I would like to hear pros and cons about wiring methods. I have read about using "suitcase connectors" instead of soldering the connections between wires (bus to lead). I have also read about using heat shrink tubes. However I have not been successful in finding a low cost source for either of these items in the St. Louis area. So, I am wondering if I will have big problems down the road if I go with the old standard of soldered connections with electrical tape. My layout has been growing even as I have been doing the benchwork and the subroadbed. It started as a 9 x 12 and currently has expanded to 14 x 16 with future growth options. So I would need a lot of connectors. I really would prefer to use the connectors but the pricing is ridiculous.
Any ideas out there?
Please don't throw stones, I'm a newbie.
Thanks
Wdcrvr
I will get criticized for this admission, but I don't solder the feeder wires to the bus wires, and I don't use suitcase connectors.
I merely strip the insulation from a small section of the bus wire, about a 1/8" space, and wrap the feeder wire around the bus wire.
I have been doing this for seven years without any problems or mishaps.
Rich
Alton Junction
While I prefer to solder connections, but at the same time realize there is a place where all the various "new fangled" connectors come into their own. The use of the heat sink tubing works great (as long as you remember to slip it on one of the wires before you solder them).
There is nothing wrong with electrical tape, although I urge you to use a high quality (more costly) tape as it will adhere better over time.
There is also the liquid insulation that is applied with a brush (kind of like liquid tar). I have used it for certain applications, but on the whole find that two coats is usually needed and it can be messy.
No matter what you use, make sure you have a solid, clean joining, and that there is no exposed bare wires.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I guess that I'm "old school" - I use crimp connectors and barrier strips. This makes very positive connections and makes it easier for me to make changes and to diagnose the inevitable wiring problems that arise when you are sure that you wired it correctly in the first place.
Joe
I'm strictly in the solder camp. Rearranging is no more than a wire cutter away. I will add some additional confessions - I don;t always sodler the joints as I guy, some stay wrapped for a whiel then I go on a solderign kick and hit them all at once. I also don;t always hook up the feeders as I go. I don;t solder my rail joints other than on curves, but I fidn that things run fine with just 1 set of feeders hooked up - the difference between using new, fresh joiners and flex track instead of sectional track with work out joiners. I also use joiners to connect the feeders - each and every set of rail joiners on my layout has feeder wires attached. This is another thing they'll tell you not to do. But it was completely reliable on my previous layout, even after painting the rail (witht he inevitable paint seeping into the joiners), so I've gone ahead and done the same on the new layout. I make up a dozen or so at a time (don;t even think about buying the Atlas ones, unless you really have money to waste) and keep them on hand as I lay track.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Dip the feeder & bus wires in flux.
Take tin solder and wrap it around the exposed bus connection point.
Next wrap the feeder wire around the exposed bus / solder wire.
Hold soldering iron to the three till it melts.
Confirm the connection. The solder should be shiney and not a dull gray color. It should fill and wrap around the outer feeder wire.
Take paint on insulation and spread it on. (Commonly available at home depot or lowes) Wait for it to try before reapplying power.
BTW: Heat shrink tubing is available at your local rat shack. Miniatronics also sells a long tube of it for fine wires (like inside your locos)
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
I can hear some of you snickering already....I use wire nuts. Drop the feeders underneath the table, bring the wire from the control panel switch, put the ends in and twist it around. Second layout so far and no issues. It connects, it insulates, and if you need to change something, it unscrews. Oh, and they're fairly inexpensive, definitely cheaper than suitcase connectors.
Emman
Soldering is about the lowest cost. I would spend some time doing a Google search for lead free electrical solder.
I have been using lead solder for many years but keep a fan running to keep the air clear. When I had children growing up, always kept the solder in a locked box.
No idea on any possible long time effects of lead free solder.
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
If your layout is located in a NASA clean room, I suppose you might get away with simply wrapping bare wire. It IS a technique used (with the proper tool) in wiring experimental circuits. I'd like a nickel for every one of those wrapped connections that had to be soldered later to correct an intermittent open circuit - absolutely the most frustrating kind of electrical malfinction. Putting a wire nut on the twisted wire will prevent most future problems - but not corrosion.
Suitcase (and similar) connectors? Pro - quick and dirty. Con - pricey, and untrustworthy for the long haul. Any aircraft electrician who applied one for anything more permanent than a temporary test connection would be decertified before he could say, "Improper procedure."
Soldered connection, with a good joint - will last for the ages. OTOH, a cold soldered joint (dull, crackled-looking) will have you tearing your hair out when corrosion opens the circuit - intermittently, of course. I like the paint-on insulation rather than tape. Mine, white latex, was bought at Home Depot. {EDIT} You don't need lead-free solder unless you expect to chew on your electrical joints. It's something the CPSA mandates for items likely to find their way into childrens' mouths.
Terminal strips and terminal blocks - very good, as long as the fasteners are properly tightened.
One trick to make your life simpler - bring ALL of your electricals out to the layout edge (or the edge of an aisleway, pop-up hatch or operating pit) and make all your connections while sitting in a nice comfortable chair of appropriate height.
Another item, absolutely vital - DOCUMENT and LABEL! Clearly labeled wires, terminals and joints, and a full set of matching paper documents, are worth their weight in diamonds when troubleshooting.
So, how do I handle my electricals? With soldered joints at rails and devices (switch machines, electrical switches, lamp sockets...) and stud-and-nut terminals located behind removable panels in the fascia for all joints in between. The stud-and-nut terminal blocks are assembled with hardware bought at the local big-box emporia (6-32 and/or 8-32 machine screws, nuts and washers) assembled on thin plywood or heavy plastic. For the price of one suitcase connector I can assemble a ten-terminal strip that can handle up to 50 connections (6 wires, between washers, per stud.) I do my electrical work with a socket wrench in one hand and a Sharpie (for labeling terminals) in the other.
Not the only way, but one that works.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with bulletproof, fully documented electricals)
I use crimp on ends and terminal strips on boards that are hinged at the top and swing down when I want to work on them.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Flux? What flux? Seriously, for soldering two wires together, I do not use flux. Rosin-core solder has enough in it to handle thost types of joints. I do use some paste flux when soldering rails.
You're supposed to insulate the solder joints afterwards? I make all my feeder to bus joints offset so they can;t short, and later on when I get round-tuit I'll paint on the liquid electrical tape.
Off my main wiring center I do use screw terminal barrier strips, and crimp on connectors on the wire - however they are crimped and then soldered, I just don't trust crimped anything.
You can get round-tuits at the round tuit museum in San Antonio. Don't recall the website tho. Hope this helps you get the wiring insulated.
I too, solder everything that is not connected to a terminal block etc. I do not use tape or shrink wrap. My layout is 20 some years old and all the tape fell off . no harm at all. And on a new layout, different scale, i used flux , wish i did not , the rosin core works well , its all in the soldering gun or iron
novicerr You can get round-tuits at the round tuit museum in San Antonio. Don't recall the website tho. Hope this helps you get the wiring insulated.
My wife has one on the fridge door and keeps offering it to me for some reason!
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
wdcrvr I would like to hear pros and cons about wiring methods. I have read about using "suitcase connectors" instead of soldering the connections between wires (bus to lead). I have also read about using heat shrink tubes. However I have not been successful in finding a low cost source for either of these items in the St. Louis area. So, I am wondering if I will have big problems down the road if I go with the old standard of soldered connections with electrical tape. My layout has been growing even as I have been doing the benchwork and the subroadbed. It started as a 9 x 12 and currently has expanded to 14 x 16 with future growth options. So I would need a lot of connectors. I really would prefer to use the connectors but the pricing is ridiculous. Any ideas out there? Please don't throw stones, I'm a newbie. Thanks Wdcrvr
You've been given some good advice by other posters. I don't agree with everything that has been said, but to each his own. Whatever works. Different situations call for different methods. Some connections work best with lugs and terminal strips, some work best being soldered, some work best with suitcase connectors. I'll pick the one item I consider the best piece of advice. Keep records! Make lists or whatever of what is connected to what and where. I've got a 3-ring binder just for electrical connections. It's saved me many times. A year from now you're not going to remember which wires in a bundle go from where to where and you're going to be tearing apart bundles of wire to trace them out. I'll add to that to use different colours of wire for different functions and keep the wire colours consistent all over the layout.
I'm surprised that in a city the size of yours that you can't find an electronics distributor to buy connectors and wire and stuff from. They should have good prices. There are a lot of suppliers with web sites that sell their stock by mail. I don't know what you consider reasonable prices but these on line sellers have the lowest prices around. Granted some stuff is pricy, but there's always someone somewhere with low prices. If you want to PM me, I'll send you a list of web sites.
Jim, you can get the suitcase connectors at Harbor Freight pretty cheap. I wished you had say something while you where here, I would have gave you some.
I bought them, but to be honest I don't trust them, I want to see the connection by self. Next layout I will strip and solder all my bus wire, then wrap.
On the Liquid Electrical Tape, I bought some from Home Depot. My self, I would not use for the track wiring, but it is good stuff.
Ken
I hate Rust
Phoebe Vet I use crimp on ends and terminal strips on boards that are hinged at the top and swing down when I want to work on them.
and just so everyone is aware -- zippy ties are EVIL!
When I finally get around to having a real layout (My wive decided against my previous plan), everything will be soldered and/or use some variant of terminal strips. Cables will be labelled with either an alpnanumerical code (eg A1, B3, will necessitate the drawing of a wiring diagram for every section) or some variant of the wire tagging methods named by the others. Cables will be kept neat by lacing (yes, old-school lacing like what is seen in old phone/electrical installations) rather than by (evil) zippy ties or alternativesb.
The lacing will obviously take some getting used to, but it looks brilliant when done and also won't crush the insulation jacket like (evil) zippy ties can.
