Electrac II track cleaner

[scole100]

I was looking at buying one of these electric track cleaners. But I was wondering if anyone has used one, and had comments about them. They look like a good deal, and the reports I have read about them (from the retailers) say that they work well. Since they cost a few dollars, I thought that I would look into them further before buying.

[cacole]

Unless the Electrac II is radically different than a British version that was developed and advertised a couple of years ago, I would be extremely leery of using one. I inquired about the effectiveness of this device when I saw it advertised, and got the following response from the manufacturer:

1. You CANNOT use one of these devices on a DCC equipped layout unless you remove every decoder-equipped item from the track, because they will destroy decoders. They are for use on DC controlled layouts only.

2. Their effective range is limited to less than 50 feet of track because they have very low Wattage.

3. The devices put a very high frequency radio signal onto the rail that is superimposed with the DC current from a power pack. The theory is that the radio signal causes a spark to be generated between dirt on the track and the locomotive wheels, thus burning dirt off of the rail. This sparking will pit and ultimately destroy locomotive wheels.

4. They are not suitable for use outdoors on G scale rail (which was what I was asking about).

5. They work only when a locomotive is running on the layout, because a spark must be generated by the locomotive wheels. I was interested in the possibility of connecting one to a club HO scale layout and letting it clean the rail while the layout was not in operation, but that is not the technical theory behind their use.