Do either the 36 or 72 watt Lionel wall warts for LionChief and LionChief Plus engines have built in circuit protection? If they do how quick and effective are they compared to circuit breakers on conventional transformers such as Lionel's CW-80 or MTH's Z-4000? If the circuit protection of these Lionel wall warts isn't that great, how can you improve it? Can an additional circuit breaker somehow be added?
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I'm certain they have some sort of protection, but I don't know how good it is. You can add an external circuit breaker the same way you'd do it for any transformer, just break one lead and stick the breaker in-line.
ogaugeguy posted:compared to circuit breakers on conventional transformers such as Lionel's CW-80 or MTH's Z-4000?
No breaker on a CW-80, PowerMax 30, or PowerMax Plus 40.
However, the CW-80 has electronic circuit protection.
In my experience the breaker in the 36 watt power pack seems to be very quick, though this is no scientific test. Firing the electro-couplers on my LC+ NW2 appears to instantly trip the breaker. it resets within a couple of seconds.
As another note, there is probably not much need for an additional breaker on either of the DC wall packs. The 36 watt version is only supplying about 2 amps to the track, which won't do damage to much of anything, and the 72 Watt version will supply about 4 amps, also not enough to worry about over a second or two before the breaker trips.
JGL
JohnGaltLine posted:In my experience the breaker in the 36 watt power pack seems to be very quick, though this is no scientific test. Firing the electro-couplers on my LC+ NW2 appears to instantly trip the breaker. it resets within a couple of seconds.
As another note, there is probably not much need for an additional breaker on either of the DC wall packs. The 36 watt version is only supplying about 2 amps to the track, which won't do damage to much of anything, and the 72 Watt version will supply about 4 amps, also not enough to worry about over a second or two before the breaker trips.
JGL
Just out of curiosity, did you ever measure the short-circuit current of the 36 or 72 watt brick? I don't have any or I'd measure it myself.
I haven't done any sort of proper testing, and won't be able to any time soon because my LC set is packed away at the moment... and I'm several hundred miles away right now. All I can offer is that the breaker seemed to trip instantly when the electro-couplers were fired on an LC+ engine.
JGL
Small transformers are inherently anemic. I wouldn't worry about them.
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