MTH's Z4000's how do you like it and any problems ?

I have two on my home layout and two at the club layout. All are about eight years old or more. Solid performers.

Hi Tiffany,

I have two Z4000 transformers for 6 years, and they have been perfect. Not a single problem.

P.S. Tiffany I just looked at your email, I will take care of that, and get it out to you

Alex

It is the standard by which all others are judged.

I have had mine for about 10 years no problems

Never a problem,will run everything.Especially 3rd rail locomotives.

Ricky

I have had 2 for about 6 years. No problems at all. I will be buying a third next year.  Very reliable, enjoy.

Bob

Great capacity, great circuit protection, great versatility.  You can't go wrong.  There is even a little-known remote control capability even if you are not using DCS.

It has only one drawback, and it is well known.  You can't dial up the handles to 18V and stash a few of them under the benchwork with the TIU's and expect to power it all up by flipping a switch somewhere.  The 4000 will not power up with the handles up.  You have to manually bring each handle down to zero to reset every time the power is turned on. That means they have to be where you can get to them, and if you have a big setup with several 4000's, you have to go around dialing all the handles up.  

Small price to pay.  As far as I can tell they're bullet proof and are very convenient and helpful when trouble shooting track and accessory wiring shorts.

I've had mine since 2006, and you can't beat it.

I've got three of them and use them on my main O gauge layout, MY Standard gauge Christmas tree layout and on MY outdoor G gauge layout. Run DCS on all three layouts. I"ve had them since they first were available and have had no problems with them ever.

At our club layout we have two of them, about ten or so years old ( ! ) and have zero problems. I bought one that had been dropped, which damaged the voltage pot on the left handle and bent some of the insides that the pot was attached to. I got a new pot from MTH, straightened out the innards, and have been using it at home for about five years. No problems, and I use the handle on the dropped side exclusively. 

Hello guys and gals..........

My goodness,all of you guys so far have good track records of the famous Z4000's.

Hope others will chime in.  This is giving me a good feeling that i will have my trouble free Z4000 for long time.  I guess its the best transformer to run the Sunset 3rd engine then ?

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

No problems with mine.  Picking up another next week.

Add mine to the good track record. Zero problems. I'm getting another tomorrow to run an upgraded MTH Premier Big Boy (20-3021-1) I bought from J.D.S. Limited Productions at York in October for a good friend's 5-year-old grandson. His favorite locomotive is the 4012 at Steamtown. His family is getting 084 FasTrack curves, just as the UP had to upgrade the track where Big Boys ran.

Hello Tiffany,

   You are wise to get a NEW Z4000 because you will be covered by a warranty just in case. I considered getting a used one to save a few bucks (see above) but it might have been near or past the expiration date for a warranty.

Hi Tiffany -

Mine is going on 8 years, and has run flawlessly.  It does a great job of protecting itself against short circuits on all outputs.  Plenty of power, too.  It has a cooling fan inside that sucks in air and expels it through vents on the bottom & sides, so make sure there's air flow around wherever you decide to place it.

Mike

Hello guys and gals.........

I was looking at the latest MTH catalog for the Z4000 and i see that each throttle is 180 watts so that makes 360 watts for 2 throttle handles but the name plate says "400" watts and so does the catalog so where is the other 40 watts ?   Is the other 40 watts from the 2 fixed posts 10 volts and 14 volts @ 3 amps each ?   How do you figure out this ?  I am confused 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

Have had mine 12 years, removed the fan when I got it because of the fan noise. I never draw enough current to worry about overheating. I also have the remote which is a MUST have.

Best transformer I have ever owned.  The fan noise is a bit distracting, but that's something I can easily live with.  The digital readouts make it easy to monitor status even from some distance--an advantage for those using command control.

Yes Tiffany,3rd rail locomotives run great with a Z4000. I have 21 3rd rail steam locomotives and they are run extremely well in conventional mode as well as TMCC/Legacy powered with Z4000's.

