is the Z-1000 100 watt rating,100 watt output or input ?

According to the specs it says 100 watt maximum power output. I have two of them and they are great transformers for the money. I have had no issues and they seem to run all my engines fine.

Output. I'm not sure when this changed. Probably mid sixties?

quote:

Originally posted by Tiffany:
hello guys and gals........
Is the MTH's Z-1000 power supply as rated 100 watts, does this make 100 watts output or is it 100 watts input? I notice alot of postwar lionel transformers rating is INPUT such as the LW type 125 watts. The label says 125 watts output BUT the service manual says 75 watts output continues from this model.
the woman who loves toy trains
Tiffany

Tiff go back and read that specification plate again it should say

Input 125 volts

The the output should be in volts and watts or amps.

Most electrical devices rarely have an input current draw if they have a secondary side.

David

The Z-1000 is my favorite, even though I have several post war transformers too. It works horns/whistles and bells perfectly.
Rob

hello DPC..........
you're very right !!!!!!! i must have misread it sorry guys, my goof !!!!
the woman who loves toy trains
Tiffany

quote:

...Most electrical devices rarely have an input current draw if they have a secondary side.

Except every Lionel transformer made before 1986.

quote:

Originally posted by ADCX Rob:

quote:

...Most electrical devices rarely have an input current draw if they have a secondary side.

Except every Lionel transformer made before 1986.

Woopty doo

David

quote:

Originally posted by DPC:

Woopty doo

David

OK, lets throw in Marx & Flyer too, then. Seriously, what are you saying here?

Tiffany,

the actual output under load is about 80-85% of the a rated amount

Bill D

hello wsdimenna.......
so does that mean the Z-1000 is putting out 80 to 85 watts of the rating of 100 watts ?
the woman who loves toy trains
Tiffany

quote:

Originally posted by wsdimenna:
Tiffany,

the actual output under load is about 80-85% of the a rated amount

Bill D

Bill is that a measured amount? I thought for the modern transformers that rating was good for a Steady state load per UL approval.

I am not sure a PH or Z-1000 drops off that much.

Tiffany a transformer consumes some energy transforming your house 120V 60 cycle power to 18 Volts 60cycle. That energy is given off mostly by heat.

So a transformer that has a steady state output of 18V and 10amps (18x10 is 180 watts), may require 210 to 230Watts of input power to make the required output.

Since the input voltage is 120 that is only about 2amps of current (120V x 2A = 240Watts). So the transformer...transforms 120V and 2amps into 18Volts and 10amps. The cost to you is 30-50 watts of power in heat depending on transformer construction and efficiency.

The bottom line is the Z-1000 can handle steady state load of 100 watts safely without jeopardizing design life of the internal components. G

No transformer gives the theoretical 100% output. The Z4000 for example blows the fuse at 360 watts not 400. Actually its 180 usable watts per handle

Z-4000 has two variable outputs maxed at 180 watts each. It also has two fixed outputs (10v/3A and 14v/3A). The "lost" 40 watts are available to those terminals.

For PW Lionel transformers, I've never gotten all that close to the name tag output power, even tweaking the circuit breakers. I was able to get about 230 watts out of the ZW-R, that was it.

The above calculations assume that the power factor of the transformer(s) is 1, but that is not likely unless they have capacitive compensation.

Does anyone know the powder factor of a Z1000, Z4000, LW, ZW?

Alex

Chuck, sorry wasn't clear, but here it pops fuse around 20 volts with 8 amps or 160 watts. Noticed, originally this because of a grade that increased the power to maintain speed. Was told on forum that one only gets about 80% of rated amount.

That doesn't sound right. The fuse should only be popping when you exceed its rated amperage. It's possible that the meters are off or the fuse itself is bad/out of spec. I would also not recommend running any unit at 100% capacity for any length of time. That's asking for trouble. If you really, really need 180 watts I'd say you really, really need a 200+ watt power supply.

The CW-80 will deliver its rated 5 amps continuously, by design.

The actual transformer that powers the CW controller is a rather robust 8-9 amp unit, so there's plenty of headroom.

I've never tested the Z-1000, but I would believe that the 100 watt output rating is in fact a continuous rating, and somewhat below the actual capacity of the brick that powers the controller, giving it a clear power advantage over the CW-80.

Alex, I did not want to get over technical with the efficiency or with safety and time factors

Bill, I agree with others you need to have your Z-4000 checked out.

The newer units are built for a continuous output at their rating and I do not believe there will be a longevity issue, but time will tell.

Don't get many bricks in because they fail. G

quote:

Originally posted by wsdimenna:
No transformer gives the theoretical 100% output. The Z4000 for example blows the fuse at 360 watts not 400. Actually its 180 usable watts per handle

The other 40 watts is for the 10 and 14 volt accessory feeds. 14 volts at 3 amp. So it does do the 400 watts,but not out of one handle.

Dale H

quote:

Originally posted by GGG:
Alex, I did not want to get over technical with the efficiency or with safety and time factors

G -
I fully understand, but we should keep in mind that a transformer with a power factor less than one (not corrected) will draw more current than is available as power. I can't remember anymore, but if the PF is around 95% or so, it is no big deal. On the other hand, a PF of 75% will significantly diminish the net power (watts) for a given VA rating.

Just about every industrial motor and transformer I worked with had the power consumption expressed in VA of KVA. For motors, the output rating in HP, or watts if foreign manufacture. (IIRC, 747 watts = 1 HP, per my high school physics book 50+ years ago). Output for transformers depended on the load; whether it was inductive, capacitive, linear, non-linear, etc.

But I agree with what you said.

Alex