-Dan
Builder of Bowser steam! Railimages Site
You would have to use tools to pull a cable strap tight enough to crush the wires. I laced wires years ago. It takes a long time, is hard to do in tight quarters, and if you need to add or remove a couple of wires you have a big job ahead of you. As you can see from the picture, I use a few snap open wire guides but mostly I use a stand off stapler then slide a cable strap through the staple and around the wire bundle. To remove a wire it will just slide out. To add a wire just cut the straps one at a time and install a new one. Some of the straps are loose in the photo because I was not finished running wires through them
There is absolutely nothing evil about cable straps.
If you are really fussy about the appearance, you can get the various wraps that will cover the wires completely.
there's nothing evil about them until you've got to cut 1,500+ of them to re-wire a network closet. then you loathe them .
Completely agree with what you said Pheobe (especially the tight spaces), though I will argue that you don't need a tool to get zippy ties to break the insulation jacket -- had to replace a good number of wires in that network closet because of the ties cutting through the insulation.
I plan on making a layout board for the cabling so I don't have to be doing the lacing under the table (just the connections). Should help alleviate the tight spaces issue... as for wires themselves, I don't foresee *removing* any, though I will leave in some spares in the event that a wire breaks, or I need additional power. Feeders themselves will be laced with simple wraps spaced every inch or two, rather than using a lock stitch & running stitch set-up as would be used for the bus or other "permanent" cabling..
richg1998 Soldering is about the lowest cost. I would spend some time doing a Google search for lead free electrical solder. I have been using lead solder for many years but keep a fan running to keep the air clear. When I had children growing up, always kept the solder in a locked box. No idea on any possible long time effects of lead free solder. Rich
Rich.
To answer your question. Lower electric bills, 'cause you don't need to run the fan. Doh!!!
Blue Flamer.
Suitcase connectors are commonly used in automotive wiring so you should be able to get them at your Auto Supply Shop. I got mine on sale at Micro-Mark on line a few years ago. If I remember correctly, they cost around six or seven dollars for a bag of 25. As my layout is fairly small, I only needed a couple of bags to cover my immediate and possible future expansion needs. They come in assorted sizes for the different wire gauges. I got the 14G. to 18/22G. size as those are the sizes of my Buss and Feeder wire sizes. They worked just fine for me.
As for Shrink Tubing, I picked up mine at Home Depot in the Electrical Parts Dept. near the Wire Nut and Electrical Tape section. It comes in small packages of about 8 or 10 pieces of different diameters and a couple of packs of assorted diameters. I kept my soldered connections short, so I only needed to cut off short pieces of tubing to cover the splice. I could probably have gotten it cheaper on line with the Suitcase connectors, but at the time, I was not thinking in that direction and to order them separate late would have cost much more in shipping costs than buying them at H.D.
NOTE. I just spotted my Micro-Mark catalogue, Summer Issue. They had the 14G. to 18/22G. connectors on for $6.95 for a pack of 25. The regular price is #7.95. You do NOT need the special crimping tool for them. I just use my 6" channel lock pliers. The Item number is #84022 Suitcase Connectors (IDC #905 Red). Their site is www.micromark.com or their Toll Free number is 1-800-225-1066.
I hope this is of help to you.
mobilman44 No matter what you use, make sure you have a solid, clean joining, and that there is no exposed bare wires.
I have used bare stranded copper wire (16 gauge braided antenna wire) as bus wires on all my layouts since 1976 (O and HO) without any ill effects. Yes, attention has to be paid to wire and cable routing. But having bare bus wires makes temporary followed by soldered connections very easy.
In L girder benchwork, it is particularly easy to route the bus wires on top of the joists, fastening to joists where needed. On normal framed construction, I drilled 1/4" holes through the joists to run the bus wires through, other holes were drilled for block and accessory wires. Mounting the bus and other wiring this way helped prevent snagging wires during my many moves.
I also use 26 gauge magnet wire - which has varnish insulation rather than plastic - for my HO feeders. Just rub the portion to be soldered with sandpaper or emery cloth to remove the varnish. And doing the same with the bus wire cleans it for soldering without separate flux - rosin core solder is good enough. With handlaid track, I soldered 12"-18" worth of feeder to the base of each rail section before spiking it down. Since I didn't (and normally don't) use rail joiners on handlaid track, every piece of rail has to have a feeder. For flex or sectional track, I also solder on feeders just before where the rail joiners would go before installing the track.
I have always used screw terminal barrier strips with the Radio Shack bridges for power distribution points. But I have observed the screws coming loose on their own over time despite being tightened during installation. And on a move, it's almost guaranteed some screws will fall out.
I have to agree that documentation is the most important, but most often ignored detail of wiring. When wires get snagged, broken, or disconnected during a move, the documentation is a life-saver. When I didn't bother documenting my work, I got to do it over.
just my experiences
Fred W
I have used wire nuts both on the professional layouts layouts I have worked on and my own layouts. They're good enough to wire a house with 110v reliably and if done properly they're just as reliable for model railroad use and they are cheap. If corrosion is a problem in your basement, then you've got alot bigger problems. I also use terminal srtips and crimped spade lugs, if you use the proper sizes and crimp them properly they are very reliable and cheap too.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums