Should Otto Growl?

C

CoggesRailway

Registered
My friend has bought an Otto as his first loco. It appears brand new and runs well. It does growl a bit though unlike my other LGB stuff - for instance the yellow digital started shunters.
 
Mine growls a little, even when running light.
 
Might be worth taking the motor block to bits and checking that everything is set right, especially the wheel quartering - moving one gear by a single tooth can make all the difference. If the gearbox looks like it's been apart before, check that all the screws that hold the sandwich gearbox together are tight - when I dismantled my Fiery Elias tram loco for digitising, after putting it back together it made an awful racket on first testing, then I discovered I hadn't tightened the top plate down properly and the motor worms weren't quite meshing fully with the spur gears.
If everything is good and correct, I don't see why an Otto should growl any more than a modern Stainz, they are the same mechanism as far as I am aware.

Jon.
 
The mechanism is not the same. It also has a different motor, which may account for some of the difference in sound.

It may just be that the worm gears need a bit of grease - I had a Porter (same chassis as Otto) that was virtually dry when I first got it. This one was made in Korea and I think it may have been subjected to several extreme changes in temperature between factory and shop. It is the only one of many of these that I have where the plastic has failed on two different parts of the chassis. I agree with Jon that checking the top plate is fully screwed down is a good first stop. (or second stop if you choose to lubricate the worms!)
 
Out of four locos (2 Ottos and 2 Porters) only one Otto is a bit noisy. It has a whine rather than a growl.
 
I have two Ottos. The oldest one (with shiny valve gear) is a bit noisier than my newer one. The old one is secondhand, so that might be the reason too.
 
Mine makes a bit of noise, but taking it apart shows that all is well.

I did pick up a spare motor tho, they are not a standard LGB item.
 
I stand corrected about the mechanism - I've never had an Otto, and just assumed that the motor block was standard LGB; is it like the Playmobil one, or a completely different third design?

Jon.
 
dont worry too much, i have had 3 ottos and they all growled a bit .as suggested lubricate gear box, it quietens them down.
all mine were new out of the box as well.
 
Zerogee said:
I just assumed that the motor block was standard LGB; is it like the Playmobil one, or a completely different third design?
Jon.
Click to expand...

It's a completely separate design
 
yes my german made otto also makes a bit more noise than a stainz-same as my german made porters,
not sure why-they seem to fit well and appear to eb quality -ive tinkered with both types a bit in attempting to make them like silk

i am not sure if its the motor itslef, or how it sits against the gears, or what, and how it affects resonance in the shell, being smaller than a normal stainz motor-or what-
lubrication does help-they also do run in and become very smooth and a bit more quiet

a good squeeze of teflon or graphite grease will change the sound a bit for the better-actually better than LGB grease in this application because its clingy, slick and a bit softer

mind the side rods, as they are most difficult to find-beware of twigs and other debris on the ROW that might find their way in the works!!
 
From my experience, I'd say no. I've got two Ottos, one an Otto one an OHO (both secondhand), which I've used as the basis for GRS 'bashes'.

I like the Otto chassis as they are quiet, reliable and simple - the ideal workhorse - a sort-of Morris Minor of of the G Gauge world. They are so simple to strip down (just like Morris Minors), I'd be inclined to disassemble, grease up (the chassis not you or your friend) and reassemble. Hopefully, it will then run like a BMW.

Rik
 
are you saying that you have Ottos that are as quiet as a stainz?

one thing i notice is that the porters and ottos dont have the same motor-perhaps its five pole?

-id guess they either have fewer poles or the poles are not offset/skewed
-as i find the Ottos have micro intervals at very slow speed-ie run-stop-run
due to the motor sticking between magnets

-none of my stainz's have this quality

and having actually run mine inregard to this post, i think it has some effect on the sound-the motor as well as the drive train, and the resonance of the shell-or how the motors sits/fits-the motor itself simply doesnt appear to me to be as smooth running as the 7 pole buhlers
 
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