Piko BR24 [External Link]

stockers said:
Keiths smokes very well. Noticeably well - but thats just chance I think. ........
Click to expand...

Just a very basic question - the Piko instructions recommend 10-20 drops of smoke fluid per fill - but I find, even when dripped in with a squeezy pipette, I can't get more than half a dozen drops at most into the (rather small) actual hole in the top of the smoke unit, before it all "pools" in the wider top of the loco funnel.... am I doing something wrong, and getting an air lock in the fluid reservoir? The instructions clearly and emphatically say not to poke anything into the smoke unit in case the element is damaged, so I'm wary of trying to release any trapped air (so to speak...) by prodding it.... any thoughts?

Jon.
 
I use the LGB pipette, 3/4 full up the tube (not the squeezy bulb)and place the tip gently IN the hole. I have not wrecked an element yet!
 
Thanks Alan, maybe I am dripping it from too high up and thus getting air trapped! Will try your method next time... ;)

Jon.
 
If you get a 'puddle' in the top of a chimney / smoke unit..
Quite often a 'tap' with the flat of a finger will apply enough extra pressure to 'pop' the bubble, the fluid then settling in the smoke unit.
 
PhilP said:
If you get a 'puddle' in the top of a chimney / smoke unit..
Quite often a 'tap' with the flat of a finger will apply enough extra pressure to 'pop' the bubble, the fluid then settling in the smoke unit.
Click to expand...
Agreed
 
Thanks for the tips on the smoke oil.... :)

A VERY nice running day was had yesterday (Sunday) at a local GSS members' line, and generally the BR24 performed well - the sound was good, the volume pot worked nicely, and it looked very good with a rake of four of the (very heavy!) Piko 6-wheel Rekowagen green coaches. There were two problems encountered - one was a tendency to snag up on LGB R5 pointwork, of which there was quite a lot on the layout. Interestingly, after a couple of rather hesitant laps because of this, the problem appeared to go away! One person suggested that maybe one of the skates had been a bit sticky from new, and that it had just freed itself off after a while so that it was no longer catching on the R5 frogs or check rails.
The other thing we found was rather a lack of traction on gradients - the line had a couple of sections of about (according to the owner) 1 in 30 or so, and the four heavy coaches caused gradual slowing with lots of wheelspin, culminating in a standstill! I took one coach off, and the loco then made excellent headway with the remaining three - I guess the full rake was just too heavy for it, understandable as those coaches probably tip the scales at a good bit over 2kg each. Of course, the loco has no traction tyres on its six big drivers.... I think one would have helped a lot!

With the slightly reduced load and the skate freed up (if that was indeed the problem) the BR24 stormed round the circuit looking and sounding pretty good! :)

Jon.
 
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