I tried some knock off couplera couple decades ago and found the shank was a bit thinner than a Kadee. caused all sorts of problems..New car on the track got kadees and metal wheels.
George
I used to use the McHenry couplers, but have since converted to Kadee couplers. I don't run long trains (longest one I've ever run was 22 cars) but I do operate over a ruling grade of 4%, with a 22" radius curve at the summit, so quality couplers are a must. I've broken several of the McHenry's both by strain (helper units pushing too hard or not enough, as well as with no helpers) and by accidents (the same McHenry's would uncouple under strain as well, and if you're on the East Slope with the curve at the bottom, those cars are going off the tracks and into the woods, where they pile up!)
So I converted to all Kadee's, with help from Don Z (thanks Don!) and I'm not looking back!
That said, I accept the Accumates. When I'm taking the coupler boxes out anyway for weathering, repair, or paint, I'll replace them, but if not, I'll leave them on cars and locomotives with the right kind of coupler boxes. On the Athearn 53' reefers that have the "cushioned" coupler boxes that stick out, they will occasionally uncouple, but on cars with close-mounted boxes, I leave 'em on.
It's a cost tradeoff. Kadee makes a better, longer lasting coupler for $1 a pair, if you buy ten-packs of #5 couplers. Unless the McHenry couplers are a lot cheaper, I'd go with Kadee because they are the best.
If the McHenrys are really a lot cheaper, say $0.25 a pair, AND they have the bronze coil spring in the knuckle, I'd be tempted. The coil spring McHenrys do work, most of them last a fair length of time, and money counts. The first generation McHenrys with the plastic finger knuckle spring are very short lived. The plastic finger breaks off or takes a set in a matter of months, which renders the coupler inoperative. Without a knuckle spring they won't couple and won't stay coupled. I wouldn't bother to install the plastic finger style 'cause you just have to replace them in a few months.
I don't go to the trouble of replacing McHenry couplers on new cars just on general principles. If the McHenry's do break, I replace them with Kadee's. I have some McHenry equipped cars on the layout and the couplers have lasted for several years.
At my not-so-local hobby shop they charge as much for a pack of McHenry couplers as they do for Kadee's. Naturally when the price is the same I always buy Kadee.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
jeffrey-wimberly The Kadee #58 is a good looking scale sized coupler. The only problem I can see with them is if your track isn't real smooth they can slip up over each other due to their smaller head size.
The Kadee #58 is a good looking scale sized coupler. The only problem I can see with them is if your track isn't real smooth they can slip up over each other due to their smaller head size.
Mr. SP KADEE Only on my equipment. The rubber couplers made by Accumate, McHenery,EZMate and others are in a word"JUNK"
KADEE Only on my equipment. The rubber couplers made by Accumate, McHenery,EZMate and others are in a word"JUNK"
-Morgan
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
Hi,
I like Kadee No. 58s. They look the most realistic. Kadee No 5s don't look
very realistic. I would recommend Kadee 58s over Mchenry couplers.
When I started on HO in the late 1950's I was lucky enough to be told that I should use nothing but Kadees, which at that time were a metal coupler with a trip pin hanging straight down. I stayed with that advice and I installed Kadees on every car and loco as I purchased them.
When some of the "other" couplers started appearing, I sampled them, and then replaced them. Since then, when I open a box with a new car in it or a kit to build, I pull any non Kadee couplers which then become trash can fodder and replace them with Kadees.
I have very very few problems with the Kadees, they are not perfect, but much closer than any of the others I have come across so I will continue to use Kadee for all applications. Simple as that.
Bob
Oh, I also use Kadees for large scale on the garden railroad which can be a little trickier than HO as far as easy installation.
Well, here I go again
I used Kadees back when they were the only game in town. In that time period ( late 70's ) I found them to be good, but not perfect.
Snapped knuckles & shanks on several occasions, it caused me to give a hard look at how I was handling my equipment. What I found was that I did not do a proper job mounting or aligning the Kadees on my equipment and on top of that I was too rough in my trackwork & train handling. ( In my defense I was a teenager at the time. )
Once I got a coupler height guage I stopped breaking them as often.
Twenty Five years later when I restarted modeling in HO in earnest I got cars that came from the factory with a variety of clone knuckle couplers. So far I've had good success with all the different brands using a Kadee Height Guage and making sure all my cars have metal wheels that are free rolling.
I would recommend that you don't sweat it, use what you want to replace kits with horn hook couplers and use what comes on the RTR equipment you end up with. Do buy the Kadee Height Guage and replace the plastic wheels.
Mark Gosdin
Save yourself some money and buy a Lincoln instead of a Yugo.
A Kadee hight gauge is a must too. If you have to modify the coupler then you ain't dion it right
I do have some kits that came with a newer version of the McHenry, which has a coil spring on the side like Kadees. These should work better than the plastic whisker ones, however I changed those out for Kadee as well.
guess we should give them time to see how the metal ones work out. however, when a manufacturer corrects a defective design about the best they can hope for is to not loose so many new customers. i doubt if many people would buy a "new-improved" product once the original has a reputation for poor performance. kind of like saying, "he wasn't as big a jerk as his brother".
grizlump
I agree with the newer metal McHenrys..They are just as good as the KDs.
