I have just transferred to Germany which is a 220V country. What do I need to know, or do, in order to use my 110V engines and DCC here????
Check the power supply for your DCC system. Many switching power supplies are universal input 100-240V and you would jsut need a plug adapter. Otherwise, you would need to locally source a power supply with the appropriate output voltage and current capacity to feed the DCC system. ANything past the power supply does not matter what the voltage is at the outlet.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
As Randy said, look carefully at the power pack. I have a few for different items and most say 110 to 240. Frequency there is 50 Hz. Sixty Hz here but not an issue. If only 120, buy a transformer or proper power pack. Been many years. I suspect a power pack will be cheaper.
Which DCC system?
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Your DCC pack ( and anything else that has a wall wart powering it) will have a plate or imprint on the case which says what the input is. Simply find a wall wart in Germany to suit that rating. The critical figures are the maximum voltage and the current rating. You should not exceed the voltage rating and make sure the current rating is at least what you want.
Alternatively, you can get a 220/110 step down transformer to power everything you are taking with you.
Good luck with the move
Cheers from Australia
Trevor
Since Germany is a modern country you should have no problem sourcing a 220 wall wart to serve your needs.
Heck 30 years ago when I was la student living in Israel, I had no problem visiting a local hardware store for a wall wart to operate my tape recorder.
Joe Staten Island West
Your engines do neither run on 110V, nor on 220V. That was back in 1900+, but using household AC for toy trains was outlawed in the 1920.
Your DCC system runs on 14V - 16V DC, which is transformed from 110V AC via a transformator and rectifier. Both are incorporated into a wallwart these days.
Amazon in Germany sells about any type of wallwart you may require to connect your DCC station to the 230V AC in Germany. The things you have to look out for are:
The manual of your DCC command station should tell you this.
Maybe outlawed in some countries - that didn;t stop the guy who was in the first or one of the first issues of MR who ran an outdoor trolley layout, complete with operating overhead - said overhead wire being energized with 110VAC house current. The article included a comment along the lines of "no idea what the effect was on the local squirrel population".
Seems insane by today's standards, but I doubt it seemed too odd at the time - the oddest thing was probably that an adult was "playing with toy trains" not that he ran exposed live 110V wiring around his yard.
richg1998 As Randy said, look carefully at the power pack. I have a few for different items and most say 110 to 240. Frequency there is 50 Hz. Sixty Hz here but not an issue. If only 120, buy a transformer or proper power pack. Been many years. I suspect a power pack will be cheaper. Which DCC system? Rich
I am little leery of those things Last year I took my CPAP machine with that type of power pack (110 to 240 rated) overseas and upon plugging it in it blew the circuit breaker. Fortunately not my CPAP.
As luck would have it I was staying with an ex-pat who also had 110v wiring.
What I will never understand is why they use 230 volts in Europe and the UK for general outlets?
200 volts is the threshold of "deadly much of the time", whereas 115/120 volts is well within the "seldom deadly, and seldom even harmful" range.
As an electrician in an earlier part of my life, who still does some electrical work now and then, I have been "bit" by 120 volts more times than I can remember - after a while, the reaction is simply "oh, I shoud not have touched that". Only once was I bit with 208 volts - knocked me off a ladder and burned a hole in my finger that took months to heal.
Sure, 115/120 volts can be dangerous, but not anywhere near the danger of 230, another reason to stay right here.........
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL What I will never understand is why they use 230 volts in Europe and the UK for general outlets? 200 volts is the threshold of "deadly much of the time", whereas 115/120 volts is well within the "seldom deadly, and seldom even harmful" range. As an electrician in an earlier part of my life, who still does some electrical work now and then, I have been "bit" by 120 volts more times than I can remember - after a while, the reaction is simply "oh, I shoud not have touched that". Only once was I bit with 208 volts - knocked me off a ladder and burned a hole in my finger that took months to heal. Sure, 115/120 volts can be dangerous, but not anywhere near the danger of 230, another reason to stay right here......... Sheldon
It was Thomas Edison who promoted the use of (then) 100 volts as some tragic experiences in the early days of power distribution showed that 100 volts was not usually lethal for a shock. Remember that in the early days, bare wires were strung though ceramic insulators, both exterior and interior, and so there were many more shock hazards present. As technology advanced, good, long life insulation was wrapped on conductors.
Just remember it’s not the volts that kill, it’s the current (the amps).Yes, but at 240 volts your body’s resistance will draw twice the current and that may well be over the threshold to kill you. In countries in Europe and elsewhere, where 230 volts is the general standard mains supply voltage for domestic houses, offices, factories, etc., they have to make sure that their wiring systems are very safe by using high quality insulation and wiring methods for all wiring upgrades and new work.
For additional safety the most recent wiring regulations insist that a Ground Fault Current Interruptor (GFCI) or a Residual Current Device (RCD) must be included in the main Consumer Distribution Unit (breaker box in US parlance) to cut the supply very quickly if any significant difference is detected between the currents flowing in the live (hot) and neutral wires.
An RCD works in a different way to the original very simple Ground Fault Current Interruptor (GFCI). An RCD will trip if there is any significant difference between the currents flowing in the live (hot) and neutral wires. A simple GFCI would trip only if any significant current is detected flowing in the main Earth (Ground) wire to the actual Earth (or Ground) spike. Note: GFCIs now operate exactly the same as RCDs.In up-to-date domestic installations in the UK no actual Earth “spike” is used. Instead the protective safety wiring (or casing) of the incoming mains supply cable is used because that is most likely to be reliably “grounded” to the Earth.
That is different to US and Canadian standards and other countries’ which use the same. In those countries the incoming mains supply is two “hot” wires supplying 240 volts balanced around “Ground Potential” which is always 0V. (Zero Volts). An Earth Spike is used at each property (house, apartment, office, factory, works site or whatever) to provide a common Neutral (i.e. the “White” wire) for the two resulting 120 volt “hots”. One “hot” is coloured “Black”, the other one is coloured “Red”
The Second explanation is:
The existence of the various standards has been largely the result of local politics and historical accident
The system of three-phase alternating current electrical generation and distribution was invented by a nineteenth century creative genius named Nicola Tesla. He made many careful calculations and measurements and found out that 60 Hz (Hertz, cycles per second) was the best frequency for alternating current (AC) power generating. He preferred 240 volts, which put him at odds with Thomas Edison, whose direct current (DC) systems were 110 volts. Perhaps Edison had a useful point in the safety factor of the lower voltage, but DC couldn’t provide the power to a distance that AC could.
When the German company AEG built the first European generating facility, its engineers decided to fix the frequency at 50 Hz, because the number 60 didn’t fit the metric standard unit sequence (1,2,5). At that time, AEG had a virtual monopoly and their standard spread to the rest of the continent. In Britain, differing frequencies proliferated, and only after World War II the 50-cycle standard was established. A mistake, however.
Not only is 50 Hz 20% less effective in generation, it is 10-15% less efficient in transmission, it requires up to 30% larger windings and magnetic core materials in transformer construction. Electric motors are much less efficient at the lower frequency, and must also be made more robust to handle the electrical losses and the extra heat generated. Today, only a handful of countries (Antigua, Guyana, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea and the Leeward Islands) follow Tesla’s advice and use the 60 Hz frequency together with a voltage of 220-240 V.
Originally Europe was 120 V too, just like Japan and the US today. It has been deemed necessary to increase voltage to get more power with less losses and voltage drop from the same copper wire diameter. At the time the US also wanted to change but because of the cost involved to replace all electric appliances, they decided not to. At the time (50s-60s) the average US household already had a fridge, a washing-machine, etc., but not in Europe.
The end result is that now, the US seems not to have evolved from the 50s and 60s, and still copes with problems as light bulbs that burn out rather quickly when they are close to the transformer (too high a voltage), or just the other way round: not enough voltage at the end of the line (105 to 127 volt spread !).
Note that currently all new American buildings get in fact 240 volts split in two 120 between neutral and hot wire. Major appliances, such as virtually all drying machines and ovens, are now connected to 240 volts. Mind, Americans who have European equipment shouldn’t connect it to these outlets. Although it may work on some appliances, it will definitely not be the case for all of your equipment. The reason for this is that in the US 240 V is two-phase, whereas in Europe it is single phase.
