BUS Wire Size

[The Captain90]

If this has been asked before I apoligise - but I did do a forum search.

I would like to know the recommended wire gauge (Australian sizes please) for the bus and feeder wires. Also should the wire be solid or not. I have made some preliminary enquiries at a few local electrical stores (Newcastle NSW) and solid wire is hard to come by.

Thanks again guys & ladies.

[choralc]

Capt90, I have seen 24 strand (0.2 gauge?) recommended and not less than 16 strand. If you go into your store and ask them for wire suitable for the amps in the controller you are going to run and they should be able to recommend a wire suitable e.g. 16-24 strand suitable for 16V A.C. up to 5 amps (say for a DCC system using an eLite controller).

 

I have heard single core is not recommended in case it breaks inside the insulation and you end up with intermittent connection.

[cliveg]

Captain90,

Have a look at Brian's excellent site, in particular,

http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.html

Clive

[tony_forward]

I use 15 amp solid mains wire. Buy the amount of wire you need and strip out the brass bit. Keep them separate and run both round the layout. droppers from each length of flexitrack and all the track will be live at all times.

 

 

[Blackbird]

'BUS wire size', a subject so often raised and so often exaggerated. A 1.00mm copper wire is more that adequate for a bus wire having a current carrying capacity of 15A without depreciation of voltage over the lengths appilicable to most model layouts. Not many power supplies can supply 15A , 4-5A is the norm. Single core wires breaking? this only happens if the wire are being continually flexed/moved, and bus mains should be fixed. Multi cored wires are designed to be flexible, hence the term 'flex'. As for the supply of solid wire, use domestic mains installation wire not electronic wire. Look up your local domestic electrician, they will have some surplus lengths available at modest prices.

[choralc]

Good suugestion about finding a local doestic electrician. Houses are going up everywhere. I have also heard that this wire is also good for making trees!

[robert_hustler]

Hi every one I am useing 2 core wire which is generally used for wireing up speakers in cars or for battery operated door bells,one wire has a black tace on it so i can see which is + and which is - is it ok to use this wire ? also I am confused as to " bus " wire is that just one cable that runs around under the base board then track conetors coneted to it then one end goes back to the main power suppy,in my case a e link, so is it ok to use this ?

[poliss]

I use equipment wire from Maplins. Cheap and comes in many colours.

Bus comes from omnibus. Simply put, a big wire that smaller feeder wires can be connected to. :-)

[Teedoubleudee]

Hi every one I am useing 2 core wire which is generally used for wireing up speakers in cars or for battery operated door bells,one wire has a black tace on it so i can see which is + and which is - is it ok to use this wire ? also I am confused as to " bus " wire is that just one cable that runs around under the base board then track conetors coneted to it then one end goes back to the main power suppy,in my case a e link, so is it ok to use this ?

 

If it's good quality decent speaker wire, as opposed to cheap twin flex, then it will probably do. The important issue here is the internal resistance of the wire as you don't want any voltage drops. Personally, I've used domestic twin and earth house wiring for my modest layout for the bus itself and smaller more flexible wiring for the short droppers from rails to bus.

[Ajay1]

Hi all.  I have just spent half a day installing my bus wires (18 AWG)  to the underside and side of my table. Having never attempted this procedure before, I am just running it by here for those in the know to check if I am doing it correctly. Basically I have run two wires (red and back ) continiously around the table starting and finishing at the point shown in the picture below. I indend to then connect the wires from the controller into that same connector. Is this the correct way ?

Thanks, Antony./media/tinymce_upload/IMG_0450.JPG

[96RAF]

Originally a bus is a single conductor, usually a solid metal part within a distribution box or similar to which other components in the box attach - e.g. circuit breakers in your house 'fuse' box.

 

More recently it refers to a central electronic circuit feeding other circuits. e.g. the can-bus in a car.

 

For our purposes a track bus is 2 single wires to which as TWD says smaller feeder wires from the rails are attached.

 

I use stripped out mains twin and earth lighting circuit cable as my bus wires, with multi-cored flexible cable as my droppers - decent twin speaker wires is a good size. Wire of a similar core size sold by the likes of Maplins as equipment wire is also fit for purpose. Door bell wire can be solid core (and of low current carrying capability), so don't use it if it is, as the core can break inside the sheathing if moved too much and give problems later.