Not all Smoke Fluids are created equal!

R

R. Wolfe

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Hello and thanks for reading my post. I have just started running some trains this past year with Pulsed Smoke Generators so I am going thru a lot more smoke fluid now. My supply of LGB smoke fluid is dwindling down so the search for a replacement is here. My favorite was the original white LGB 5001 which is long gone and was replaced by the Blue 50010 bottle. Both smoked well and hardly had any odor. The blue did pretty well too but I always felt partial to the old white bottle stuff. About two years ago, I bought a old used 5001 bottle from a fellow eBayer. When I removed the lid, it had a stale, foul odor kind of like when old gasoline turns to varnish. Hum, I said rubbing my head, no way am I putting this stuff in any of my smoke stack. This stuff must have sat out in the sun, maybe lid off or something since I never had this problem with my old bottles (now all used up) stored indoors for over twenty years and it never smelled? Shortly after that, I visited a well known train shop on the East Coast and thought I hit the jackpot. He had a whole shelf full of the good old stuff. It was stored indoors and had to be good. My curiosity got the best of me, I removed the lids off of several bottles and discovered that those too had that nasty foul odor. This stuff really does go bad so smell before you buy any of the old stuff.

I then tried a small bottle of the new Marklin/Trix/LGB fluid being marketed by Marklin as a replacement. It smoked very well, spit and popped which had a cool effect but a super strong waxy odor. This was not going to work for me indoors.

I then bought some SR24 which looked nearly Identical to the old 5001 white bottle. I was told by a reliable source that it was exactly the same as the old LGB 5001 and my search was over. I tested it but to my surprise, it did not smoke as well and it too had a mild waxy odor. This was much more tolerable but still not perfect.

Next I tried a bottle straight from Seuthe but it was exactly the same stuff as the new Marklin/Trix/LGB fluid. Great Smoke but the Strong Waxy Smell.

Next, I tried a bottle of Piko. It has a medium waxy odor but not quite as strong as Seuth/Marklin. So far, SR24 was winning but the search was still on.

I just placed a Massoth order and saw they too marketed a Smoke Fluid. It was blue in color like the LGB 50010 but the bottle looked Identical to the clear Piko bottle. I was hesitant but what the heck, I ordered it. I just received it today and to my surprise, it is exactly the same as the LGB Blue 50010. Hardly any odor and good smoke. Finally an acceptable indoor smoke fluid.

All smoke fluids tested did the job. They are all good products and I recommend them all. They do what they are intended to do. The Blue worked best for me and my sinuses are finally happy again.


Richard
 
A little more detail about the actual smoke and a slight correction about the SR24.

The SR24 fluid smoked well. What I meant was it did not pop and spit like the Seuthe & Marklin/Trix/LGB. As a matter of fact, I have never seen any smoke fluid do that before. It finished a close #2 based on odor. Even though it had a slight waxy smell, it was tolerable. Good indoors and out.

Seuthe & Marklin/Trix/LGB. The smoke would pop & spit creating a cool effect with a lot more smoke rings. The smoke tended to float slightly higher into the air and last longer before dissipating. It finished #1 based on smoke but #4 based on odor. Okay for some light indoor use but best used outdoors.

Piko smoked well too, similar to SR24 & Massoth Blue in smoke performance. It had more Waxy smell than SR24 but less smell than the Seuthe, Marklin/Trix/LGB replacement. It ranked #3 based on odor. Good for some light indoor use but best used outdoors.

Massoth Blue was the same as the LGB Blue 50010. When I tested it, I actually have some old LGB Blue to directly compare with. I rated it #1 in the low odor catagory. It only has a very, very slight odor. It produced decent Smoke and would be Great for both indoors and out.

These are just my opinions and findings under my testing conditions. Once again, all are Great products.
 
Not sure what makes Smoke Fluids though some in the past on here have come up with some possible potions. Vapers who make their own concoctions use ‘propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin’ amongst other things as well I would guess. I would imagine that some of our Smoke Oils use the same or similar stuff which could account for the ‘waxy smells’ you encountered. I remember a well know sage Modeller in UK used to build very small 00 Circular layouts and used to have Seuth H0 Smoke Units in his Locomotives that used to ‘pop’ and ‘smoke ring’ their way round the Layout. Quite therapeutic actually, do not remember what the smell was like. That was Back in the 70’s.
 
Must admit I used to like the smell of the old Seuthe stuff, I had it with a couple of my Triang locos in the 60s and 70s. I keep a small bottle of Seuthe oil for my old Arnold N scale 2-8-2 steamer, which smokes well but needs to be run rather fast to get the effect!

I have a couple of bottles of Aristocraft smoke fluid somewhere, that stuff was quite effective in my Aristo and LGB locos when my line was running.
 
Why I started this posting was because I ran across another posting on the web. It was in a forum that I don't belong too. The guy was running Lionel and boy do I remember those days. I had Lionel up to the time I turned 13 and then it was LGB. He said his wife was complaining about the smoke smell. He tried this scent, he tried that scent, he tried everything and still it was too overpowering. The worst he said was unscented. The last thing he said was he was going to have to stop running smoke. I remember my first LGB smoker and how the odor was no where near as strong as Lionel fluid. I sold all my Lionel when I was 19 (actually traded it for some new LGB) at a local train store. Anyway, what a shame he can't run smoke anymore. That is one of the best features of running a model steam engine.

I don't mind SR24 as I can tolerate it. It's fairly close to original LGB 5001 but not exact. The Blue stuff being marketed by Massoth is as close to the original LGB fluid as I could find.

