Will I have any performance issues if I use 18 guage speaker wire as my main bus wire?
Thanks,
PJ
It really depends on how far you plan to run the bus. The further it runs from the power source, the more likely there will be a power loss. I’m using what I think is 18 gauge stranded speaker wire as well, and ran it 20 feet in each direction from the power source (Digitrax DCC) and haven’t had any problems with power loss at the far ends.
try to make more then one hookup, plug it in a few spots around the layout so if you have a track or two not making a conection you still get power
K-
My personal opinion…18 ga. wire may be quite sufficient in your case indeed but I like to play it safe and go the “more than sufficient” route so that I don’t have to do it again in the future.
The longer the wire path,the most likely power loss can become a factor so the longer the bigger is my way.Another parameter to consider is the number of locos you may some day be running together (as a consist or different trains) as all their individual current draws add up.
You may in fact have some power loss,but however so light that you may not notice it at all,the loss transforming into heat easily dissipated along the wire path.You may not have the smell of heating wires and still lose some efficiency.
Personally,I use 14 ga. wire for buss and 20 ga. for feeders (every 3 feet or so) and if I was to build a giant pike (basement size),I wouldn’t hesitate to switch to 12 ga. or heavier,since the heavier gauge represents very little more expense and would ensure flawless operation.OK…this may be an overkill…my humble opinion…for what it’s worthed.
I wired a 20 x 40 foot HO scale club layout with 18 gauge stranded speaker wire from Wal-mart and we have had no electrical problems at all, whether running DC or DCC. I have even created a consist of seven Proto 2000 GP9s and they ran with no degradation in performance. Our club’s layout is divided into three power districts when running on DCC, and has 8 throttles on four control panels when running on DC.
The DCC Corner, page 94 in the November MR talks about power buses and districts, including wire gauge considerations. Worth reading.
Hi,
While you’ll hear from folks saying that 18 gauge is okay, I’d suggest 14 gauge, available at Home Depot for not much more money than 18 gauge. All the reading I’ve done states 14 gauge for bus wires. I’ve found that the heavier wire is easier to strip without cutting through the wire…using one of those strippers that kind of “wraps” around the wire. Then I simply wrap the feeder wires around the stripped area and solder.
If you use the 14 gauge, you won’t even have to think about power loss.
Hope this helps.
Mondo
This is a link to Allan Gartner’s web site. He IS the man when it comes to DCC. Run whatever you want, but he recommends solid wire for busses. There is a chart on the page I linked with a breakdoan on which wire to use for which gauge. Personally I am using 12 gauge solid bare wire for mu bus, and 16 gauge stranded wire for feeders. I am using bare wire because of the ease of soldering. I won’t have to strip insulation off every few feet. I model in On30, so I use the O scale recommendations, although my largest loco is the On30 T boiler Shay, I could probably get by with the large HO recommendations. Why just get by when you can be SURE? You only want to do it once, right?
many years ago when i had a 4’ x 8’ layout i used 20 gauge wire for everything with no problems. i ran the wires in a loop so even though i used 20’ of wire the longest run was actually 10’ from the power pack and was more than enough. my layout is now n scale one track modular style with a 70’ mainline equiped with dcc. i am using 14 gauge stranded wire for the buss and 20 gauge for the feeders to the rail. i used 14 gauge because i had a supply of it and stranded because i prefer it. you shouldn’t have any voltage drop from 18 gauge wire unless you are running over 100’ or more and that would probably be negledgible. 18 gauge is rated for around 10 to 11 amps.
I used to be an auto mechanic, and still do some tinkering. I don’t like using 18 gauge for much of anything. I’d use 14 gauge, unless I knew I was going to be pulling a lot of power, then I’d step up to 10 or 12. The difference in price isn’t going to be much, and the peace of mind is priceless.