Trains.com

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Kadee uncoupling magnets- -Does polarity matter?

2949 views
6 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    February 2017
  • 282 posts
Posted by NYBW-John on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 12:58 PM

Lone Wolf and Santa Fe

I pulled all of those ugly things off of my track and stuck them on the refrigerator where magnets belong. They are nice for holding train schedules or other pieces of paper.

I use an uncoupling tool that I made following a design I read about in MR several years ago. It’s a piece of floral wire with a couple of 90 degree bends at the end stuck in the end of a pencil size wooden dowel. Some people use shish kabob skewers but I don't like teriyaki weathering on my cars. LOL

With Kadee magnets just make sure the top side is up.

 

I removed the ones on my mainline a number of years ago because they were causing unwanted uncoupling. I find they are still useful on spurs and yard tracks. I use the under track magnets so they are not visible. I use bamboo skewers to uncouple in any place I don't have a magnet. I had bought the KD uncoupling tool but was always misplacing it and bamboo skewers are cheap and plentiful. If I lose one, no big deal because I have lots more from the same package.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Southern California
  • 1,682 posts
Posted by Lone Wolf and Santa Fe on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 11:43 AM

I pulled all of those ugly things off of my track and stuck them on the refrigerator where magnets belong. They are nice for holding train schedules or other pieces of paper.

I use an uncoupling tool that I made following a design I read about in MR several years ago. It’s a piece of floral wire with a couple of 90 degree bends at the end stuck in the end of a pencil size wooden dowel. Some people use shish kabob skewers but I don't like teriyaki weathering on my cars. LOL

With Kadee magnets just make sure the top side is up.

Modeling a fictional version of California set in the 1990s Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad
  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 9:49 AM

The Kadee magnets appear to be polarized narrow side to narrow side N to S.  I dropped a ⅛” diameter Neodymium magnet on a Kadee magnet and it aligned it’s self side to side.
 
 
 
I do not think the magnet polarity makes any difference.  
 
 
Mel
 
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
 
My Model Railroad   
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 7:20 AM

While the magnets have polarity the glad hands on the coupler don't.(otherwise they would be magnets too)  So polarity does not matter. 

I don't think it even matters if you are installing rows of rare earth magnets that do the same thing as the K-D's but are less visually intrusive.  Thinking and knowing are different so I hedged my bet and installed those all + on one side of the track and all - on the other.

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    May 2004
  • 7,500 posts
Posted by 7j43k on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 11:32 PM

jjdamnit

 

...do you just glue them down without regard to polarity?

 

 

Yes.

 

 

Ed

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: California - moved to North Carolina 2018
  • 4,422 posts
Posted by DSchmitt on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 7:23 PM

jjdamnit

Hello all,

As you know magnets are polarized. Every magnet has a "+" and a "-".

I was just wondering if those of you that do uses the Kadee uncoupling magnets; delayed or non-delayed, do you align you magnets so all the polarities match?

Or, do you just glue them down without regard to polarity?

Thanks for your input.

Post Script: Normally I would post this query to the Kadee forums but they seem to have vanished.

J.J.

 

Instructions don't mention polatity

https://kadee.com/html/308ins.pdf

 

 

I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.

I don't have a leg to stand on.

  • Member since
    September 2014
  • From: 10,430’ (3,179 m)
  • 2,311 posts
Kadee uncoupling magnets- -Does polarity matter?
Posted by jjdamnit on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 5:34 PM

Hello all,

As you know magnets are polarized. Every magnet has a "+" and a "-".

I was just wondering if those of you that do uses the Kadee uncoupling magnets; delayed or non-delayed, do you align you magnets so all the polarities match?

Or, do you just glue them down without regard to polarity?

Thanks for your input.

Post Script: Normally I would post this query to the Kadee forums but they seem to have vanished.

J.J.

"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Users Online

There are no community member online

Search the Community

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!