DCC in a 2-6-0 Indy

[jpipkin]

I am in the process of finally working on a 2-6-0 I bought awhile back.  I checked an old Model Railroader review that stated it only drew .88 Amps stalled at 20 volts and .14 Amps running freely at 20 volts.  Has anyone had a chance to verify this; it will really help in decoder selection. 

Thanks,

Jim

[Greg Elmassian]

Locomotives may vary. Why not buy an inexpensive meter from Radio Shack and measure for yourself?

I'd go with at least a 2 amp continuous rated decoder. Never underestimate the lack of cooling of a board in a sealed tender or loco boiler.

Regards, Greg

[rperego]

I've put NCE 1.3 cont./2.0 max decoders in a number of big haulers, two Porters, and a 2 truck Shay without any problems, including some brief stalls that didn't blow the decoders.  This is pulling 4-5 cars on flat track with a layout including 5' diam. curves.  That said, I have a master switch to the track I throw pretty quickly if I have a problem so I can't say whether the decoder would blow if I left a loco stalled for long.

The continuous draw per train is between .4 and .6 amps at 14V measured using the PowerCab built in ampmeter.   

I used these decoders based on measuring a stall current of less than 2 amps, but in retrospect my measurements may not have been correct because I think the voltage dropped with the power supply I was using.   But, at $16 a decoder, they're a good deal for flat track and a limited number of cars. 

I can't say whether my decoders are getting hot but I've run trains continuously for a couple of hours without any problems.  I did install them such that they're getting as much air as possible - e.g. didn't pack them in foam.