lionel CW 80 watt transformer

Are you running I. Conventional or legacy. Either one should be fine with the 80 transformer.

I am running non legacey trains all post war with the newest I have being about a 1987 model year diesel. i’ve read some reviews that the CW 80 watt can have problems with the E units of the older trains. I have a TW and LW transformer but as one function is fixed another will break getting to costly to fix these older transformers that were made for the post war trains

Skip it. It’s a chopped sign wave transformer. It can cause overheating of postwar motors. This one is among the worst. It only really works with the engines included in the starter sets it came with.

George

that’s what I thought i’ve read some reviews and there not good thanks for your reply 

The classic transformers such as the LW and TW are relatively bulletproof... they shouldn't be giving you reliability issues after given a once over.

I have a LW in for repair and it’s the third time i’m ready to just junk it costing too much to save if you know of anyone having a dependable TW for sale that would be great ebay has a lot but anything i’ve purchased from sellers there have all needed repair unless purchased new

What is wrong with your LW and TW?

the LW is with a friend that’s done lionel repair for about 40 years and gave it to him for a power cord and twice now still does not work. had one when I was a kid and those are a strong little powerhouse. I replaced the TW cord now don’t get a steady green light and no track power I think it’s just years not being run and would love to find another TW

Not to be insensitive, but it sounds the issue may lie with the reliability of your repair man instead of the transformer...

I think you are correct as my friend does appear to have some bad arthritis

George S posted:

Skip it. It’s a chopped sign wave transformer. It can cause overheating of postwar motors. This one is among the worst. It only really works with the engines included in the starter sets it came with.

George

I agree with George: the CW80 works great with modern ready to run sets. I have several and have had no problems. I run my post war trains with a professional rebuilt ZW. 

If your TW or LW is rebuilt properly it should last for years.

Run as far from a CW-80 as possible.......

I have one- can't stand it. Going to pick up a MTH Z-1000 soon.

Mostly a love 'em or hate 'em relationship from what I've read over the years

I agree and not going to spend more ard earned money on junk

While the CW80 is the transformer forum members love to hate...I have been using 4 of them over the past 17 years...2 for my TMCC layout (one for each route), and 1 each for my 2 Christmas layouts. What else can I say?

Put me down for loving the cw 80 after they got the kinks worked out early on.  I have 4 and they run post war and modern and have not failed yet.  Also the programmable accessory tap is a big plus.

that could be a good transformer but all that i’ve found out they have too many quirks and the latest word out is that lionel discontinued the CW 80 that’s a red flag

rebuilder posted:

...the latest word out is that lionel discontinued the CW 80 that’s a red flag...

 Yeah, it only ran for the same # of years as the KW.

never had a KW but did have a TW as a kid and it was a strong little powerhouse to run one layout getting one of those rebuilt now

actually that was the LW I had as a kid a strong little powerhouse

There must be varying quality of these 80's.  The two I had were worthless for more than a small loop and cars with limited or no lighting.  A 3 car passenger train was causing the 80s to fail.  Light would start flashing and then power off.  I felt bad giving those things away to others, the thought of new hobbiests running into this type aggravation is bad.

from all i’ve read about those CW 80 transformers are only good for a very small set up. I have all post war so i’m sticking with the post war transformers and some of those were junk too

VistaDomeScott posted:

There must be varying quality of these 80's.  The two I had were worthless for more than a small loop and cars with limited or no lighting...

 Is it possible you were using a 6-14275 or 6-24253 instead of a 6-14198? They all have different outputs but look exactly like this:

thanks for the reply. i’ve not tried any of those three but all i’ve heard is that there not very friendly on post war especially where the E unit is concerned. there is a lionel shop nearby and if I were to consider the 80watt I would have to see a live demo with engine and tender whistle can’t afford mistakes

I do like the outside appearance but I don’t think the performance is really there

hey Rob, sorry if you had the impression that I have a CW 80 but I never had one I did find a lot of bad reviews on those. i’ll take some of the post war transformers any day or at least the post war LW TW and ZW

I read somewhere, I think on the Bay, that CW80's produced after 2006 were a new version with faults corrected.  I own a number of brown box versions of them post 2006 bought from dealers; there is a green sticker seal on them showing the date of manufacture; the one I am using now to run legacy engines - no more than 2 at a time on a two 6' concentric ovals  with smoke units off - have not given me a problem.  BUT, smoke units on and incandescent lighted cars is a no-no - smoke units may throw the 3 blink cab flash.

I could not run that transformer as the post war does need more than what the 80 can keep up wih

The CW-80 is not in the latest catalog, but Lionel has not announced that it has been discontinued, as far as I can tell.

EDIT: I heard today from my manager at the hobby shop where I work part time that Lionel is indeed discontinuing the current version of its 40- and 80-watt transformers due to federal changes regulating external power sources. So it does appear the CW-80 will be replaced in the product line.

As Lionel shifts more of its train sets to the LionChief formats, I can see where it is possible the company will drop the 80-watt transformer from its line completely at some point.

Lionel has marketed the CW-80 for about 15 years. It has exhibited some problems in those years, including the wiring snafu prior to 2006 and some fan-motor problems on occasion.

As far as the chopped-wave output goes, it is a problem for MTH locomotives, though not all.  The CW-80 is hardly unique, in that regard. Which is why I prefer to run my MTH locomotives, especially PS1 and PS2 models, on an MTH Z-4000, whenever possible.

Still, I like the little CW-80 for conventional power on my non MTH models. I don’t consider it strictly a starter-set transformer, though it does have limited applications and is not as sensible for layouts that need to draw large amperage. A 180-watt brick makes a lot more sense once you graduate to that level.

Got mine from HobbySpeed.

I still need to pick up one to complete one of our PE sets.  They aren't going cheap right now.

I remember buying mine mostly from HobbySpeed going for around 120 from their site on Ebay; Ro has them for 115; plenty of used ones on the bay.

Jim R, thanks for the great info; going on hearsay does not do it for me; I use one for testing as it has a fast breaker; curious as to the new govt mandated versions will be like when they come out.  Falcon70

The new federal regulations are requiring us to redesign the circuitry of the CW-80. It's the same thing that happened with the PH-180/GW-180. Now that we have that one redesigned and shipping, the CW-80 is being worked on.

The new CW-80 will have a new sku number. Aside from the changes being made to meet the new regulations, we're also improving upon the design. The efficiency will be improved and render the cooling fan obsolete. Also, it will get the bi-color LED like the GW-180 - green normally and red when there's a fault.

I'm excited for the new design. We're hoping to get the first shipment out by the end of the year. It'll show its face in the C2 catalog.

rebuilder posted:

can anyone give me some insight on the CW 80 watt transformer? I’m only running post war and some engines about 30 years old. I have a LW and TW but no luck keeping those working as one thing is fixed another breaks. i’m not running more than one train and one operating track any input would be greatly appreciated

You already had your mind set up and decided they are junk. So what was your purpose of this post anyway. 

I have 2 CW 80's • One on my layout and one on my test track. Had these for years. 

The one on the layout is used for accessories and I have an older ZW-L with 4 bricks. The one on my test track I use for the Christmas layout. No issues to report at this time.

What problems should I be looking for?    Are these CW 80's a fire hazard?

Gary

Dave Olson posted:

The new federal regulations are requiring us to redesign the circuitry of the CW-80. It's the same thing that happened with the PH-180/GW-180. Now that we have that one redesigned and shipping, the CW-80 is being worked on.

The new CW-80 will have a new sku number. Aside from the changes being made to meet the new regulations, we're also improving upon the design. The efficiency will be improved and render the cooling fan obsolete. Also, it will get the bi-color LED like the GW-180 - green normally and red when there's a fault.

I'm excited for the new design. We're hoping to get the first shipment out by the end of the year. It'll show its face in the C2 catalog.

What sort of redesign are you doing?

trainroomgary posted:

 Are these CW 80's a fire hazard?

Gary

No.

mlavender480 posted:

What sort of redesign are you doing?

Just the inside electronics. From a user standpoint, it will not look or operate any differently aside from changing to the bicolor LED. It will be more reliable and efficient.

I used a CW80, but as I expanded my layout, 80w wasn't enough. Now I use it to power the lights and switches in the train yard on the club layout. I'm currently powering my track, switches and some lights with a VW which is 150w.

I've never had a problem with my CW80 and I've had for a number of years.

Hi Dave: Thanks for the report on the CW 80's • Not being a fire hazard.

I like my setup, looks great together. CW 80 & ZW-L with 4 bricks, 180 Watts each. I like to call this.......

"The Wow Factor"  When I have visitors to my train room, both train people and non train people recognize the name LIONEL. Just something about a transformer in "Purple" is a no go for my train room.

Hope this helps: Gary