Peco insulfrog/electrofrog help?

[scubaterry]

I am building a new layout and want to go with all Peco Insulfrog turnouts. My problem is I have accumulated many turnouts (Atlas, Peco insul and electrofrog). Can you tell by looking at a Peco turnout if it is insulated or not. Can you use a multimeter to check continuity to determine what type it is.
Also, I don't totally understand the whole insulfrog/electrofrog deal so my question is can you butt up two Peco insulfrog turnouts without worrying about insulating the two from each other.
Thanks for any help and I hope I have provided enough information.

[snowey]

get a copy of the Kalmbach book "EASY MODEL RAILROAD WIRING" by Andy Sperandeo for the answers to all your questions. But, I'll answer one of them for you: if the turnout "frog"-the place where the rails converge-is all metal, the switch is insulfrog. If not, and the frog is plastic, the switch is an "insul-frog".

[cacole]

There's no really easy way that I know of to tell the difference in Peco turnouts between Insulfrog and Electrofrog, because they both use plastic insulated frogs. Unless you know what you're looking for from the bottom of the turnout where the jumper wires between different components are exposed, or have a new one still in the box that is clearly marked as to type that you can compare, you will have to resort to a continuity tester to determine which is which.

[simon1966]

http://www.wiringfordcc.com/switches_peco.htm

Check out this web page, it has all the information you need. It also has a photo of an Electrofrog which clearly shows the metal frog. The insulfrogs (I use these) have a plastic frog.

[scubaterry]

Thank you for all of the replies. I checked out the website and I figure I now have a handle on how the insulfrog works. All of my questions were answered. It's a great day to be "working on the railroad".
Terry

[BR60103]

The sure way to tell Electrofrog from Insulfrog is to use an ohmmeter or continuity tester on the points. If you have a connection from one point to the other, it's electrofrog. However, it's possible to break this connection to wire the frog through a switch machine. Also check continuity from the point straight through the frog to the rail at the other end.
You can usually put insulfrogs with the frog ends together, but it may do odd things to your block wiring. (unless you go for DCC). You should not try the same thing with electrofrogs -- they need gaps beyond the frog in both rails that come from the frog. (This applies in any formation, although a dead-end siding counts as a gap.)