I have a USA F3A&B. I want to battery power. Can I use one battery and one reciever [Airwire] to power both units? Will a 14.8V 10400mAh part number 31803 battery from All Battery fit?
In the past, you could power 2 units with one receiver. Since all of the outputs on the G-3 are all current protected, you may have problems running 2 engines with one receiver. To find out if the battery will fit, I would tahe the engine apart and measure the space on the inside.
Louis Sommers said:
I have a USA F3A&B. I want to battery power. Can I use one battery and one reciever [Airwire] to power both units? Will a 14.8V 10400mAh part number 31803 battery from All Battery fit?
Hmm, if the motors are speed matched then you should theoretically be able to use one battery and one RSC/ESC. I don’t own any USA locos but I think the F2 As & Bs have two motors each, for a total of four motors in the lash up. For any battery you shouldn’t charge or discharge at more than 1/2c which in the case of the battery you are looking at is not more than 5.2 amps. I think you might get a draw of quite a lot more than 5 amps if you have to power four motors. Further, with that sort of draw off the battery you will need fairly heavy wiring to handle the current (and don’t forget an appropriate fuse).
Sorry I cant help with the “will it (physically) fit” question.
Steve
USA motors are power hungry…
Louis,
I ran two GP’s with one 18 volt and a Air wire receiver in a trailing car. Now I’m using drop-in’s
with a 14.8 battery. The 14.8 battery should fit with no problems, I used (Tenergy Li-ion 18650)
from All Battery.
Don
USAT Motors are not really “power hungry”, they take about the same RUNNING amperage as their competitors.
BUT
The stall current of USAT locos is much higher, so this can tax decoders current capability “off the line” (from dead stop to starting).
Also powering more motors for the SAME load (train) will give you about the same total current.
So if you are pulling the train with one loco and drawing 4 amps, put 2 locos and each will draw just a little bit over 2 amps.
Think about it, the 4 motors are sharing the same load as 2 were…
If you don’t believe this, test it yourself.
It’s really about the “work” done, not the number of motors.
Regards, Greg
Yes it will work. I have done it to at least 4 pair of USA locos and and two pair of aristo. I have always put in a 14.8volt LiIon battery. Always remember to use a fuse. I use a 4amp fuse. Even under a load I haven’t had one blow.
Terry
Terry, are you using the “blade type” automotive fuses?
Greg
Greg Elmassian said:
… Also powering more motors for the SAME load (train) will give you about the same total current.
So if you are pulling the train with one loco and drawing 4 amps, put 2 locos and each will draw just a little bit over 2 amps.
Think about it, the 4 motors are sharing the same load as 2 were…
…
It’s really about the “work” done, not the number of motors.
While that is certainly true (apart from negligible additional friction and conductive losses) the fact that two locos MU’d gives you the ability to haul heavier loads means that the temptation to do so is certainly present! However, I note that somebody has done just this successfully, albeit apparently with a higher capacity battery and I would certainly defer to that actual experience.
Personally, I use fast blow resettable fuses I get from my local electronic supply company, I’ve never has much success with blade fuses and my knowledge base is not really high enough to determine which sort to use anyway.
Thanks for all the input. I have trusted Grey’s advice in the past and I will go with one battery and receiver. All I need to do now is sell a mess of stuff at the next train show. The more I sell the more I can buy.
Louis, when all is said and done, each locomotive having its own decoder and battery is going to be the more satisfactory solution. It can be done the way you suggest, but…
Fast blow fuses (now I’m talking just ordinary ones) would probably not be good, since you will get a whole lot of current just as the motor starts for a short time.
Now, resettable ones… that would be cool… but might be too expensive for many and now you need to get to the reset button.
unless,
you are talking self-resetting units… and the Polyswitches that Aristo is famous for work really well, once properly chosen… that’s my choice.
(what is maybe what Steve was recommending in the first place!)
Greg
I use 10 amp automotive blade fuses, I’ve only seen one blow and that was a locomotive problem. I believe they are fast blow fuses.
Not really fast, like normal fast blow tubular glass fuses. Definitely not slo-blo either, kinds medium.
You can tell by the thickness of the element, that there is enough thermal mass to sustain a surge.
this is good, though, in my opinion.
these fuses are “sloppier” in specs than tubular (but of course they are cheaper)
compare the 200% overload time to a littlefuse glass tubular, I think you will find a “tighter” spec. (most people use the 200% overload as a compare point).
greg
Sorry for the slow response back. Greg, I use glass tubular fuses. Standard ones not the fast or slow blow.
Terry