I have 2 Atlas HO cars that has ran for 2 years on the club layout before I notice they wasn't KD equipped as per the club rules --guess what..I didn't say anything and decided to let them roll till the couplers break or the " car inspector" sees 'em and flags 'em.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The newer McHenry couplers claim that they are now metal just like Kadee, and they have a coil spring in the knuckle instead of the plastic finger. McHenry is now owned by Athearn, so that's what all Athearn products are going to have on them.
The original McHenry plastic couplers with a plastic finger to hold the knuckle closed were no good, but they have no doubt improved over the years. They've had to improve to stay in the market.
If the ones you're considering are the latest McHenry product and not some of the really old ones, you should have no probems with them. I've used many McHenry, Bachmann, Kato, Accurail, and other brands over the years and have not had many probems, but my current favorite is the Kadee 148 Whisker coupler.
I use Kadee's on my operational cars that get switched around on the layout, but they do get a little expensive when trying to couple up a fleet. So to save money on couplers my unit trains are equipped with dummy couplers (except for end cars), because these trains are never broken down.
Some of the cars I have purchased as kitbash fodder came with plastic Kadee clones. I have put them into service as-is, since I don't keep a supply of Kadees on hand.
Some of those LL and McHenry couplers have lasted for several years. Others have failed within several weeks. When one fails, for whatever reason, I retrofit the car with Kadee couplers, both ends.
Bottom line? I have Kadee #5 and #6 couplers that have been in service for 30 years. My oldest plastic clone has been in service for ten years - on a 'novelty' car (four truck machinery flat) that spends most of its time in off-layout storage. Nine other cars that originally received McHenrys at the same time, replacing the original Bakers, have since been converted to Kadees. I now consider clones to be stopgap solutions, to be changed to Kadees when they fail.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
grizlump9i know i sound like a kadee cheerleader but, i have one word for mchenry, accumate and other clone couplers; JUNK !!!
Do yourself a favor and go with Kadee's. Every car and loco I acquire gets Kadee couplers.
McHenry does have one thing goign for them though - since the coupler itself is plastic, it is easier for them to make different types, so they have more modern prototype couplers, like the upper and lower shelf type. However, for my money I like metal, so I stick with exclusively Kadee. They've always seemed to just work much better.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I would agree, and I have only been in the hobby four years. My plastic couplers, of which McH's are one, just don't do well over the middle term. Long term? Forget it.
I have found, though, in fairness, that they are quite compatible with Kadee couplers....for the most part and most often. I don't routinely swap out to Kadees if I get a car with McH's in it. I'll wait until the plastic gives out. During the usable time, they seem to work fine for me with my Kadee-equipped cars.
Maybe the way to orient yourself to the question is this way: if you are willing to tinker with some cars now and then to replace defective McH's, is the number available to you for the price a super deal? Then go ahead and get them and use them. If you don't like to have cars with broken couplers in a box under the layout....ever...and don't really relish the thought of repairing some each month or year, then pay extra for the Kadees.
i know i sound like a kadee cheerleader but, i have one word for mchenry, accumate and other clone couplers; JUNK !!!
they do not play well with others. uncoupling by any method, pick,rix tool or magnet is not what it should be.
i feel qualified to speak on this since i have been in this hobby for almost 50 years and currently work with a 24 by 36 layout running 35 car trains with extensive yard switching of over 450 cars.
kadee copies have given me nothing but grief. save your money. use the real thing.
it is like buying a cadillac automobile or an ibm computer. they may not be the greatest "value" in the world but few people complain about having bought the best they could get.
a lot of other model railroaders i know have used the clones and none of them have ever gone from kadee to the "knock offs" but a lot of them have gone the other way.
these couplers are not nearly as good as the Kadee steel couplers. I at one time thought that the McHenry couplers were a great deal and could not figure out what all the fuss is with regards to the Kadee's, So most of my cars have the McHenry couplers - unfortunately. Now that I have a layout with a helix and my trains are between 20 and 40 cars there is a chance of a McHenry coupler opening up due to the strain on the coupler. Also they - McHenry - are not as reliable over a longer time in their functioning. The little plastic whisper that performs the same function as the spring in the Kadee couplers gets weak. If you store your cars lying on the side then the little plastic whisper will also loose its strength.
Take this advice and go straight to the Kadee coupler and save yourself a lot of issues down the road.
Hope it helps
Frank
PS:All my couplers that I purchase now are Kadee and in the process of doing another conversion, from McHenry's to Kadee's.
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
I have had no problems with McHenry couplers, and find they play well with other couplers for me on my small layout.
Others here will swear by Kadee couplers only.
In case you missed the other post, Here is a link to the Kadee conversion chart:
http://www.kadee.com/conv/holist.pdf
{If I need any more couplers, I would probably choose Kadee, though.}
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I found a great deal on an internet site for these couplers and I have to make a change on my layout - right now I have a number of older cars with horn hook couplers and these need to be updated to match my more modern cars. So . . . are these a good "bang" for my hobby dollar?