Roughly speaking, to operate a particular appliance requires a particular amount of POWER, which (at least for resistive loads) is current times voltage. If you double the voltage, you draw half the current to achieve the same power. The primary advantage of lower current is that you lose less power in the wires feeding current to the appliance (or you can use smaller, cheaper wires for the same power loss rating). On the other hand, the higher voltage is somewhat more dangerous if accidentally touched or if there is an accidental short circuit. Some experienced electricians are relatively casual about touching 110 V circuits, but all respect 230 V. (This constitutes a “don’t-try-this-at-home thing, though–it’s quite possible to get a fatal shock or start a fire with 110 V!) Current trends are toward the use of even lower voltages (24 V, 12 V, 5 V, 3.3 V…) for any devices which don’t draw much total power to increase safety. Power is rarely distributed at these lower voltages; rather it is converted from 110 V or 230 V by a transformer at the earliest opportunity. Even in North America, 220-240 V is commonly used in residential appliances formost high-power electrical appliances (ovens, furnaces, dryers, large motors, etc.) so that the supply current and supply wire size can be smaller. Higher power industrial applications often use 480 V or more. And, of course, transmission lines use progressively higher voltages as the distance and total power go up (22,000 V for local distribution to 1,000,000 V for long distance lines).
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Most HO engines are not 110V, but rather the 12-16V or something in that neighborhood. it's the power packs. If you can find a power pack in Germany that is compatible with standard HO engines, it should work. Or if you are using DCC, all you need is a power converter that drops the voltage from 220 to 16 rather tan from 110 to 16.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Graffen ATLANTIC CENTRAL What I will never understand is why they use 230 volts in Europe and the UK for general outlets? 200 volts is the threshold of "deadly much of the time", whereas 115/120 volts is well within the "seldom deadly, and seldom even harmful" range. As an electrician in an earlier part of my life, who still does some electrical work now and then, I have been "bit" by 120 volts more times than I can remember - after a while, the reaction is simply "oh, I shoud not have touched that". Only once was I bit with 208 volts - knocked me off a ladder and burned a hole in my finger that took months to heal. Sure, 115/120 volts can be dangerous, but not anywhere near the danger of 230, another reason to stay right here......... Sheldon US houses get 240 volts at the panel. If wall outlets all were fed with 240V you’d have the lower current and higher power advantage of the European system and it would be safer too, since each “hot” would still be only 120V from ground (not 240V) which keeps the reduced shock hazard advantage. Of course it is still possible to touch the two hots. It was Thomas Edison who promoted the use of (then) 100 volts as some tragic experiences in the early days of power distribution showed that 100 volts was not usually lethal for a shock. Remember that in the early days, bare wires were strung though ceramic insulators, both exterior and interior, and so there were many more shock hazards present. As technology advanced, good, long life insulation was wrapped on conductors. Just remember it’s not the volts that kill, it’s the current (the amps).Yes, but at 240 volts your body’s resistance will draw twice the current and that may well be over the threshold to kill you. In countries in Europe and elsewhere, where 230 volts is the general standard mains supply voltage for domestic houses, offices, factories, etc., they have to make sure that their wiring systems are very safe by using high quality insulation and wiring methods for all wiring upgrades and new work. For additional safety the most recent wiring regulations insist that a Ground Fault Current Interruptor (GFCI) or a Residual Current Device (RCD) must be included in the main Consumer Distribution Unit (breaker box in US parlance) to cut the supply very quickly if any significant difference is detected between the currents flowing in the live (hot) and neutral wires. An RCD works in a different way to the original very simple Ground Fault Current Interruptor (GFCI). An RCD will trip if there is any significant difference between the currents flowing in the live (hot) and neutral wires. A simple GFCI would trip only if any significant current is detected flowing in the main Earth (Ground) wire to the actual Earth (or Ground) spike. Note: GFCIs now operate exactly the same as RCDs.In up-to-date domestic installations in the UK no actual Earth “spike” is used. Instead the protective safety wiring (or casing) of the incoming mains supply cable is used because that is most likely to be reliably “grounded” to the Earth. That is different to US and Canadian standards and other countries’ which use the same. In those countries the incoming mains supply is two “hot” wires supplying 240 volts balanced around “Ground Potential” which is always 0V. (Zero Volts). An Earth Spike is used at each property (house, apartment, office, factory, works site or whatever) to provide a common Neutral (i.e. the “White” wire) for the two resulting 120 volt “hots”. One “hot” is coloured “Black”, the other one is coloured “Red” The Second explanation is: The existence of the various standards has been largely the result of local politics and historical accident The system of three-phase alternating current electrical generation and distribution was invented by a nineteenth century creative genius named Nicola Tesla. He made many careful calculations and measurements and found out that 60 Hz (Hertz, cycles per second) was the best frequency for alternating current (AC) power generating. He preferred 240 volts, which put him at odds with Thomas Edison, whose direct current (DC) systems were 110 volts. Perhaps Edison had a useful point in the safety factor of the lower voltage, but DC couldn’t provide the power to a distance that AC could. When the German company AEG built the first European generating facility, its engineers decided to fix the frequency at 50 Hz, because the number 60 didn’t fit the metric standard unit sequence (1,2,5). At that time, AEG had a virtual monopoly and their standard spread to the rest of the continent. In Britain, differing frequencies proliferated, and only after World War II the 50-cycle standard was established. A mistake, however. Not only is 50 Hz 20% less effective in generation, it is 10-15% less efficient in transmission, it requires up to 30% larger windings and magnetic core materials in transformer construction. Electric motors are much less efficient at the lower frequency, and must also be made more robust to handle the electrical losses and the extra heat generated. Today, only a handful of countries (Antigua, Guyana, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea and the Leeward Islands) follow Tesla’s advice and use the 60 Hz frequency together with a voltage of 220-240 V. Originally Europe was 120 V too, just like Japan and the US today. It has been deemed necessary to increase voltage to get more power with less losses and voltage drop from the same copper wire diameter. At the time the US also wanted to change but because of the cost involved to replace all electric appliances, they decided not to. At the time (50s-60s) the average US household already had a fridge, a washing-machine, etc., but not in Europe. The end result is that now, the US seems not to have evolved from the 50s and 60s, and still copes with problems as light bulbs that burn out rather quickly when they are close to the transformer (too high a voltage), or just the other way round: not enough voltage at the end of the line (105 to 127 volt spread !). Note that currently all new American buildings get in fact 240 volts split in two 120 between neutral and hot wire. Major appliances, such as virtually all drying machines and ovens, are now connected to 240 volts. Mind, Americans who have European equipment shouldn’t connect it to these outlets. Although it may work on some appliances, it will definitely not be the case for all of your equipment. The reason for this is that in the US 240 V is two-phase, whereas in Europe it is single phase. Roughly speaking, to operate a particular appliance requires a particular amount of POWER, which (at least for resistive loads) is current times voltage. If you double the voltage, you draw half the current to achieve the same power. The primary advantage of lower current is that you lose less power in the wires feeding current to the appliance (or you can use smaller, cheaper wires for the same power loss rating). On the other hand, the higher voltage is somewhat more dangerous if accidentally touched or if there is an accidental short circuit. Some experienced electricians are relatively casual about touching 110 V circuits, but all respect 230 V. (This constitutes a “don’t-try-this-at-home thing, though–it’s quite possible to get a fatal shock or start a fire with 110 V!) Current trends are toward the use of even lower voltages (24 V, 12 V, 5 V, 3.3 V…) for any devices which don’t draw much total power to increase safety. Power is rarely distributed at these lower voltages; rather it is converted from 110 V or 230 V by a transformer at the earliest opportunity. Even in North America, 220-240 V is commonly used in residential appliances formost high-power electrical appliances (ovens, furnaces, dryers, large motors, etc.) so that the supply current and supply wire size can be smaller. Higher power industrial applications often use 480 V or more. And, of course, transmission lines use progressively higher voltages as the distance and total power go up (22,000 V for local distribution to 1,000,000 V for long distance lines).
US houses get 240 volts at the panel. If wall outlets all were fed with 240V you’d have the lower current and higher power advantage of the European system and it would be safer too, since each “hot” would still be only 120V from ground (not 240V) which keeps the reduced shock hazard advantage. Of course it is still possible to touch the two hots.
Rspectfully, being a retired electrician, and a electrical design draftsman, there is not one technical fact in your reply that I did not know - maybe you missed the part where I said I was an electrician.
As for the history, I knew most of that, thanks for filling in a few blanks.
As an electrical designer, for more than 40 years, I am well aware of how power distribution is done here in the US.
And, as a Historic Restoration Consultant, I am well aware of the evolution of wiring systems in the US.
Admittedly, I'm not a world traveler, or one who pays much attention to the rest of the world. Mainly because my life is too busy already.
Current codes for new residences in the US require very heavy use of both GFCI and Arc Fault circuit breakers - not sure I agree with the need......
As for voltage drop, not really a problem here in most cases. Residential distribution transformers are small and frequent along the grid, typical distance from transformer to main panel in dwelling is typically less than 300 feet.
Most of the primary local grid is 13,200 volts - stepped directly to 120/240 single phase (yes, it has two hot phases and a neutral, but our industry calls it single phase) for dwellings.
Light bulbs - well welcome to the age of the LED, I skipped right over compact flouresents. But my 1901 Queen Anne home still has lots of incandescents, I have some I have not changed in 20 years..........or maybe have changed once.
My home, which I restored and rewired 22 years ago, is wired with mostly 20 amp circuits, may of which have shared neutral feeders to save wire and simplify installation.
Still don't see the need or point in having two hot phases for most loads.
In the typical US home, cooking ranges, HVAC equipment, clothes dryers, well and swimming pool pumps, and the like are typically 240 volts. These are mostly hard wired devices, or have plug type disconects only accessable by moving the appliance.
The rest is 120 volts and works just fine.
Many, if not most US homes had refrigerators, washing machines, well pumps, vacuum cleaners, electric fans, and much more, as early as the 1930's, let alone by the 50's - conversion to 240 volts was a non starter......but we have 60 cycles.....
ROAR... Lion Knows of 110v AC; 220v AC and more. Our establishment is 3 phase AC, wired wye. We used to have Delta which is more complicated.
Our bigger motors are three phase motors.
Many buiildings use 277 volt AC for lighting circuits. I think it has to do with 440 volt service.
LION is NOT an electrician, nor does he play one on TV.
We just installed new service to the south wing. The electricians ran new conduits from the local distribution panel, and when they removed the old service, it was some sort of a rubber line, like a very heavy extension cord. The electrician said that it was only approved for temporary outdoor service such as at carnivals.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
277 is Line to Neutral for a 480V L-L three phase 4 wire service.
Households use split phase 240V, which comes from a 240V ceter tapped transformer, so you have 120V legs L-N and 240 L-L, single phase 3 wire
The other common commercial building service in the US is 120/208 4 wire three phase A lot of data center equipment is built for 208V, with ther 120V L-N lines being used for the lighting and power to the office desks. 208 for the HVAC as well.
A simple travel adapter bought at the next international airport is fine if your equipment can handle 110 and 220 Volt. The German power outlet will look like this:
https://www.amazon.de/Komplett-Set-Busch-Jaeger-Reflex-Abdeckrahmen-2-fach/dp/B00MGKD5PO/ref=sr_1_4?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1467102154&sr=1-4&keywords=steckdose
Needing a plug like this
https://www.amazon.de/BACHMANN-900-002-Euro-Flachstecker-Schraubanschluss/dp/B000ONIP46/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1467102215&sr=1-1&keywords=netzstecker
or this
https://www.amazon.de/Bachmann-Zentralstecker-Schutzkontakt-910170-Schwarz/dp/B000ONJRUW/ref=sr_1_21?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1467102215&sr=1-21&keywords=netzstecker
Otherwise a transformer is needed to get 110 Volt from our 220 Volt power line.
Two examples:
https://www.amazon.de/300W-Spannungswandler-220V-110V-stepdown/dp/B005WQZ7O6/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1467102413&sr=1-1&keywords=110volt+spannungswandler
https://www.amazon.de/2000W-Spannungswandler-220V-step-down-step-up/dp/B005MNT876/ref=sr_1_3?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1467102413&sr=1-3&keywords=110volt+spannungswandler
I used intentionally Amazone examples. You may be a customer already.
You may also contact the next US military facility in Germany. They know best where to get the eqipment locally.
Welcome and have a great time!
ps. Don't worry about 220 vs. 230 Volt. 230 Volt is correct but older people (like me) still use the term 220 Volt.
Reinhard