Track Power Options Upgrade: ZW L or Z 4000

If you already have the 990 then the zw-l will give you remote control of each of the 4 handles. This will allow you to run any conventional locos with the remote.

I had two Z4K's for my layout, but they were not quite enough, so I added one ZW-L. Not only did the added ZW-L supply enough power, but the ZW-L's voltage output was much more consistent than the Z4K's. Shortly afterwards, I replaced the two Z4K's with a second ZW-L, and now both ZW-L's run my layout perfectly.

With the Z4K's, which I used for several years, I had to adjust the voltage (handles) depending on the load. With a small load (one engine), setting the handles at 18v worked fine, of course. But as soon as another train entered the block, the voltage would drop to 17v or less. If the train was a double-headed (two A powered units) passenger train (regular incandescent lights in the cars), the the voltage would drop to 16v. So I used to set the voltage at 21v, and it would drop to about 17.5v with the trains.

With the ZW-L's, I set the handles at the maximum; i.e., 18.6v for mine, don't bother them, and the voltage hardly varies. Another thing - the Z4K handles have to be turned down fully when the transformer is shut off before it can be turned on again. Not the ZW-L; leave the handles as you like. This is significant for me because I have the track transformers connected to a remote control outlet so I can turn them on/off remotely, and I do not have to worry about how the ZW-L handles are set.

And that's my 2¢ worth!

Alex (Alexander Müller)

ZW L  4 Variable outputs up to 180 watts each, up to 620 watts total combined.

Z 4000 2 variable outputs up to 180 watts each

          1 14 volt fixed output up to 3 amps

         1 10 volt fixed output up to 3 amps

If the extra $$$ are not any issue, it seems a no brainer to me. If you do already have the 990 Legacy system, then even less thinking needed, in my opinion.

Doug

Go with the ZW-L.  Well worth the extra money and it has more power than the Z-4000.

ZW-L yes lots of these $$$ but what a difference.

Clayton,

A similar discussion here on the forum went back and forth between these two transformers before it was brought out the OP was running command only.  In the command environment you don't need handles, so neither the Z-4000 or ZW-L was the best for that person.

So do you plan to also run conventional engines?  You did not say.  If you are going to run command only, using the PowerHouse 180 wired direct to the track (with or without addition protection such as a CB and/or TVS) is an excellent option.

That is something like I thought I could pull off today when I saw what I think is the product you describe in the local hobby store. The dealer didn't seem to think I could do that without it being connected to another ZW. I notice there a power cord and a cord with a female connector on it. Is there a Lionel connector that is made to wire it to the track or would you just pick that up from Lowe's? The one I saw may have been missing one that should have been in the box. 

There are some options to connect the PH180 to the track.  One is to buy this cable set:

Another is to buy the TMCC Direct Lockon which includes a separate protection circuit.  However, these are known to mess up the DCS signal so don't use one if you plan add DCS in the future.

A third option is to cut the Lionel plug off the end of the wire.  There are older posts that describe which wire is which, or maybe someone will add it to this tread.

The PH180 is currently hard to find but Lionel has new ones coming out soon for $85 street price.  They are excellent 180 watt pure sign wave transformers with a very fast resettable CB.

Here is how I would set up your power for command only.

The Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) is highly recommended by many on this forum to protect the more delicate electronics in new command engines.  They are cheap. 

The fuse (or CB, but those are not as fast) is not really needed with the PH180; its internal CB is about the fastest you can find.  Some folks feel better using a fuse/CB of lower value (5 or 7 amps) if they don't need much power to run a smaller layout, or only run one engine and a few lighted cars.  Anyway, I think the PH180's CB is good enough by itself.

Thankx very much. A local dealer has one for $99.00. Gonna try this option on my outside oval b 4 running at dropping $750 on the ZW

There have also been several posts here listing conectors from Digi-Key that allow you to make your own PH-180 adapters. 

C.T. McCormick Hardware also sells an adapter for the PH-180s. It has the PH-180 connector on one end and banana plugs on the other. Probably more suited for an MTH TIU connection, but could be made to work. I think it is called a PH-TIU on their site.

The PH-180s are a great power source for comand control operation. I am also a big fan of them.