Kato Power Pack Load Question???

[katoftw]

Just looking at the normal Kato power pack.  It runs at 1.5 amps.

 

Question is that if I run 2 lead locos carrying freight.  And seems that Kato locos all run 1 amps continiously.  Then if running 2 lead locos on same track.

 

Am I gonna overload the powerpack? 

[Densha]

Good question. Usually it should be no problemo but I'm sure there's someone who has a more technical answer.

[westfalen]

1 amp seems a lot for a Kato loco to be drawing, my multi meter has gone missing since the last club meeting but checking a DD51 instruction sheet I have in front of me it says 0.36 amps.  I've had no problem running three locos on a Kato power pack.

[cteno4]

Every time I've measured locos its been .3-.5 amps max.

 

I've run a number of kato, tomix and MA locos with the kato throttle no problem.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

Edited September 28, 2013 by cteno4

[katoftw]

Thanks.  I thought it be all good. I'm guess the power rating is incorrect due to lost in translation.

 

Or I read it wrong.  Looking a drop in DCC boards.  They run at 1.0A to 1.5A max.

 

Do DDC boards vs normal light boards pull more power?

Edited September 28, 2013 by katoftw

[westfalen]

The rating on a decoder is merely the maximum it is rated for.

[KenS]

As I recall (I haven't checked recently) the Kato pack is rated for 1.0 Amps @ 12V (really about 14V) output.  The power brick, if I recall correctly, was rated higher (that's partly a safety margin, and partly to allow for losses in the power pack circuitry).

 

A DCC board has to be rated for the maximum peak current a decoder can draw, called the "stall current". On a typical modern N-scale loco, that's under 500 mA (half an amp). That's without sound. The reason is that this rating specifies how much current the decoder will survive being exposed to. The actual DCC power supply can shove as many amps into the loco as it tries to draw (up to 3-5 Amps), and the max it can draw occurs at "stall", when the motor is just starting, of if the loco bumps into an obstruction and the wheels stop turning. It more current gets shoved through the decoder than it is rated for, circuitry gets stressed (hot) and will ultimately fail. Maybe not the first time, but soon enough.

 

A DC power pack doesn't have to be rated for the maximum.  If the loco wants more than it can deliver, the loco will just run (or start) slower.

 

But in any case, a typical N-scale loco running draws around 30 - 60 mA (I measured a number of these a couple of years ago).  A train with lots of LED lights might draw 250 mA.  An older model train with bulbs could get over 500 mA, maybe even close to the limits of the pack, in which case top speed would be reduced and the lights might be a bit dim.

 

Now if you're running HO, the numbers will be higher.  And if your locos are really old, they'll be worse (both due to age gumming up the works, and to less efficient motor designs). But if you're talking modern N, it doesn't take much to move them.

 

A loco hauling cars will draw more power than the loco alone.  If you've got a dozen cars or so, I'd expect power draw around 100 - 150 mA (that's what I've seen with 10-car passenger trains and similar-design motor cars from Kato). Two N-scale locos, even pulling a lot of cars, ought to be fine on a Kato pack.  At worst, you'd have a lesser top speed than you could get with a 16V 2Amp power pack like an MRC. But you probably wouldn't have any difference.

 

The Kato could probably handle to HO locos with a moderate number of cars, but I don't have any experience with those to judge by.  I used MRC packs when I was doing HO.