basic wiring questions

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I am running a 10 gauge wire with connections around my loop of track. Is it recommended to have that wire hook back up to the transformer for a true loop?

Do I need special solder to conduct electricity? The guy at HD said they all work.

Thanks in advance.

2

I attach my loops of wire back to a common connection that hooks to the transformer. My trains seem to run smoother, but that could be due to my upgrading to a TPC 300 at the same time I rewired the layout to use continuous loops.

3

Thanks. Seems like it couldn’t hurt and may help. I am commited to doing a better job with electrical on this layout compared to my last.

4

AS to solder, make sure you use a rosin core solder. Avoid acid core solder! A good flux helps too - I prefer liquid over paste.

5

Solder all your connections and if you have a OHM meter, check for resistance in your connections. If resistance is high, resolder your connection.

Happy Railroading.[8D]

6

The loop that you described is called a “ring main” in England and is legal there but forbidden in the US. (Despite the time zone in your profile, I think from your reference to “HD” that that’s not where you are.) The reason they allow it is that they want to use a smaller wire than if it were fed from one end only. It is disallowed here because it will be fed from one end if the load is close to that end or if one end is accidentally disconnected. You’re using a heavy wire (10 AWG) which has an ampacity of 30 amperes, more than any likely transformer would put out. This should be amply safe even if those things happen; so I think that you should go for it.

I don’t know of a true solder that won’t conduct electricity well. This does not include cold “solders” that are really metallic-colored glue. The traditional electrical solder is 60-40 (tin-lead) with a rosin-flux core. Traditional plumbing solder is 50-50, but is almost extinct becouse of new rules against lead in plumbing. Lead is now being taken out of electrical solder too. The replacement alloys are almost pure tin, with a few percent of other odd metals.