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Offline Larry  
#1 Posted : 26 August 2013 06:56:18(UTC)
Larry

United States   
Joined: 14/11/2003(UTC)
Posts: 1,443
Location: Northeast Ohio
You guys are always so incredibly helpful. Right now I need some critical advice:

After moving to a new house, I constructing a large train table (20 feet by 8 feet on the ends and 4 feet in the middle) for a Marklin digital layout in the basement. As a result, I am going to be unboxing my Marklin HO locos, all digital, many high end, that have been stored (in dry low humidity environment) and not run for at least 3-5 years or more. All were purchased new within the past 10 years. Many years ago I did the same with American HO and not knowing any better caused the motors in the locos to seize which made them worthless. I don't want to repeat this history!

My concern is knowing when and how to oil the locos. (Yes, I went through a search on this topic and wanted to verify these with the experts on the Forum while raising some questions related to my confusion:

RULE 1: DO NOT OVER OIL LOCOMOTIVES

What is NORMAL oiling, like 1 or 2 drops??? I don't find the Marklin inserts/drawings especially helpful in determining how much oil should be used. Conversely, I once saw a shop owner load up the oil in a loco and he seems to know what he is doing.

RULE 2: MANY SUGGEST WAITING UNTIL THE LOCO IS LOUDER THAN IN THE PAST OR HESITATES BEFORE OILING

Will a loco always make noise before the motor seizes, so you always have a warning? Is this true? What is the risk in not oiling until there is noise? With several locomotives that have operating sounds, I probably won't have a clue when the motor is making greater noise than normal?

RULE 3: 40 HOURS OF OPERATION IS A GENERAL MARKER FOR REQUIRING OIL

But, not necessarily? I don't get this comment and without a meter on each locomotive, I have no idea which ones are approaching 40 hours. About the best I can do is guess which ones I bought earlier than others.

RULE 4: DON'T USE WD40 or automotive oil but specilized oil for this purpose

RULE 5: USE SOMETHING LIKE LaBelle oil (like LaBelle 107 for locomotives; 108 for rolling stock and 102 for Marklin gears)

ANY COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL!!!

Thanks so much,

Larry
Offline H0  
#2 Posted : 26 August 2013 08:10:07(UTC)
H0


Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 15,254
Location: DE-NW
#1: True!

#2: Rubbish. Gears with worm drive die silently, so don't wait for noise. Make sure there is grease at the worm drive. Rule probably OK for standard Märklin gears.

#3: Many Märklin locos with worm drive have a maintenance interval of 20 hours. Roco normally gives 30 hours for locomotives. Not all spots may need fresh oil then (see #1). After years in box/on shelf, they may need oil even if they haven't been used.
Regards
Tom
---
"In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Offline kariosls37  
#3 Posted : 26 August 2013 09:09:14(UTC)
kariosls37

New Zealand   
Joined: 02/01/2009(UTC)
Posts: 1,067
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
For rule #1, use the minimum you need, 1 drop is usually sufficient. Over oiling can be more harmful than not enough oiling. I recently pulled apart a loco which had clearly been overoiled with a nice layer of paste made of carbon brush dust and oil inside the motor. The paste would have been reasonably conductive and could have lead to bad running.

#3 - I have no idea of how long my locos run either. I only have the ones with the old motor and they will get a little louder when they need oil. For me a good guess is close enough, though I try to oil a loco up at least once a year. If the gears are next to dry they need oil, if they are still quite wet they are fine. I would aim for 40 hours but I wouldn't keep a log. The locos won't kick up a fuss if you are a couple of hours over or under.

#4 -true

#5 - this is a grey zone. Some people swear by the LaBelle stuff, some by the Marklin stuff. A dealer here in NZ tested the Labelle and Marklin stuff side by side, and while the LaBelle oil was initially the most silent, it didn't last the reccomended 40 hours. The Marklin oil did. I use the Marklin oil on locos, and some Woodland Scenics stuff for my cars and wagons as I have some left, although I will switch to Marklin oil when it runs out. I did use the Woodlands Scenics oil(which is a little thinner but can be bought in most hobby shops here) on my locos before I got some Marklin oil, and they did run all right on it. As I can't run anything continually anyway I did not notice much difference.

I go for the Marklin oil because most gears are designed to use a specific kind of oil, and who will know the best grade of oil better than the same people who designed the gear trains in the models? It dosn't cost much and lasts for ages so I see no reason why not to use it.

These are my two cents worth. No golden rules but in the time that I have used Marklin it has served me well.

Cheers,
Rick
thanks 2 users liked this useful post by kariosls37
Offline BrandonVA  
#4 Posted : 26 August 2013 16:27:32(UTC)
BrandonVA

United States   
Joined: 09/12/2011(UTC)
Posts: 2,533
Location: VA
Originally Posted by: Larry Go to Quoted Post

RULE 2: MANY SUGGEST WAITING UNTIL THE LOCO IS LOUDER THAN IN THE PAST OR HESITATES BEFORE OILING

Will a loco always make noise before the motor seizes, so you always have a warning? Is this true? What is the risk in not oiling until there is noise? With several locomotives that have operating sounds, I probably won't have a clue when the motor is making greater noise than normal?



Larry,

There is a compromise here. With newer locomotives (with worm drive, etc) you will not hear a difference and lack of lubrication could lead to a problem. This rule is true for the older designs, the "classic" Marklin models will have an increase in noise when they need lubrication. It is not a universal rule, depends on the model. Since you say most of your locomotives are 10 years or younger, this probably does not apply to most of your collection.

-Brandon
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