Which Wire Size to Use??

Use 14 gauge wire with 18 gauge drops will do a good Job.

Mikey

Be aware that much of the wire is copper clad aluminum. Look for pure copper ($...) or go up a couple gauges.

I was watching one of those home improvement shows just the other day. The contractor told the flippers that local code required the replacement of all copper clad aluminum wire with copper. I think this was in California.
Take this for what its worth.

cjack posted:

Be aware that much of the wire is copper clad aluminum. Look for pure copper ($...) or go up a couple gauges.

Going up in wire size actually means going down in gauge numbers. 12 gauge wire is larger than 14 gauge wire, etc.

OGR Webmaster posted:

cjack posted:

Be aware that much of the wire is copper clad aluminum. Look for pure copper ($...) or go up a couple gauges.

Going up in wire size actually means going down in gauge numbers. 12 gauge wire is larger than 14 gauge wire, etc.

 Thanks for the reminder Alan. I just spoke to your customer service and the guy told me that OGR  no longer carries the wire what I really liked using your wire I had bought some for our holiday layout and was considering it for my perminent layout do you remember if that was solid copper or copper clad aluminum I'm gonna have to find another place to get it now. 🙄😞

Joe Gozzo

I use 14 gauge wire for all track feeds. I have my layout sectioned into blocks so each block gets 14 gauge wire soldered to the center rail from a toggle switch. Works great with no voltage drop. 

Use the biggest wire you can. You won't regret it .

Another forum member (Gilly@N&W) posted a link to some wire on monoprice.com that looked pretty good to me. I also used the OGR wire and have been keeping an eye out for another source. OGR's was good copper wire and the link Gilly posted looked to be of similar quality and is also available in some added sizes from what OGR carried. Here's a link to Gilly's post for monoprice wire.

I'm with Lou, 14 Ga stranded for bus and feeders soldered to the track every 10 feet. Don't skimp, wiring is crucial for reliable operation.

OK thanks everyone I am sold on the 14 gauge however I went on monoprice.com and the wire I saw and there appeared to be speaker wire or at least it said it was speaker wire so maybe I need to drill down more through the screens to try to find the jacketed wire I was hoping to find it the way I purchased it previously from O gauge railroad where it's a 2 conductor wire

Why not try your local hardware store? Ace sells it by the foot.

Home Depot/Menards sell 14 gauge wire in large rolls for cheap. 

CCA or pure copper?

Last time I cut through the stuff I bought from Menards it was copper all the way through. It was regular house wiring. But we're coded for all copper here .

Home Depot, SKU #382777, $146.55/500' or $.61/per foot for cut lengths. Get the spool, it's half the cost.

Trainlover160 posted:

.. I saw and there appeared to be speaker wire or at least it said it was speaker wire 

It is. While I would not suggest wiring your house with this, it is more than adequate for a model train layout. I have used thousands of feet of this; not only on my home layout, but the club's modular layout. The gray stuff from the big-box store has been used too. The jacket is stiff and it is comparatively short of copper compared to the Monoprice wire.

The link takes you to a page that allows the selection of jacketed two or four conductor with sizes from 12-18 ga. Pretty much anything you need. 

Looks good...

https://images.homedepot-stati...476-ddcee7bc0f92.pdf

Joe,

  I use Copper 14 Gauge stranded wire of good quality, it portrays great DCS signal and works very well.  Purchase a large enough spool of wire to accommodate several expansions of your layout.  I like to use all the same Track wire thru out, for my DCS.  I use 16 Gauge stranded for my Legacy drops on the opposite outside rail from the DCS Drops, and also on my TIU out Black Channels.  Never have any problems with any kind signals and my FasTrack Command Control Switches operate perfectly from the Legacy HHRC set up in this manner.

Have a great time building your new layout!

PCRR/Dave

Been using this for years without issue:

https://www.menards.com/main/m.../p-1444442895958.htm

Just curious, why pure copper over copper clad aluminum? Carries the signal better?

No. No significant skin effect at low frequencies. It’s just cheaper to make wire out of aluminum. The copper helps with the dissimilar metal issues. And lighter weight. If you pick up a 500 foot reel of copper and then pick up a 500 foot reel same gauge of CCA, you will practically throw it over your head. Of course the gauge is not really the same except for diameter since the aluminum has more resistance and therefore more voltage drop with the same current.

The power companies use aluminum wire to bring the power to your meter from the power pole or transformer.

Trainlover160 posted:

OK thanks everyone I am sold on the 14 gauge however I went on monoprice.com and the wire I saw and there appeared to be speaker wire or at least it said it was speaker wire so maybe I need to drill down more through the screens to try to find the jacketed wire I was hoping to find it the way I purchased it previously from O gauge railroad where it's a 2 conductor wire

I copied Gilly's link here. Earlier, I didn't want to look like I was taking credit for something I didn't post about or I would have just posted a direct link then. I will be using this myself from now on since the OGR wire is no longer available. I wire for DCS and this is also great for that purpose. A jacketed pair of wires to run to each block from an MTH terminal strip. 

Also, see Gilly's post above in this thread. This appears to be very good wire, all copper, twisted pair, jacketed and available in more sizes and conductors than OGR offered. To me it looks like very similar, only the jacket is white instead of gray. It can be used for many things other than speaker wire, that's just what they call it there. However, as Gilly said above I wouldn't use it to wire any 120/240 volt ac circuits in my home. It's perfect for low voltage like trains though! Gee, it's starting to sound like I am really liking this stuff...

I haven't tried the Home Depot speaker wire, but if it's all copper like Monoprice it should also be just fine for train wiring. Home Depot doesn't have the selection of sizes & number of conductors that Monoprice does. 

There is another source on ebay that I'll probably be using for my 16 AWG drops.  I have a lot of 12 gauge pure copper that'll go from transformer out, to relay then out of relay to the drops in multiple colors (specific colors for different power districts).  This was advised by several OGR members more knowledgeable than I.  12 gauge may be very challenging to solder to track.

Haven't bought this wire yet but seller assures me it is pure copper, not copper clad.

Kirk

Monoprice 14 gauge 100% copper multi stranded. I have several very large loops (100+ feet) runs using 1 drop soldered with Atlas O and electrically conductive paste.

Scrappy

There is nothing wrong from a safety perspective for using copper clad aluminum wiring on a layout, it will have higher resistance and voltage drop over distance, but it is not a safety issues. Personally, I probably will use pure copper wiring though I suspect for the way I will use  it, it won't matter (reminds me of the high fi nuts who will buy silver speaker wire and pay, I am not kidding, 10k for it...dammed if I could tell the difference over a good quality copper speaker wire). I would agree if you are going to use CCA use a larger size, 14 gauge stranded should be good, once you get into large diameter wire it becomes a bit more difficult to work with (and you could use 16 gauge for the drops, given how short they are, but honestly how much would you save doing that?). I know some people who use 14 gauge solid core, but it is generally more expensive and also is more difficult to work with, it is stiffer, harder to run (it is basically the same wire as 14 gauge Romex you would use on a 15 amp branch circuit).

I would recommend using 14 gauge stranded copper throughout, even for the drops to the tracks.  Note that with DCS, it is highly recommended that there be only one center rail drop per insulated block.  Thus, all power to a train is going through that drop.  With the low voltages used by trains, it is important to avoid as much voltage drop as you can.

When a wire is carrying the load for a train, what is effect on the power of a DCS signal using that same conductor as the current through that wire increases?  (rhetorical question)

Maybe I'm blind, but in Lowes (where I buy my layout wire) I haven't see copper-clad aluminum wire in the 14-Gauge size.