Ok - thanks to all your help, I finally got it wrapped around my feeble brain that I’m safe to replace my power supply. [tup]
My last concern … all my building lights and signal towers are wired using very light wire. I used 24 gauge for the structures and 32 gauge within all the signal towers. Will having an available 10 amp source cause any of this wiring to become toaster elements ??? [xx(]
Mark.
Same answer as before. No. The current flowing through those wires is going to be the exact same as it was before. The amount available from the supply is irrelevant.
The only time a melt down would happen is if you started hooking up a bunch of stuff onto the end (opposite the power supply). OR if you have a short circuit at the end of one of those wires and the breaker/fuse doesn’t trip.
ARRGH! Hey Mark, I like you guy but you will probably think I’m being mean so forgive me if you get a little beat up feeling. That is the exact same question that you asked before! Yes, it is. No, the answer isn’t going to change. I do hope those signal towers are using LEDs with 32 ga wire. Other than NOTHING CHANGES EXCEPT YOUR ABILITY TO POWER MORE STUFF what more can I say to assure you? Please my friend, relax, triple check to be sure the polarity is correct since you’re using LEDs and simply swap out the power supplies.
I’m really sorry for over-dwelling on this. I’ve been building this layout for fifteen years now. All my structures are scratch-built as are all my multi-head signal towers ( all LEDs ). None of the lighting on or in ANY of these would be easy to replace if at all. I would literally have to destroy years of hard work to get back to square one.
Thanks for your patience … all quiet now.
Mark.
One word. NO.
Just to be a hair obstinate, I’ll say no, but…if a short occurs on one of those lightweight wires it is going to get really hot, really fast. A fuse here and there might not be a bad idea, just to stop things before they get bad.
EDIT:
The light wire is not a problem itself, as you never intend for it to see a high current. A fuse would guarantee that. You could group a fairly large number of your wires with a 2, or maybe even 5A fuses, just to make sure that a short can’t burn your stuff up.
If I were in your shoes, I would add some fuses in certain strategic places. Breakup the circuit into smaller branches similar to a home / auto. You can use inline glass or automotive plug in types.
Get a DMM and check the draw where you want to add a fuse. Try to get one as close as you can to what that branch is drawing.
This will make troubleshooting much easier down the road.
Jim
The title of this thread is somewhat confusing. I’ve built some 50 computers but hey, there isn’t anything about a computer power supply? Heh?
The OP is planning to switch over to a computer power supply to power the lights, signals and whatever else on his layout and is concerned about the effects of the higher amp capacity of the power supply on his layout.
Yeah, it would be confusing to anyone who hasn’t been following my paranoid obsession !!! For anyone interested, here’s a link to parts one and deux …
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1269932/ShowPost.aspx Part One
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1270128/ShowPost.aspx Part Deux
Mark.
To be perfectly accurate, different sized wires will have different internal resistances and thus affect voltage drop and current flow… but the difference between the two gauges you are looking at and the load you are carrying on those wires will amount to pretty much nothing. Wire guage vs amp load IS something to always be thought about at least once, however, in every circuit design you do.
For reference:
my bad for crashing the party midway thru!