The good thing about SR24 is you can find it in a 1000ml (about a quart) bottle for about the price of two 250ml bottles. A huge savings. I also found a Quart bottle of Piko fluid while on Vacation at an out of town hobby store for about $30 USD but did not buy it because at the time, I had never tested that brand before. I have not found any of the other brands mentioned by the quart yet.
 
I remember as a kid in the 60s Seuthe smoke fluid that was available in multiple color coded scents. Used it in couple my Märklin HO steam engines converted with Seuthe smoke units by my father. I liked the pine best myself. The fluid came in small trapezoidal bulbs packed five or six to the box. I might still have a few somewhere though I'd never use it now.

Phil S.
 
The 'replica' American Flyer smoke fluids work quite well for me in AristoCraft, LGB, and Seuthe smoke units. I have various voltage and size Seuthe units in non-engine applications.
 
Greg, thanks for the suggestion. I never gave them a thought. I probably should give them a try. My closest hobby dealer who might have those in stock is about two hours away. I can always order on line too. Thanks!

Thanks Hutch, how is the odor on them? Real strong waxy or petroleum smell? Odor is my #1 issue as it aggravates my sinuses bad unfortunately. I will use the real strong stuff mostly outside and low odor inside. Sometimes I am to lazy to go get the indoor fluid down in the basement and just for a quick test run, I will reach for the strong stuff. I just limit the run time.

Wow Phil, I never new Seuthe had been around that long. Very interesting. Thanks.
 
R. Wolfe said:
Greg, thanks for the suggestion. I never gave them a thought. I probably should give them a try. My closest hobby dealer who might have those in stock is about two hours away. I can always order on line too. Thanks!

Thanks Hutch, how is the odor on them? Real strong waxy or petroleum smell? Odor is my #1 issue as it aggravates my sinuses bad unfortunately. I will use the real strong stuff mostly outside and low odor inside. Sometimes I am to lazy to go get the indoor fluid down in the basement and just for a quick test run, I will reach for the strong stuff. I just limit the run time.

Wow Phil, I never new Seuthe had been around that long. Very interesting. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Th "AF" fluids smell sort of like Christmas Trees.
Were designed to be used indoors as AF was a 1/64th scale train.
 
R. Wolfe said:
Hello and thanks for reading my post. I have just started running some trains this past year with Pulsed Smoke Generators so I am going thru a lot more smoke fluid now. My supply of LGB smoke fluid is dwindling down so the search for a replacement is here. My favorite was the original white LGB 5001 which is long gone and was replaced by the Blue 50010 bottle. Both smoked well and hardly had any odor. The blue did pretty well too but I always felt partial to the old white bottle stuff. About two years ago, I bought a old used 5001 bottle from a fellow eBayer. When I removed the lid, it had a stale, foul odor kind of like when old gasoline turns to varnish. Hum, I said rubbing my head, no way am I putting this stuff in any of my smoke stack. This stuff must have sat out in the sun, maybe lid off or something since I never had this problem with my old bottles (now all used up) stored indoors for over twenty years and it never smelled? Shortly after that, I visited a well known train shop on the East Coast and thought I hit the jackpot. He had a whole shelf full of the good old stuff. It was stored indoors and had to be good. My curiosity got the best of me, I removed the lids off of several bottles and discovered that those too had that nasty foul odor. This stuff really does go bad so smell before you buy any of the old stuff.

I then tried a small bottle of the new Marklin/Trix/LGB fluid being marketed by Marklin as a replacement. It smoked very well, spit and popped which had a cool effect but a super strong waxy odor. This was not going to work for me indoors.

I then bought some SR24 which looked nearly Identical to the old 5001 white bottle. I was told by a reliable source that it was exactly the same as the old LGB 5001 and my search was over. I tested it but to my surprise, it did not smoke as well and it too had a mild waxy odor. This was much more tolerable but still not perfect.

Next I tried a bottle straight from Seuthe but it was exactly the same stuff as the new Marklin/Trix/LGB fluid. Great Smoke but the Strong Waxy Smell.

Next, I tried a bottle of Piko. It has a medium waxy odor but not quite as strong as Seuth/Marklin. So far, SR24 was winning but the search was still on.

I just placed a Massoth order and saw they too marketed a Smoke Fluid. It was blue in color like the LGB 50010 but the bottle looked Identical to the clear Piko bottle. I was hesitant but what the heck, I ordered it. I just received it today and to my surprise, it is exactly the same as the LGB Blue 50010. Hardly any odor and good smoke. Finally an acceptable indoor smoke fluid.

All smoke fluids tested did the job. They are all good products and I recommend them all. They do what they are intended to do. The Blue worked best for me and my sinuses are finally happy again.


Richard
Click to expand...

Hello Richard - I recently installed a Massoth Pulsed Smoke Unit into an LGB Uintah along with a DC/DCC Sound System. I've tested it using some older LGB smoke containers I still have from years ago, plus Piko smoke fluid, and then Aristocraft Crest smoke fluid which isn't made anymore. By far, the Aristocraft Crest smoke provides the most dense and visible smoke. I still find the Crest fluid sometimes at model trains shops I visit and have also found it on eBay.com........so I snatch it up when I find any. If you go to my Website, I have a demo of the Uintah's pulsed smoke unit operating on track rollers with the Crest fluid. I'd be interested if any of the smoke fluids you tested works as well so I can switch when I finally run out of the Crest fluid.
 
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