Ricky

Tiffany,

You have it right - 180 watts per throttle and the balance is for the fixed accessory outputs.  Lionel's new ZW is also limited to 180 watts per throttle, so this may be a UL limitation on output.  

I've used the Z-4000 for several years and have been very pleased with it.  I can power several large accessories with the accessory output.  

I recently picked up a used Z-4000 Remote - highly recommended for conventional operation.  The remotes were out of production for a few years but MTH is cataloging them again. 

Flyer operators should also look at the Z-4000

Brady

Brady, do you know if those remote commanders are in stock now? Most vendors I checked with do not have them. 

I have one of the first ones and still working like it was new. No repairs

I pre-ordered one way back when it was first cataloged as the Z-2000 which got cancelled and replaced by the Z-4000. I have one of the very first ones (early 1998) and it has been completely trouble free. I also have the Z-4000 remote.

Z-4000

Tiffany:

I have had one - since July 2012!  Of course it works just fine.  You will like it.  Good investment.

Z-4000 Remote COmmander

Jay-Jay:

My local train store says MTH is going to make them.  I think what you see on MTH's  web site are all the stores that have ordered them.  Very hard to find used at the moment.  Have been looking for used one since August.  Have seen 2x on the bay and both went very quickly.

Thanks.

hello guys and gals..............

OK, guys so far the only problem with the Z4000's is the cooling fan noise right?   Well that's not bad at all as some of us can get used to the noise. 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

Picked up my second yesterday.

Tiffany,

My wife bought me mine about the same time I got my PS-1 engine.  I think that was about 2000.  I have not given it very heavy use but I have loved this transformer.  I also found a Z4000 remote and can control the voltage handles from my DCS remote.  The Z4000 remote is worth finding if you have a Z4000.  I got mine for around $40.

As for problems, the only one I have is that my right handle needs to be adjusted because it won't go all the way to 0 volts.  I was told this really isn't a big deal.  I can fix it or not as I wish.

You must have great hearing if fan noise is distracting when with the latest locomotive  sound systems you have a hard time hearing what the guy next to you is saying.

The Z-4000 has been the "go to" transformer for many for over a decade.  Should be interesting to see how the new ZW-L, supposedly shipping in a couple of weeks, stands the test of time.  

David

I have no real problem with the fan noise, and understand why a fan is there in the first place.  When the trains are running--with or without their sound systems on--I can barely hear the fan noise at all (and I keep the sound levels low on all of my locomotives).

"Have had mine 12 years, removed the fan when I got it because of the fan noise. I never draw enough current to worry about overheating."

I do not recommend doing that. In some electronic applications the fans are there to cool some chips or other components that run hot during use. The fan may not have anything to with loads being pulled.

Rob

I have two Z-4000 transformers. The first one is one of the oldest ones, very early production.  It has worked perfectly over many years of regular use.  I recently bought a second Z-4000 and it is equally perfect.  I think it is a "must have" power source for any layout. 

The Z4000 puts out a pure or very close to a pure AC sine wave.

This is great for AC Gilbert sound systems in that you don't get the buzz in the speakers you get with chopped AC sine waves with most other modern  Electronic transfomers.

This is not so great for Lionel Legacy smoke and couplers. They work better with the chopped AC that Lionel's transformers put out. 

To compensate for the sine wave with a Z4000 you can run the track voltage a 18-19 volts and it will help make up the difference..

Lionel had a video on their web site explaining this.

http://www.lionel.com/Customer....cfm?documentID=6523

Carl 

Hello guys and gals.........

Well i pick up my Z4000 this past Monday and boy it is a BEAST (big and heavy) !!!!! 

I had bit of hard time taking that heavy thing out of the box !!! but works perfectly after pluging it in for first hour of use and i am happy !!!!!!!!

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

 Great!

Hello CGWforever......

I just wanted you to know that i am sorry for what my husband said about the truck thing as sometimes he goes overboard with male ego thing.  Did you get your CGW 4-8-4 from Sunset 3rd yet SMILE..

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany