Lighting help.

I purchased a bunch of screw and bayonet already made LED lights. Cut my power needs way back. There are different colors available. I was getting out of hand with 5 transformers so I went this route. 

https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/2415514336620621

Besides the obvious "go with LEDs" or "buy more transformers".....  I would suggest considering outdoor low voltage lighting transformers.  You can get quite large ones that handle a lot of wattage.  I have one that I will be using that is rated at 600 watts.  This means that it can handle around 30 or so 12 volt, 18 watt light bulbs.  If you use LEDs then you are talking about hundreds of "bulbs"!!

Alan

https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/2415514336620621

Alan - we picked up one of those 600Watt power supplies for outside lighting.... Has a timer I need to work around.... did you have any issues with the gauge of the wire?... this thing's instructions is talking about heavy duty wire and I am using 18 for the lighting circuits....  

You shouldn't have a problem with 18 gauge wire with one of those units.  What I do is I run 14 gauge outdoor cable to a buss bar and then distribute from there.

Alan

Thanks Alan...I will hook it up and give it a try..... 

Mr Muffin,

I use 100's of light bulbs since almost all of my buildings have interior details. I use 14volt #194 wedge bulbs 240ma.  I buy these in sleves from an auto supply place,

For transformers I buy 12v 8amp #241 from Signal Transformer Co  516-239-5777.

These are industrial units and will power about 30 bulbs each. Note: They do not come with an enclosure which I perfer since I can easily detect if they get hot or give off s smell. They have a large selection so I recommend you call and ask for their catalog.

Les Lewis

www.westportmodelworks.com

Thanks Les.... 

We have a four brick ZW dedicated to lighting and its not enough, even with breaking the lighting up into several independent circuits. We have one of the Z4000's 14V running one, but all the other circuits pop the fuse when connected to that port on the Z4000. I need to buy something else to power the lighting - any suggestions?

Malibu 600watt/12volt power supply from the internet.

Features

• Provides safe 12 volt power to your lights
• Converts to 120 volt household electricity to a safe 12 volts
• Fully programmable timer with 2 sets of on/off trippers  Install a 120 volt switch to power the transformer, turn it off and on as you wish.  Don't set the off trippers, it should work fine without major modifications.  There may be a seperate off/on switch inside the raintite enclosure access panel, top. 
• Contains two 300 Watt circuits  This would limit circuit size (there are (2), 15 amps) requiring at least 14 ga wire unless addition fusing (downsize) is used. Keep in mind this equipment is designed for exterior use.  IMO, use caution with wire sizes less than 14ga.
• Non-corrosive metal construction
• Circuit breaker protection  Most likely (2) 15 amp thermal resets, accessed inside the top cover. They could be automatic resetting thermal units.   
• Bright reliable light in any weather

Safety meeting of the day.   600watts (transformer capacity) @ 20 volts (18 volts nominal) is capable of 30 amps.  Two circuits available.  Proper size wire is at least #14 for each circuit.  I believe most low voltage exterior lighting systems, related to this type of transformer sell #14, #12 and #10 exterior grade wire for this application, I've never seen a wire size smaller than #14 though I could be wrong.    Fast forward to model train layout, I would caution use of wire sizes smaller than #14 unless appropriate fuse, (downsize), is used. I would feel comfortable fusing #18 gauge wire at 7.5 amps or less.  IMO  Mike. 

Noted caution from the website.

Important Note Suitable for use with submersible luminaries and pumps. Not for use with dimmers. Use 12 gauge MINIMUM low voltage outdoor cable. Use ONLY with MAXIMUM 600W lamp load. Add all bulb wattages up to a maximum total of 300 watts per circuit. Suitable for outdoor use only. Use ONLY with 12 volt low voltage outdoor landscape lighting products.

RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK.    

 Geez, you guys ever think about running 220V or bigger? I know lights can eat up energy. I just never realized how much power some guys are using on their layouts.

 When on tour with the rock bands, we used that kind of power!

If you're getting that big, you'd better have good electricians look over the whole lighting plan. If your needing that kind of power output, your draw on the whole layout must be big. Talking multiple breakers just for train layout lights. Wow, it just never hit me.

 Carry on!

I bought one of these and need to hook it up. Thanks. 

Steve I use 5 of the 600 watt malibu packs and have the RR set up in zones, from each side of the pack I run 12 gauge wire to a 24 block MTH terminal strip where the lighting is fed, I do not use the timer in my application and remove the plastic clips for time setting the dial for constant lighting. Worked well for 5 years.

5 of the 600 watt transformers?   Wow.

That's a lot of lights.  I am going to look into this for my layout.

If I use a terminal strip to distribute the power instead of a buss, with feeders to buildings will I need any special components (diodes, resistors) on those with just LEDs?

George