I have 7 big transformers plugged into 2 power strips. Then each power strip plugged into 2 seperate wall outlets. I have (5) Z's and one ZW and one KW. Will the wall outlet be able to handle these transformers?? I know I will blow the fuse in fuse box if I have all of them on full blast. I have a 15 amp service and I know that can handle 1800 watts. I have 1250+275+190=1715 watts total. But, I do have other appliances used in that block of wall outlets. Lets say I have 4 dials on a Z on full blast, that is probably the most dials I would use at one time. Will that blow the fuse?? Because, last years layout I only used (4) Z's and one ZW and one KW. I have since added one more Z. Wonder if that one more Z will make a difference? Thanks.
Just turning the controls up will make no difference if there is no load on the outputs.
Whether you blow the fuse or not depends obviously on whether you draw more than 15 amperes. Adding up the transformers' ratings doesn't tell us much, since the current that each transformer draws depends on how much power it is putting out and how much it is wasting as heat. The Z, according to Lionel, is designed to put out 180 watts continuously, but consumes about 250 watts to do that; so it wastes about 70 watts when fully loaded. Some of this waste will be there even with no load; and some of it will depend on the amount of the load.
But the transformer can actually consume much more than its rated 250 watts for a short time, without tripping its own circuit breaker. That makes it even more difficult to guess what's going to blow your 15-ampere fuse. It all depends on how many trains you run, how fast, and how much each one draws, not to mention the other appliances that you say you have on the circuit. The simplest way to find out is to try it.
By the way, how much power a transformer wastes depends on the line voltage, which has gone up quite a bit since those mid-century transformers were designed.
(Some terminology: I doubt that you have a 15-ampere service; I assume that you are talking about a 15-ampere branch circuit. The service is what supplies the entire house and is probably at least 100 amperes to several times that, at 240 volts.)
Bob Nelson
Yes, You are correct about all that. I have seen other threads that tell the loads with amperes that each motor or engine draws. I will look at that thread again and then determine what I am running will be safe without causing problems at the fuse box. Thanks.
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