electricity

[perry]

When I am not using the train for a few hours, what is the best way to leave the electrical supply? Do I pull the transformer from the wall, leave the transformer in the wall & pull the small plug from the controller, or do all the above? What about overnight when I am not using it at all?

[Conrail Quality]

Personally, I just leave everything plugged in. Yes, the manual warns you that you should unplug it when you're not using it, but so does the manual for my TV, computer, and a whole lot of other things that I never unplug.

Timothy

[joe935]

I have all my transformers, power supplies , etc connected to a Power strip which I power off when im not using them.

[perry]

Thank you all for answers to "electricity" question .  perry

[TCWORLD]

Mains transformers which are a major part of power adapters to reduce the mains voltage to usually 16v or whatever (they are a big black box either in the plug, or halfway along the cable - they still burn large amounts of power even when you dont have anything connected to the other end, so its always best to either unplug them from the wall or turn the switch off at the wall, both to save electricity and thus money, and also to increase the length of time they last.

[James in FL]

Un - plug it from the wall, just as any small appliance.
If it's pluged into a power strip, switch the power switch off.

[Desertdweller]

James' advice is what I follow, too.  I power my large model railroad off two power strips, the second one powered off the first.  That way, by switching off only the first power strip, I can kill power to everything on the layout.  I turn it off when not using it (since the adapter boxes would run continuously otherwise if plugged in).
I think it is an important safety practice not to leave things running when not using them.

I use four powerpacks on my layout, but only one (an MRC dual cab pack) to control trains.  The other three are used for switch power.  Two of these are Bachmann units direct from train sets.  One at each end of the layout powers local switches, and each one operates a turntable in its zone.

There are a couple real advantages to using the Bachmann units.  The power adapters being plugged directly into the power strips reduces the amount of high-voltage electricity wiring under the benchwork.  And each Bachmann control throttle has its own red pilot light to remind me when the power strip is turned on.

I use the AC terminals to power the switches, and the DC plug to power the turntable.  This allows me to use the direction switch and speed control to control the direction and speed of the turntable independently of the track power cabs.

Another advantage of using two power strips at widely separated locations is they provide handy places to plug in power tools and trouble lamps when working on the layout.

Les

[Engineman62]

Old Electrician here. Yes use a surge bar and power it down when not in use. Will extend the life of your power packs/DCC Controller as well as save you LOTS of money in wasted kilowatts