Update October 26
Attention Everyone:
Apologies for being late with updating our site info. After a long summer break been super busy getting ready for the fall season.
Our circuit breaker kits have turned out to be the single most popular item we offer. Recently have been getting a lot of questions about “do I really need these”? Answer….it depends.
These were originally designed to protect the solid-state equipment that creates those cool voice and other features in Lionel’s and other manufacturers newest rolling stock. Why? The solid-state equipment in these units is all made from electronic circuits that operate from DC, not AC which is the normal output from transformers. These circuits do not like AC, and if you have for example a derailment it causes a high voltage AC short that transfers into the rolling stock. With the typical (for example ZW, KW transformers), which have high current auto reset circuit breakers, they take too long to open and will destroy some or all the dc electronics in the trains. Our circuit breakers are only designed to protect 1 train instead of 2 or even 4 trains. They will open almost instantly are manually reset models, so it allows you to fix the derailment or whatever then you reset the breaker.
So if you have a modern transformer (which also has a lot of solid-state circuits) is our circuit kit still needed? Here’s a simple test you can do yourself to answer the question. Turn the power on your transformer all the way up, without an engine on the track. Take a screwdriver or a piece of wire and short between the center rail and an outside rail. If you see a spark, then use the circuit breaker kit. If you do not see a spark, you do not need the kit. Why? Because the latest transformers do not have internal circuit breakers they have instead, a circuit called a “foldback”. This circuit basically drops the output voltage to zero, and it works much faster then any circuit breaker. Be careful the first few generation of modern transformers did not have this feature which would not only damage rolling stock, but frequently would destroy the transformers internal circuitry, which 90% of the time destroys the transformer beyond any reasonable repair cost. So why did they make transformers that way? Answer: cost of copper. Original ZW transformers have an internal transformer that has several pounds of copper and today is very expensive to manufacture. A current ZW pure AC transformer could cost up to $2000.
You have noticed that prices on our site are almost much cheaper then for example on eBay or Amazon. Why? eBay has a fantastic sight that works very well but is very expensive to maintain so their seller fees are quite high to compensate them, which they deserve. They also do not allow sellers to advertise their phone numbers or emails. Gee I wonder why.
We still have customers who have difficulty ordering off our site. You are preaching to the choir; I have a problem using my TV clicker. So don’t be bashful, feel free to pick up the phone and call us (plus it’s fun talking to train guys like us), and we will place your order for you.
Check out our newest transformer inflation fighters the Z250 and V150, These will do everything our loved ZW and KW transformer do and save a bunch of $.
If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to call or reach out via email tinman@tinman3rail.com or call 262-914-0057 or call Christine 262-417-4237 and remember.
YOU DON’T GROW OLD FROM PLAYING WITH TRAINS, YOU GROW Old WHEN YOU STOP PLAYING WITH TRAINS!
tinman@tinman3rail.com 262-914-0057 or Christine 262-417-4237