Hi there,
Im on with my DCC layout now and need to know the gauge of wire to hook it all up … as i dont want turn on one day and it all goes red and burns out on me .
Can you tell me in piano wire gauges please as your measurements are different to the ones over here in the uk.
Many thanks
iomtt
iomtt,
Go to Tony’s Train Exchange page (http://www.tonystrains.com) and click on their 2. DCC For Beginners link. It will answer a lot of the questions you have (and will have) about DCC. You can either read it online or you can download it onto your computer as a .pdf file. It’s a good resource and a handy reference. You may have to figure out the gauge conversion yourself.
Tom
I don’t know European wire sizes. Rule of thumb - house wire size for busses, light single strand wire for feeds.
Well for starters, is the layout even big enough to need a bus and multiple feeders? I guess I should ask, how large is the layout?
I think a bus and feeder system is appropriate for a layout of any size. If nothing else, it’s the right way to start so that you can expand later. The standard answer is a feeder every 3 feet, so unless a layout is less than 6 feet in linear run, then you will want a bus and feeder system.
I found this on Google for converting wire gauges:
http://www.efunda.com/DesignStandards/gages/wire_forward.cfm
It’s 3 minutes before midnight here right now. I’ve heard you learn something new every day. “Piano Wire Gauge” is a new one for me, but man this is cutting it close on the timing.
iomtt: Try the link below. The web page contains a convertion chart. It covers American, Metric, SWG and AWG (inches).
http://www.reade.com/Conversion/wire_gauge.html
Hope this helps
I used stranded speaker wire purchased at Wal-mart to wire my HO scale home layout and a large HO scale club layout and have had no problems with voltage drops or overloads.
Basically, nearly everyone recommends 12 gauge for main busses and usually 18 for drops.
12 gauge carries 20-25 amperes (according to National electrical code)
18 gauge carries about 5 amperes. Use what ever UK wire size carries a similar current. I can provide cmil sizes if you get stuck. email me if you wish.
Also be aware that we use 120 volts for most normal house wiring over here vs your 220 so your “house wire” will likely be only half as thick as ours.
Personally I think 12ga is a bit of overkill for smaller layouts but it is cheap insurance and I did use it on my medium sized one (100 foot main lines fed in a loop) because I had a few spare spools from my business.
Good luck.