newbie question on lionel steamer

dweeb Mar 30, 2004

  1. dweeb

    dweeb New Member

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    Hi folks, first time poster in here.
    I just got started in the hobby this year with Lionel . I have an Erie Hudson 4-6-2 steamer thats decided to quit smoking. I took the shell off and took a peek inside the smoke generator. I read somewhere on the net that you can improve the smoker by removing the old wadding and adding in fiberglass insulation. Of course that is for the fan driven units on a diesel so Im not sure if that will work in this case.

    Now, I have tried that and it still doesnt work. The original packing material inside there was a bit burnt. I am wondering how do I find out if the heat element is bad ?
     
  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    It's been many, many years since I last tinkered with a Lionel steam unit. I'm thinking that you could test for continuity with an ohmmeter. Nothing else comes into mind right now.

    :D

    Boxcab E50
     
  3. dweeb

    dweeb New Member

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    Yeah I tried that, either my meter is dead or I am doing something wrong because it didnt measure anything. To make sure the battery in the meter wasnt dead I changed that (although with a another suspect battery). So i should be able to measure the ohms going through the wire right? I'll give it another go when I have some time.
     
  4. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    You should be able to measure the resistance in the wire- Except if the path is broken, there will be no measurement. No conductivity. Which could be why the unit is not working. No electricity can flow. There may not be a problem with your meter.

    My ohmmeter is digital, and also has a setting where I can simply test conductivity. If the path is unbroken, it will beep. Testing the meter is done by touching the probes together. If working as it should, there is a beep.

    :D

    Boxcab E50
     
  5. dweeb

    dweeb New Member

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    I tested it last night, and sure enough the meter did show the wires are ok. Someone else told me that I can check to see if the element gets hot after some run time.
     

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