Bachmann water pump operating voltage.

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I’m an O gauge train person, but please don’t hold it against me. I have great respect for those of you with steady hands and good eyes!

I purchased a Bachmann HO mini water pump (item 42219) at a train show and don’t have a clue about what voltage ( or type of voltage AC/DC) to run this thing at. This carded accessory doesn’t say anything on the card or on the motor.

Does anyone have any experience with this pump?

Thanks.

Tom
Beltsville, Md.

2

I don’t know. I could guess, however I don’t think that you be a good idea. The best thing you could probably do is send Bachmann an e-mail.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/contactus.html

3

If that water pump is really made for model use, it probably uses no more than 16 Volts AC, since that’s the voltage that most power packs have on their accessory terminals. One way to find out is to connect the pump to the variable DC terminals of a power pack and see what happens, if anything, as you turn the throttle up. If the motor doesn’t run at all on variable DC, it probably won’t run on 16 Volts AC. Then you’ll have to look around for an answer from Bachmann. Try their “Ask the Bach-Man” topic on the Bachmann Web site. Does the packaging have a model number on it? Sometimes, you can just type a model number of something into Google and find the answer.

4

Hey TOM

I have that same pump, which I bought about three years ago. It works with any AC terminal from any MR transformer. As a pump, it’s very, very weak. Must be careful where it is placed, otherwise it wont work. I used it as a pump for a “real water” creek, but after a while I decided to go with artificial water. Water, electricity and scenery materials, just doesn’t combine very well. Beside the pump isn’t good at all. The flow capacity is very little, and even if you place it in a good position all you will have is just a thin thread of water flowing. As “piping” is used plastic aquarium air hoses. So forget about that majestic waterfall (specially in O) you had in mind, if you’re planning to use this product for that. After a few hours of work, water started filtrating through the plastic joints.

I think you’ll do better, if real water is your thing, with a small fountain submergable water pump. You can place it inside a bucket with water under your layout and use it to circulate water in your stream (if that’s your plan).

5

All,

Thanks folks for the info!

With all the advice, I decided to try running the pump off of the variable track AC terminals on my old Lionel transformer and it (the pump) humms like a champ. RedLeader, given your experience, sounds like that humming is about all that it is good for. :wink: I’ll have to pick up a bit of hose to try it out although, ReadLeader, considering your thoughts with water on layouts, and the poor performance of this pump, I think I’ll move toward “static” water.

Thanks a bunch and have a good weekend.

Tom