than the bottle of Hornby oil does. Great resutls!

I have tried both 12V with 0.6A current and 14V with a lower current (some 0.34A) with a professional power supply.
Both settings seem to work. But my Hornby R921 did badly with no smoke generated at all.

Maybe it is time to upgrade to R952. Has anyone got any idea why R921 performs so poorly with old stuff? (See another of my post). Does anyone know the difference between R952 (or newer) or R921?

Many thanks!

 

[Gary]

Seuthe only supplied Triang with smoke generators for a short time. Triang developed their own synchrosmoke unit which employed a cylinder fixed to a crank to pump smoke out as Seuthe units were considered too expensive to implement across the Triang range. Has the Britannia actually got a Seathe unit or a synchrosmoke unit? Both seem equally effective.

Scented oils used for pot porri work for me (3 for £1 at most car boots) and Trix also do a very effective smoke oil in a sizable bottle which sends out plumes of smoke.

QUOTE Maybe it is time to upgrade to R952. Has anyone got any idea why R921 performs so poorly with old stuff? (See another of my post). Does anyone know the difference between R952 (or newer) or R921?

What are these or am I being thick?

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[Gary]

I've now worked out what R921 is. The Hammant & Morgan Duette provides a full 1 amp power to the track and I never have a problem running older locos with this unit. Not too sure why you are limited to 0.6 amp to the track as old motors require 1 amp to really get motoring and surely the Hornby controller offers this? If you are only using 0.6 amp then the smoke unit will not heat up sufficient to generate smoke as most of the power will be drawn by the motor.

Happy modelling
Gary

 

[flygopher]

Gary, thanks a lot for kind answers.
Happy New Year!

Sorry I didn't make the problem clear. I borrowed a professional digital power supply
with showing current consuming rates. The data shows that the loco consumes 0.6A at
the voltage of 12 and 0.4A at the voltage of 14. I didn't restrict the current.
The Hornby R921 controller claims that it can supply 12V and 4VA. So it supposes that
R921 can run the loco very fast. But the reality is that the loco runs like a slug in the
track even with maximum supply from R921. I have another Triang D6830 loco and
it has the same problem of running with the R921. I have an older Hornby R912 controller
with 14.1V/1VA output. The old Triang locos do not like it either. All my newer Hornby locos
run excellently with both R912 and R921 power controllers. I am in the middle of no where to
find out a solution. I really need some experts' suggestions to help me out.