The 30 series couplers with the looped coil centering spring a hard to assemble, but it is a skill that can be honed. I assembled many of them using the #450 adapter for my Stewart/Kato F units.
I found a set of convoluted o-ring picks and a smooth-jaw alligator clip make assembly less difficult.
Once assembled, this is the best acting coupler in the Kadee line. The tiny coupler box makes mounting in tight situations a breeze.
The coupler shank on the 20 and 30 series couplers is non-conductive, so these are also useful in applecations with non-isolated metal frames.
Kadee makes the 252 series snap-together coupler box now. That box uses whisker couplers, and is easier to assemble. If you do not want the aggravation, that is the way to go. It is not quite as versatile as the 30 series coupler box, but should work in over 90% of the applications.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Well, I didn't see it in the website.. All it said was to use the #33.. Thanks for the information!
I needed to replace old KATO SD45 and RS2's x2f couplers with Kadees, and according to Kadee's website , a Kadee #33 was supposed to work on both of them. To fit the couplers onto the locos, I had to adjust springs shaped like an X on top of an O to fit the "Draft Gear Box", but those springs were very fragile, and there were only one spare spring in the packet, along with the four. Well, I broke three of them and was only able to use two for the SD45.. Now I have to buy another packet.. Am I the only person having troubles like this, or is it a well-known issue? This is my first time using a Kadee #33, but I've converted couplers for several other locos to Kadees before, and although some conversions were pretty difficult, this is my hardest conversion yet.. Also, are there any other Kadees that can fit in that loco instead of a #33?