Have 2 DC motors sitting on my desk at this time, you can have them. Just email me.
Member2103:
Did we get you a solution yet?
Just wondering.
Regards, Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
Click here for Greg's web site
I'm Confused, but it don't matter, I run DC track power and AC switch power. I may change to DC switch power so I can add LED position Indicators at a reduced cost.
Dave, working on the gray matter.
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Yes, that's what the "e unit" did for the AC motors. The only downside of running Lionel AC trains on DC is they used DC to turn on the engine's horn or bell, so if you ran an engine with a bell or horn they would be on all the time. Later I added a bridge rectifier to convert the motor to DC so I could reverse it like a regular DC locomotive.
I don't know much about Lionel engines/motors. But if you were able to run them on either AC or DC then they are probably universal motors. However, since the armature and shunt field are wired in parallel (if AC, then current reverses direction through both amature and shunt simultaneously or if DC, then the DC current also reverses in both when the applied voltage is reversed), the direction of rotation cannot be changed by simply reversing the polarity of the DC voltage. A standard electric drill uses a universal motor. When you flip the reverse switch, you are reversing the direction of current flow through the shunt field but not the armature.
I believe that Lionel used some sort of an escapement relay that reversed the polarity of the shunt field whenever the power was turned off and on. That would allow the train to change direction.
Walt
What I am trying to first figure out here is..... are you talking about "G" gauge trains here or another scale... if "G" scale, most commercially available engines here in the states have DC can magnet motors in them and these would not function on A/C track power at all, unless you wanted to pull these cars with an MTH "G" scale engine, which have built in rectifier bridge electronics so that you can operate them on either D/C or A/C track power.
You don't say which gauge or type of trains you are dealing with to begin with here....In other words the type engines you are using to pull these cars with.... are these "G" scale or "O" scale trains or what are you dealing with as to motive power or scale??
SO.....if you are doing "G" scale here, than just pull the cars with an MTH engine using an MTH, Z-4000 transformer that does already produce A/C track voltage and you can solve your problem by just running A/C track voltages to begin with, or add rectifier bridge circuitry to your existing D/C engines if they are say.... USA's, Bachmann's, LGB's or any of the other brands, than use the Z-4000 or an old Lionel transformer like a ZW which also puts out A/C voltage to the track.
Byron
grandpopswalt I have to disagree that an AC motor will run on DC power. Likewise, a DC motor will not run on AC power. The internal construction of the two motors is completely different. However, it's possible that you have "universal" motors which will run on either AC or DC power. Do your motors have a commutator and carbon brushes? If so it is not an AC motor but could be either a DC or Universal motor. Walt
I have to disagree that an AC motor will run on DC power. Likewise, a DC motor will not run on AC power. The internal construction of the two motors is completely different.
However, it's possible that you have "universal" motors which will run on either AC or DC power. Do your motors have a commutator and carbon brushes? If so it is not an AC motor but could be either a DC or Universal motor.
Interesting. Are the older Lionel motors universal ones then, rather than AC motors?? I know Lionel has always used AC power, but I used to run Lionel engines from an MRC DC power pack with no problems, in fact they ran smoother than on AC.
I agree with ttrigg, get a low cost pump of some sort that is designed for your application.
But to answer your other question ........ there really is no simple and/or cheap way to convert DC to AC. The process involves a device called an inverter that electronically does the conversion. I don't know if there's anything on the market that does a 24 VDC to 24VAC conversion. I have a 1 KW (1000 watt) unit that converts 12 VDC to 120/240 VAC that I bought on sale about 8 years ago for $300.
Like Ralph, I too had to re-read this post; your complete explanation of the problem makes it easy to answer this possible solution. 1.) Try to get a refund on what you purchased. 2.) Go to your local fishing goods sports store. At Wal-Mart I have a "live bait bucket air pump" for ~$8, that runs on AA batteries. The entire package is small enough to fit inside most tenders that do not contain electronics.
Tom Trigg
What I want to power from the track is an aquarium pump. I have several aquarium cars that I built several years ago that haul live fish in them. They have been a huge hit at the train shows I do. I origionally have used small model steam engines that hook to a small electric motor and use the steam engines as air compressors to aeriate the water. This has worked for many years. However they are getting "tired" and I'm trying to come up with something different. I saw some 24 volt aquarium air pumps on line cheap and bought them. After getting them, however, I discovered they were 24V AC, not DC. They don't have a motor in them as such, what they have is a magnet that vibrates a diaphram, which pumps the air. I was wondering if there was a simple way to convert low voltage DC to low voltage AC. M
Now, I have read this twice and I am still very confused... From what I understand the guy has an AC flux motor -now this has to be either of the "Squirrel cage" or "Series wound" type. What he has not told us is what he wants to use the AC motors FOR. Given the low voltage (24V) I would assume the Series wound type -with commutator et al(?) In DC mode this would give some very nasty peak current draws to a locomotive type power supply.So, is this in fact a locomotive -or something else?
The best method would be to produce an AC flux via a power oscillator and hitch hike that onto the DC flux -but that is not a design job for beginners.
So, give us some more information.
regards
ralph
The Home of Articulated Ugliness
Hi I agree with Walts comments you need to be sure which motor is in unit as you could have 2 identical units for sale BUT MOTORS can be differant. So go with what the manual says DC is the best power for out door G gauge.
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
An AC motor will run on DC just fine, but unless you add a bridge rectifier to the motors you won't be able to reverse the motor's direction. That's why Lionel AC trains had the old mechanical "E-unit" to go forward-neutral-back-neutral forward, kinda like shifting gears.
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