LGB Track Cleaning Loco Q's..

PhilP

PhilP

G Scale, 7/8th's, Electronics
TRADER
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Got one of these to fettle..

Does the cleaning motor make a hell of a racket, even when the loco is on rollers (drive-wheels) and the front of the loco is supported on a block?
You do not need flashing lights to tell you it is running IMHO, almost deafening in a medium-size bedroom workshop!

I suppose 'something' could be slipping / need lubricating on the 'cleaning' motor-block?

Thoughts please.
PhilP.
 
check the bearings, and nylon gear on the cleaning motor ..they can sease up .. :o
 
Rik:
Tried both.. Initially, it would not 'run' under DCC (I was told it was address 3, but there is a 'letraset' large '5' on one side of the cab. - Guess what address it was on? ;)
This is the first of these I have ever seen running / had-at.. The cleaning motor does run at a fair lick, so I expect it to be a little noisy.

I have had the cleaning motor unit out. Removed the cleaning wheels. prised out the pllastics 'wool' from round the shafts / bearings. Moved some grease onto the teeth of the bevel-gears inside. Applied one drop of light oil to the inside of each of the axle bearings. Cleaned-up the outside of the block, and the housing it sits in.

Still makes quite a racket when running in free-air, as opposed to on a track. - Would guess that on the track it will be under load, so the cleaning wheels will run a little slower??
I only have four foot of test track, so it is a little difficult to run it in anger, so to speak.

Seems free enough when turned by hand, so it may just be it has had a hard life.
 
Under analogue you can adjust the speed of the cleaning wheels using the knob on the roof - under DCC they go at full pelt and do make a bit of a racket. Best to try it on the track to see/hear how it fares.

Rik
PS - I had to get rid of mine because my neighbour worked nights and so I had to wait until the afternoon before I could run it (enough noise to awaken the dead). That meant I had to do track cleaning by hand most of the time otherwise I'd have wasted half a day.
 
ge_rik said:
Under analogue you can adjust the speed of the cleaning wheels using the knob on the roof - under DCC they go at full pelt and do make a bit of a racket. Best to try it on the track to see/hear how it fares.

Rik
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Rik..
I will take it to Chasewater at the weekend and give it a workout there.
 
ge_rik said:
I had to get rid of mine because my neighbour worked nights and so I had to wait until the afternoon before I could run it (enough noise to awaken the dead). That meant I had to do track cleaning by hand most of the time otherwise I'd have wasted half a day.
Click to expand...
It was another reason I eventually went over to battery power....

R
 
From what I remember of mine the cleaning wheels should run counter to the direction of travel. Got rid of mine as most of my track is in shade till after midday and it does not work on a damp track. Pity. Noisy b..gger when the cleaning wheels are running at full chat. Still hand cleaning and running DC/Battery/Live steam :D

Max.
 
I had one about ten years ago when I was still running track power. Kept it only a short time. It did make a lot of noise, and like most have said, the cleaning end vibrated quite a bit.
 
Noisy? - Yes. Effective? certainly.
Personally, I love it.
 
yes the cleaning wheels make a racket-and, imho, they should be run at full track voltage
adjust loco speed as track dirt warrants-
fwiw run mine at 24v, and the loco on full 'choke' ie as slowly as it will run, via roof control-this gives max cleaning and a bit less chatter/bounce

second, the roof control does NOT control the cleaning wheel speed, it controls the loco speed with a potentiometer, and then only when the interior switch is set to cleaning mode

third, keep it meticulously clean, check those axels and blow out dust regularly
fourth I reversed the leads to the cleaning wheels so they pull in the same direction as travel-while technically there must be some difference in the amount of abrasion, the advantages are the loco will not stall on grade with wet or otherwise slick track (not advised for best effectiveness) and they travel through points better imho

the end may bounce a bit-this is often because the cleaning wheels, like out of balance tyres, become out of round-

fifth and final, never add weight to the cleaning nose-it will result in premature gear/motor failure eventually

I use mine about every third day, and love it
never leave unattended-never!
 
I have a set of genuine LGB cleaning wheels and plastic disc's on eBay right now.......................... 261494046762
 
Steve, thanks for the pointers..
Final point. NEVER leave any 'power tool' running unattended. - has to be one of the 'rules'.

Paul (Minimans), bit far away, but thanks for bringing it to my attention. - Or did you say you were coming over here soon anyway?? ;)
 
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