Original Circuit Breakers for Lionel PW Transformers

They are ALL inadequate for modern locos with DCS, TMCC & LEGACY!

You,will need additional protection if you use any of those with modern electronics!

Tinplate Art posted:

They are ALL inadequate for modern locos with DCS, TMCC & LEGACY!

Tinplate Art posted:

You,will need additional protection if you use any of those with modern electronics!

Those original spec breakers are all just fine for the transformers as designed. They will provide the needed over current protection to the transformers.

For modern train electronics protection, you are looking to protect from over voltage(Transient Voltage Suppression), a completely different issue having little to nothing with the output current capability of a given transformer.

I'm using these Lionel Transformers for PW Locomotives. I was curious as to what the "original amp specs" were for the circuit breakers in the aforementioned transformers.

The ZW is 14 amps, LW 6 amps, 1033 4.5, 1010 2.3 amps. These are the ratings... but because these  are all old and use thermal breakers, there is a wide variance of when they will actually trip.

Thanks Rob!

ADCX Rob posted:

The ZW is 14 amps, LW 6 amps, 1033 4.5, 1010 2.3 amps. These are the ratings... but because these  are all old and use thermal breakers, there is a wide variance of when they will actually trip.

Thank you Rob,

However I was told by my hobby shop person who works on the post war ZW's that they have 15 amp breaker in them from the factory. But a 14 amp breaker is still a large amount of current at 18 to 22 volts.

For my myself I use a 7 amp breaker mounted after the positive terminal screw on my post war ZW.

Lee Fritz

phillyreading posted:

...I was told by my hobby shop person who works on the post war ZW's that they have 15 amp breaker in them from the factory. But a 14 amp breaker is still a large amount of current at 18 to 22 volts.

Yes, I believe that is true, as the Type Z also has a 15 amp breaker. The amazing part is that the Lionel testing procedure for breakers allow a significant amount of time with a dead short for them to trip.

They are truly to protect the transformer itself, nothing else, especially with the larger ones.  It's no wonder Lionel faced so many challenges in offering a ZW type transformer after 1969.

Rob,

I've looked around from time to time, and have never found specifications for replacement circuit breakers.

I see specifications for continuous power draw in the Lionel service manual, but nothing that specifies the rating of the breakers.

For example, the section on 1033 transformers state:

"This transformer can supply approximately 60 watts continuously with continuous current load of 5 amps. "

But the tables in the Lionel 5F manual give the 1033 circuit breaker trip characteristics as 15 amps for 9 - 35 seconds.

Here's a thread that you need to read .    Shows original breakers as well as new breakers that forum members are using.    Also has a chart showing the amps output of each Lionel PW transformer.

circuit breaker discussion

Here's what I finally settled on for my ZW, a 10-amp breaker.   Trips very quickly when track shorts.   Plus you can't beat the price.   I also bought four 5-amp breakers, one for each ZW output going to the tracks.