I will be using Prodigy Express for my layout. What gauge wire should I use for the track bus and what gauge for the feeder wires? I have one book that says to use 14 gauge wire for the track bus. That is the same size wire that is used in wiring a house. Is that too heavy?
What gauge track bus wire?
- Thread starter Mannix
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Better to err on the side of caution - heavy is better than too light. Household wiring in Ontario calls for 12 ga. If you are doing even a moderate run (i.e. more than a 4x8, but not a bsement empire) I would consider stranded 14 or 12 ga. The feeders to the track can be smaller (18 to 20 ga), as long as you keep them short.
Andrew
Andrew
Unless you have a very large layout, anything over 14 gauge is overkill. My layout is 10 foot by 20 foot , with DCS and I use 18 gague on the layout. The ones that I have just built, 12 by 8 foot and 6 by 8 foot with two main lines have also been done in 18 gauge wire.
DCS recomands to use 16 gague wire, but I can tell you that I have not had any problems with any of my layouts.
tom
DCS recomands to use 16 gague wire, but I can tell you that I have not had any problems with any of my layouts.
tom
Wire is not too heavy until it causes the benchwork to sag.
It's a trade off at that point between cost and availability. A minimum would be lamp cord on a small layout, up to the 12 size on a larger one. Over a certain size you will want power districts.
It's a trade off at that point between cost and availability. A minimum would be lamp cord on a small layout, up to the 12 size on a larger one. Over a certain size you will want power districts.
Re: brass track.
The brass track is just as good a conductor as nickle silver. The problem comes with oxidation - the oxides of nickle silver conduct electricity, while the oxide of brass does not. That means that your track should be very clean, regardless of whether it is NS, brass or something else.
If you have brass track, I would say use it for now, unless you want to spend the money to replace it. You might try a very, very small amount of clipper oil once you have cleaned the track. This will help improve conductivity, and slow the oxidation. See Ralph's "Great Wahl Clipper Oil Experiment" thread in the General Talk forum.
Andrew
The brass track is just as good a conductor as nickle silver. The problem comes with oxidation - the oxides of nickle silver conduct electricity, while the oxide of brass does not. That means that your track should be very clean, regardless of whether it is NS, brass or something else.
If you have brass track, I would say use it for now, unless you want to spend the money to replace it. You might try a very, very small amount of clipper oil once you have cleaned the track. This will help improve conductivity, and slow the oxidation. See Ralph's "Great Wahl Clipper Oil Experiment" thread in the General Talk forum.
Andrew
I think 14 gauge wire is good enough.I just happened to have 10 gauge romex house wire laying in the garage,so that is what i used.I,ve got a 16x16 layout and with this settup and droppers every 6' i have little to no voltage drop.