Here is one that I bet that has bee asked more than twice. What is better to use for feeder wire, stranded or solid. I have decided to use 14gage for buss.
Thank You
I am not an expert in electricity so I can't tell which one is better. I used both on my layout and I can only say that I prefer the stranded one as I found it is more pliable and easier to solder to the buss. If you tin the end that is to be attached to the rail it is as easy to solder than it would be with the solid one.
That is only an opinion.
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
I prefer stranded for the bus - heavy solid wire is not easy to snake around benchwork and stuff. Fo feeders though, I use solid, because you can bend the end to snuggle along the rail and it doesn't move, and no chance of a stray strand getting loose and causing a short. And the solid wraps firmly around the bus, to the point that I have run trains for weeks before going back and actually soldering all the connections
My reasoning is all based on what is easiest to handle. There's no real electrical difference with anything we typically use on model railroads.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
What he said.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
What Randy said.
That being said I did use 12 gauge solid for my bus as the local industrial supplier gave me 300' of black and 300' of green for pennies on the dollar. After I told him what it was for he said "if you can use green and black solid I can give you these roll ends. Some roll ends.
One thing I have noticed over the years, if you tell people it's for a model railroad they often cut you a real deal on it.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Ditto Randy
I've always used stranded. Since I tin the wire end first, there's not much chance of a stray strand going astray, as I can inspect it before attaching. Likewise, you can bend it into shape easily enough with a little solder on board, so it works that way just like soild. What's underneath rtemains conveniently flexible and less prone to fatigue breaks.
I've gone from using 18 gauge to 22 gauge (most is 22) to 28 gauge lately. But feeders attach to every rail and plenty of bus to tie into. I'm sure people will say 28 is too small (heck it may even be 30, it's some unspecified Model Power stuff), but I've not had any issue with it. of course, where it's used, the max draw is a couple of narrowgauge locos and some cars lite with LEDs, so very small loads. My standard gauge main is all 18 gauge and my NG main is 22, so what I'm really doing is applying a standard that suits the loads.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Yikes, I do just the opposite. I better change my ways.
I use 14 gauge solid copper wire for the bus and 22 gauge stranded wire for the feeders.
My only rationale for the solid wire on the bus was that I had tons of it leftover from household wiring jobs. And, early on, I got in the habit of buying stranded wire for the feeders.
That said, I have been up and running for nearly twelve years with no problems.
Rich
Alton Junction
Like I said - electrically, it makes no difference. Any combo of standrd and solid, stranded and stranded, or solid and solid will work just fine and there's no reason to think one combo would be less reliable than another.
If you have it for free - well, there's no reason to throw out free wire to get a different kind and pay for it. Given how much wire costs these days, it would take a lot of headaches to make it worth scrapping free solid to buy stranded or vice-versa.
I have about 15 feet of solid left over from redoing my kitchen - replaced the electric stove with a gas one, which needs 110, so I ripped out the 220 line and replaced with a new 110 line. Conveniently freeing up two adjacent slots in my box for the sub panel I plan to install when I redo the basement which will feed all layout related sources. So any bus wire I need - I will be buying. I have a bunch of #14 left from my previous layout, I might use that for detection sub-busses. $12 main feed, tap off through the detection coil to a short #14 bus connecting all the feeders for a given detection section.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
It really doesn't make a difference.
For the same thickness, stranded is a bit more flexible. But stranded wire has to be a tad thicker to carry the same current. If you drop feeders often...say after every turnout or every 3 feet, then a very tiny 24 gauge could do the trick for HO/N. These are easy to manipulate stranded or not.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
damiggHere is one that I bet that has bee asked more than twice. What is better to use for feeder wire, stranded or solid. I have decided to use 14gage for buss.
It is a Bus wire. A Buss is a kiss. : )
damigg Here is one that I bet that has bee asked more than twice. What is better to use for feeder wire, stranded or solid. I have decided to use 14gage for buss. Thank You
Technically, stranded wire is better for Direct Current because DC travels across the surface of the wire and stranded wire has more surface area. AC travels through the entire thickness of the wire. Also stranded wire is less likely to short out due to a broken wire since there are several in the strand. However for a model railroad it is not a big deal. I used mostly solid wire on mine.
I wired my layout with (door) bell wire which was left over from wiring new houses when I worked in construction. It contains a pair of #18 solid wires, a white wire for the north rail and a red wire for south rail. It is perfect for my layout. It is easy to solder to rail connectors. I do it on the work bench with a small jig I made to hold them, soldering dozens at a time, each getting a foot long pigtail.
#18 wire should be fat enough to power most layouts. I would only use a larger size if I knew it was going to be used for a very long run where voltage drop might occur.
Test
Ed
Hi, Yes, the question has been debated before.
In my opinion, assuming the same gauge, stranded wire is better for Buss's than solid wire. My reason is mainly that it is much easier to guide thru the under layout maze, and less prone to breakage.
However, for feeders, solid wire is very much preferred. It is easier to control and solder to rails or "whatever".
Others may disagree, and that's OK....... for in their hearts, they know I'm right!
ENJOY !!!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
mobilman44 Hi, Yes, the question has been debated before. In my opinion, assuming the same gauge, stranded wire is better for Buss's than solid wire. My reason is mainly that it is much easier to guide thru the under layout maze, and less prone to breakage. However, for feeders, solid wire is very much preferred. It is easier to control and solder to rails or "whatever". Others may disagree, and that's OK....... for in their hearts, they know I'm right! ENJOY !!!
Wires, either solid or stranded we use in our hobby do not just break. Solid wire, if nicked when stripping will break if it is manipulated too much during handling. Stranded wire, can lose a strand or two during stripping but it will not compromise the rest of the wire. A stripper set to the proper wire size will minimize the damage. I prefer stranded wire for everything on my layout from the buss to track feeders. Stranded wire is more flexible than solid. You can use whichever type of wire you feel comfortable with.