I have a question i just had to dig a trench thru the scenery to run a feeder wire from one section of track to another section. I tested the track every thing worked fine. So then i filled the trench with wallboard mud up to the rail covering some of the exposed wire.I flipped the power on the layout is dead do i need to let the mud dry before i put the power on?
Hello all,
Remember, water conducts electricity, no matter how small the amount of moisture.
My question is why…
On my layout I use 1/2-inch split flex wire loom to run the wires in these “service tunnels”. I can senic over this at will.
Hope this helps.
So once its 100% dried it should be fine?
First, we’re talking LOW VOLTAGE, here. NOT 120V.
The insulated part of the wire is, well, insulated. But if you put some wet mud onto two oppositely charge bare wires, that’ll be a short. It’ll probably be OK once it dries out. Probably.
I would suggest once it’s totally dry, turn on the power to the layout. If things don’t trip and looking good, put an ampmeter in line with the track power, and see if you’re still leaking power through the mud. If you don’t detect any, you’re home free. Well, until the mud gets wet again.
If you want to be just a wee bit, uh, more professional, after the mud dries, scrape it off to reveal the bare wire(s). Then paint it with liquid insulation. The insulated part won’t be a problem.
Ed
MANY years ago on my old layout, I mounted my signal towers on a copper clad circuit board. I mounted the board by shoving it into a big blob of glue I filled a recess with.
Up on immediate testing, ALL the lights on the tower lit up at once ! I figured at the time the glue must be the culprit. A couple days later, once the glue dried, everything worked as expected.
Mark.
My advice? Good luck. It will probably work, but if not you know where the problem is.
Next time, use drinking straws or coffee stirrers as conduit. Don’t directly embed bare wires in scenic material.
Using insulated wire would probably be the better choice.
Ed
Possibly. Maybe. Only way to find out is to walk away for a couple of days and let the mud dry completely. Then try power again.
I agree with the others, use an insulating sleeve or jacket of some kind next time, and keep the mud away from any bared parts of the wires. A soda straw would work.
I might add that wearing shorts while doing mudding is a really good idea on a hot day.
Should that be of use.
Ed
I use Rain Bird drip tubing as conduit in my scenery so that I can replace or add wires later. Where I can get away with drilling a long hole for wires I have 24” long bits from ¼” to ½”. I still use the drip tubing in the holes as conduit. I’ve been using the drip tubing for many years without a single problem.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rain-Bird-1-4-in-x-100-ft-Distribution-Tubing-T22-100S/202078362
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rain-Bird-1-2-in-x-100-ft-Drip-Irrigation-Tubing-Coil-T70-100S/204751445
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
Good news! Mud is dry everything works! Thank you for the advice
Mark
It’s not every day that doing nothing for an extended period solves a problem.
Enjoy!!
Ed
Hello all,
It’s what I refer to as, “An active negative”.
Hope this helps.
When our club layout was built in the early 1980’s, they used handlaid code 100 and applied wet water to the ballast with eye droppers. Standard procedure was to never run a train until a week later when we met again.
Some old times had built good size home layouts and did the same. Wait until dry to run trains. Once in a while some mud was used as I was told.
Only downside some said was one huge spike every so often. Lol. Get you calipers out and measure a spike.
Rich
Quick and easy preventive - PAINT the bare wire with:
- Solvent-based paint.
- Liquid insulation (sold for the purpose.)
Or use a pece of shrink tubing (spaghetti) as intended.
Or, avoid laying wire through scenery. All of mine disappears into vertical holes, routed under the subroadbed to terminal blocks attached to the L girders behind the fascia. Electrical maintenance is done while sitting in a nice, comfortable chair, far from any shorting hazard.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
That struck me really funny Ed as I really was mudding a kitchen remodeling project the other day and it was really hot. I was wearing shorts. I am now going to call them my drywall muddiing shorts. Ha Ha.
FYI. For all model railroaders that want to use drywall compound as plaster.
The pre-mixed stuff in the bucket is not the stuff to use. It dries from the outside in and is engineered to coat in 1/8 layers until it’s dry to apply another 1/8 layer.
You want to use the setting compound powder sold in the bags that you mix with water.
They sell 5, 20, 45, 90, and 210. The numbers represent the minutes you have of working time after you mix it until it starts to set up.
210 gives you three and a half hours of working time I prefer that if I’m not in a hurry.
Drywall mud and shorts indeed thanks for the humor. I needed that.
Lol
I will agree with Track Fiddler that my joke is funny.
I will also agree with Track Fiddler that pre-mixed mud just doesn’t work for our purposes. I didn’t know the dry stuff went up to 210–very neat.
Ed
That one section of track is electricaly fine now but today i had other issues with it. When i ran the engine over the first set of gaps ( both rails dc only) seems that when i cut the gaps the ballast had not dried completely and the track shifted and dried
Oh NO! you don’t wanat mud in your shorts.
Latex caulks will short things out too.
ROAR