# Feeder wire; What's the best way



## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

Hey guys, I have been doinga lot of looking into different ways to do different wiring techniques... I thin I have everything figured out, but I'm not sure how I want to attach the feeder wire to the track. I have found many different ways.... What do. Think s the cleanest, not the easiest, the nicest looking! Idc how hard it is haha. So far I like the spike method


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Adding drop wires (feeder wires)*

I'm not sure on the spike method, I don't have time to look it up now. Since, (I'm assuming here,)that your just starting out with drop wires. If that is the case? Then I would use 14 AWG wires soldered to the bottom of the rails, after you remove some of those plastic ties. Later on the ties maybe replaced. You probably should have a wire for
every section of track. This way soldering rail joiners is not that important. One of the "RP's"
is to use red for(+) and black wire for (-).With 14 AWG wire less soldering will be involved. And good luck!


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I agree with a feeder on each piece of track. That's the way I am going to do mine.
Isn't 14 way to big for feeders? It will really show also. I am going to use 14 for the 
bus and 18 for the feeders. Here is a question. Stranded wire or solid wire.


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## broox (Apr 13, 2012)

i soldered my thin feeders to the sides of the rail (after the track secured in location)

dropped them down to the larger gauge bus wire underneath the tabletop.

i picked up a pair of inline wire strippers too, this tool made my life a lot easier.
it strips open a small section of the plastic wire coating on the main bus so you can solder the feeders without using a bajillion joiners. makes for better conductivity i reckon.

if i recall, they were ~30 aussie dollars. so probably cheaper in the states.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

+1 for the thin feeders soldered to the rail sides. I use solid copper mains wire for ny bus, mainly because its readily available locally, seems to work well except you need a 40 watt iron to get it sufficiently hot.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I solder all mine onto the bottom of the rails. I also solder all junctions between pieces.

Certainly the gauge has a lot to do with what wire size you need. When I ran N gauge is just used #18 or even a bit smaller - whatever I had available actually - everything seemed big enough, even for long (40+ feet as the wire goes) runs to the other end of the layout. I never had power problems. 

But now that I do O-gauge, current to a loop can be up to 10 amps. I run a feeder wire every six to eight feet again soldered to the bottom of the track (with all junctions of all rails soldered together, too) and use #10 wire actually, except for feeds longer than 25 feet of wire: I double it up and run two wires solder together at the ends. Big wire is overkill.. So is soldering all joints. But I not only have no electrical power feed problems, I have no noticeable voltage drop, even when running a 180 watt train. Big wire doesn't cost that much more. Soldering every joint of every rail does take a lot of extra time, though


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

mopac said:


> I agree with a feeder on each piece of track. That's the way I am going to do mine.
> Isn't 14 way to big for feeders? It will really show also. I am going to use 14 for the
> bus and 18 for the feeders. Here is a question. Stranded wire or solid wire.


This is another question without a right and wrong answer...there are
fans for both solid and stranded.

I prefer stranded because I have had too many solid wires break
from too many 'bends'.

You won't go wrong with either, so much depends on the supplies
available to you.

I would suggest practicing soldering drop wires on a scrap piece of
track. My technique is to tin both the rail and the drop wire with
flux and a drop of solder. Then make a 'lip' on the wire tip that
lays on the tinned rail. (the other end is down the hole in the table)
Then carry a small dab of solder on the tip and deftly touch the
wire with it. Usually, it will immediately bond to the rail. For safety of the
ties, you might want to use a 'heat sink'. Many use a metal clamp
next to the 'joint' and others use a wet wad of cotton.

Don


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## Water Stop (Apr 18, 2015)

I use a stranded 14-gauge bus, with 18-gauge feeds.

Since I run just one locomotive, pulling a consist of 6 cars on a flat surface, I feed my 124-foot continuous loop main line at only 2 points, spaced 62 feet apart. When my engine is pulling its full consist at a high "freight train speed" (scale 60mph) the current draw is just 0.2 amps at 12 volts.

That's 2.4 watts, less than a bathroom night light!

My DC track voltage measurements around the layout (with the train running), show not the slightest difference between any 2 points on the layout, using my 2 feed points.

Water Stop


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## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

I was going to use 22 awg wire for my feeders and 14 awg wire for my bus. I like the idea of running the wire to the under side of the track, but I don't understand y I have to take some of the plastic ties off?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Aminnich said:


> I was going to use 22 awg wire for my feeders and 14 awg wire for my bus. I like the idea of running the wire to the under side of the track, but I don't understand y I have to take some of the plastic ties off?


Try soldering a wire on, and you will. Trying to get the tip of an iron into the tiny gap between plastic ties will melt, burn, and deform the ties. Better to snip them off and slide them back under later. You can safely remove an inch or more without having your rails pop out of the ties or warp out of gauge (provided you don't melt the ties on either side).


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*14ga. feeders?*

Aminnich;

I like your plan to use 14ga. wire for the bus wires only and smaller 22ga. wires as drops.
14ga. is much to big for track feeders, in my opinion. In fact 14ga.wire is bigger than some rail!
This big, and stiff, wire is used in full sized house wiring. Electricians can use 14ga. on a 15amp circuit. Still larger 12ga.wire is used for 20 amp circuits. 
Model railroads aren't likely to draw anything like 15 or 20 amps. We use this big wire for bus
wiring for it's low resistance; and it's ability to handle any electrical need on our layouts. This includes any further expansion, such as going to DCC or adding a booster to a DCC system.
You have it right. Solder small, easy to conceal, wire to the bottom, or side, of the rails. Then solder the short feeder wires to the 14ga. bus wires and you'll have smooth reliable running.
I also second Don's good advice about using stranded wire for feeders, especially if you plan to solder them to the bottom of the rail. That bottom can be pretty hard to get to for repairs if a feeder should break. Stranded is more flexible and resilient than solid. Another point. It's a good idea to anchor each feeder to a terminal attached to the bottom of your layout. This is a good point at which to join feeder to bus. It also provides an accessible test point to that rail, if you later need it. It also takes any accidental snag strain off the solder joint to the rail.

Good luck;

Traction Fan


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## Aminnich (Nov 17, 2014)

I went to my local battery and cable company to buy my wire. They had most of everything I needed. They don't make 22 gauge so I have 20 gauge on order. But I did get the 14 gauge (more expensive than the cheap China stuff, but im supporting my local company)


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## feldon30 (Dec 30, 2012)

I also use 14 awg for bus wires and solid core 22 awg for drops. However I tried to do a few to the bottom of the rails and it was too much of a PITA. I've managed to hide the drops fairly well by running them between two ties and keeping the wire that comes up to a minimum.


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## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Just one more way of bus wiring.*

I thought 14 AWG would work when soldered to the large flat bottom of the rail with the 
railroad ties removed. This way, one soldered joint for each 3' section of rail, where these
long sections of wire should be run to terminal strips. And also soldered to the track bus of
12 AWG wire, I have not done this yet, I'm still in the planning stages and also I'm practicing my writing and typing skills. I do believe,stranded,flexable wire is the way to go.
And soldering to the bottom flat section is an excellent way to hide the wire. Red(+)blk(-)
Red=Right side black(-)=left side of rail per NMRA recommended practices. Regard's,tr1


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