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Layout current draw
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[quote user="Tilden"] <p> I've been reading alot about power supplies for DCC layouts, districting and such and wondering if I needed more power. So I installed an amp and volt meter (AC for DCC) the other night and was a bit surprised the "idle" current draw was 2/3 of an amp. at 14.4 volts. Of course I did have 35 decoder equiped locos on the layout at the time. All the locos were "off" including sound.</p><p> To test things out, I fired up most of the locos including sound and lights. This brought the draw up to 1.05 amps with nothing moving. Running a couple of locos ran the draw up to 1.25 amps, same voltage. These were newer can type motors. I then shut the locos down and removed them one by one, watching the effect on the system. With all locos off the rails I was able to get the draw down to .01 amps at 14.7 volts.</p><p> It was interesting to see how much "usable " power was available. Basically you could run three or four locos under load for what the idling engines take up. Even so, with a "basic" 3 to 5 amp power supply, you could still run several double headed trains and not run out of power. I would think this would cover most normal home layouts. However if you are operating switches and lighting off the same system you would need some type of power augmentation for reliable operation.</p><p> How much power do you have on your layouts?</p><p>Tilden</p><p>[/quote]</p><p>I posted my results a while back (found this on page 20):</p><p><a href="/TRC/CS/forums/1016761/ShowPost.aspx">http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1016761/ShowPost.aspx</a></p><p>Since I run small steam; my "typical" loco with sound only draws 0.05 to 0.10 amps.</p><p> </p>
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