Welcome to the forum. I think that AWG14 is way overkill. Those engines cant draw more than a couple of amps TOTAL and the #14 wire will handle 15 amps easily. You can even feed one end of your main and there will be lots of power left at the other end.
Now, if you plan on converting to DCC at some point, then feeders every 6 feet is more than adequate.
BTW, you must have a very large bedroom with 80' mainlines
73
Bruce in the Peg
sp-woody wrote:The layout will have three seperate tracks, each 80 ft. long.
Im using 14ga. bus with 22ga. feeders
Im not sure how to run the bus wire that many ft.
will there be enough power,amps,etc.
What would be the best way to do this? Rather do it right the first time!
If this were DCC one bus could be used for all three tracks.
sp-woody wrote:Im building a n scale layout shelf around my bedroom. My question is about power. The layout will have three seperate tracks, each 80 ft. long. Im using 14ga. bus with 22ga. feeders. I have a Tech280 for two lines,both will have one loco running on them. The third line will have a Tech4 to run a ABBA train all four locos will be power. Im not sure how to run the bus wire that many ft. and or will there be enough power,amps,etc. What would be the best way to do this? Rather do it right the first time! Thanks.
So, you have three independant loops of track, three power packs, and you want to run three trains all at the same time with each train controled by ONE of your three power packs. This is straight DC, no DCC. Check?
Lets talk about one power pack and one loop of track. Get him running right, and then just do the same thing for the other two loops of track.
In principle we just connect the power pack to the track with one pair of wires. In practice, the rail joiners don't carry electricity dependably. They tarnish on the inside and when the tarnish gets bad enough electricity stops flowing and the train stops.
The fix for this problem is to run a pair of wires (bus wires) from the power pack and go all around the layout. Periodically we connect feeder wires from the bus wire to the rail. This way electricity can get to the rail even if a rail joiner or two stops conducting electricity. Bus wire ought to be at least #18 (speaker wire). Lamp cord (#16) works. Solid #14 house wire is popular because it is easy to get, and mechanically rugged. A few little nicks from stripping house wire with an Xacto knife don't matter on #14. Electrically #14 is overkill, way thicker than necessary. Avoid #12 house wire, it is too hard to bend, even with pliers.
Feeder wires ought to be thinner than the bus wire. Thinner wire is easier to hide, bend, and solder. Feeders ought to be at least #30 (wire wrap wire). You don't have to go larger than #22. Feeders are short, so even very thin wire is low resistance. Run the bus wire under the table. Ideally you want a pair of feeders for each separate piece of track. In practice most of us cheat and space our feeders farther apart than ideal. I have acheived reliable operation with feeders every 10-12 feet.
Treat each loop of track/power pack the same. This means you run three pairs of bus wire, and do feeders off each bus. It helps to keep things neat under the table. Wiring faults are easier ti fix, and track changes are easier to do if you can identify which bus is which, a year or two from now. Secure the bus wire with wire staples, or run the wire thru holes drilled in your bench work joists. Or make wire guides from pieces of 3/4 wood with holes drilled for each bus wire. Six holes in your case. If possible color code your wires. This is harder to do if you are using leftover wire, instead of buying new, but give it a try. Written labels are very helpful as well.
Newer model locomotives may only draw a quarter of an amp. Older ones won't pull more than one amp. Even the lightest bus wires can furnish that sort of current no sweat. Tech power packs can always handle two locomotives (say an AA diesel lashup) and usually can handle four (ABBA) especially if the locomotives are the newer, lower current draw types.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
sp-woody wrote: Thank you ,yes the bedroom is big upstairs add on 22x17. So the tracks willbe 3 seperate lines continuois. If this is over kill for 80ft., what guage wires should I use ? Do I need a bus wire at all, and if so how many feeders and at what spacing? Thanks.
Do you need bus wires? When your track and rail joiners are new and shiny you can probably get away with no bus wires, let the rail and the rail joiners carry the juice. It might run well for years just using the rail. However, many of us have had a lotta trouble with bad contact, which causes the trains to stop. So we tend to install power buses up front to make sure we get good contact and keep it good. Was it me, I'd run three power buses, but it's your rail road. You can always add power buses later if you start having "trains stop for no good reason" problems.
Best kind of bus wire is the cheapest you can find. Used. Old wire pulled out in house remodel jobs. Surplus. Old network cable. discarded extension cords. door bell wire. telephone wire. If I couldn't scrounge something, I'd buy single conductor solid #18 or #16 insulated wire, or single conductor house wire, what ever was cheaper. Compare Home Depot prices with Radio Shack prices. Go with the most economical.
Was it me, I'd install feeder wires every 10 feet.
sp-woody wrote:the bedroom is big upstairs add on 22x17. So the tracks willbe 3 seperate lines continuois. If this is over kill for 80ft., what guage wires should I use ? Do I need a bus wire at all, and if so how many feeders and at what spacing?