Newbie question!!! Is 29 gauge wire large enough to use to replace the connector strip on the top of old DC Athearn engine?? Bought some from NWSL and it looks mighty small.
supposedly 29 gauge can carry 1 amp for that short a distance, I beleive that would be pushing it for an old Athearn me i would go with 22 or maybe 24. if it is stranded it will flex quite well...
Find a wire gauge chart...google it...and look for the maximum continuous amperage rating for the wire sizes you feel you would be considering for any given use. Use the one that the tables say is the thinnest you can safely use for continuous service. Over a 1" length, and less than an amp throughput, I would suspect that 29 gauge is okay, but I would not bet on it. I'd go check the specs set out by electrical engineers.
-Crandell
Decoder wire is usually 30-32, so 29 is fine for the internal wiring in a loco.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Thanks for the replies, especially the reference to the chart on wire. Went ahead and ordered some larger wire. Used the 29 gauge on a couple engines and they run just fine,will watch close for problems for a while.