Kadee consistency

Tom --- Your topic has had only 32 views and no responses.  I think it means nowbody who has viewed your topic has an answer.  Look at other topics to see how many views and replies they get.  Some topics are very popular.  

As time passes your topic will fall from the top.  Post a reply in a couple of days to get it back on top.  This forum is good and I injoy it a lot.

Good Luck

I feel I have done all of the common adjustments correctly, yet performance is spotty.  I know there must be a way to get them to work

Any suggestions? 

Tom Stoltz

Tom.....

Without seeing the models in person, it is difficult to give a precise answer.  Here are some possibilities:

Excessive sidewards movement (aka "lateral play") of the coupler will affect coupling/uncoupling reliability to a large extent.  Common causes of excessive lateral play include the following:

a.  wheel gauge too narrow

b.  track gauge too wide

c.  trucks loosely fitted to the car underbody permitting sideways movement of entire truck

d.  Kadee coupler box mounted off center or tilted at an angle

e.  wheelsets loosely fitted between the sideframes permitting sideways movement

f.   some combination of any or all of the above

g.  magnets on/under track are off center 

Over the years, I have found all of the above problems with various S models.  I use small washers over the axle tips to solve "e" above.  Use larger screws to solve "c" above.  The sideslop (another high-tech term) of AF cars is MUCH greater than for scale cars due to the AF wheel gauge being narrower than scale wheels.  If possible, modify AF track to have a narrower gauge at the place where you want uncoupling to occur.

Try fixing all of the above items on a half dozen cars and experimenting with them.  The total overall sideslop should be less than or equal to HO equipment on HO track.  If done properly, Kadee couplers work very well 98% of the time on straight track.  On large-radius curves, they work well also.  On sharp curves, not so well.

Keep at it and eventually you will be happy.  Some AF folks use the O scale Kadee coupler.  Larger size is more forgiving.

Cheers......Ed L.

"What does the lack of response mean?"

     Hi Tom, In my case it just means I don't use magnets so had nothing to add. About 30 years ago I tried magnets on an HO scale layout and came to about the same observations as Ed noted above.. ..DaveB

Thanks, Ed.  That is the info I’ve been lacking.  Some of the issues I am aware of, but there are some I will need to address. 

The basic problem I’ve been having with consistency has been with the delayed – pulling the coupler far enough to the side so it won’t recouple – action.  I’ve had no problem with basic uncoupling, but the delayed action can vary from one end to other of the same car.  Sometimes the mounting screw for the coupler is too tight.  The when I loosen them keeping the draft box properly aligned gets address.  Still, that doesn’t always work.

I will have to be more precise with centering the magnets.  Because I’m still in the experimental phase I just eye-ball them when sliding a new combination under the rails.  SHS .138” flex is what I am using for most testing and one spot using AM .148” flex.

Sideslop in the steamers is a big issue and I’m finding it is not the gauging but rather the side to side movement of the wheel sets.  Your suggestion for shimming is something I know I will have to do.  This might be a surprise, but my best player is an AF boxcar with a Kadee on one end.  I’m also using a SHS stock car with scale wheels (one end great, the other so-so) and a hopper that is either AM or SHS with High-rail wheels.

I do want to finish my report on different magnet combinations that I start several weeks ago under a different thread.  I have found many inexpensive variations for both under the ties and between the ties.  Because of looks I am not playing with any magnets mounted on top of the ties.

Thanks again for you input,

Tom Stoltz

in Maine

Tom....

Here is a slide show re: Kadee couplers.  Some new info and nice pictures to look at.  He claims his technique works in all scales.

One new thought, which I forgot to mention earlier, is to place the magents off-center if uncoupling on curves.  Note carefully that the glad hands (trip pins) will be off center on curves.  The magnets should be centered on the tips of the glad hands. 

Good luck.....Ed L.

http://nmramcrdiv10.yolasite.c...coupling%20Color.pdf 

Ed,

This is fantastic!  Chuck Davis is the gentleman from the 2015 Great Model Railroads article where I saw the side bar about the dual magnets.  I googled “dual magnet uncoupling” and found a bunch of links and uTube videos.  A lot of good info.

Thanks,

Tom Stoltz

in snowing again Maine