ARISTO CRAFT POWER PLUS 7000 power pack

[kennywsp4]

 Fast question is this power pack good for G scale? Is it any better than the ones that come with the bachmann sets?
  specs are. INPUT  120V AC 60Hz,  OUTPUT 12 V AC 1 AMP 21/16V DC 3 AMP. TOTAL OUTPUT 60VA. thanks for any help!

[Nathan]

kennywsp4,

The is no one good answer to that.

Do you only run one Bachmann locomotive and at most two or three lighted passenger cars per train?  If so, the Bachmann power pack is right.

Do you plan to run multiple locomotives per train, do you plan to run other makes of locomotives that draw lots of current?  Then you may want to look at a number of other power packs, Bridgewerks, Aristocraft, or others.

Our clubs largest power pack right now is an LGB 10 amp unit.  It have controls for the 'max' voltage out.  Most of the time this is set for 16 volts, we do not 'race' our trains.

Then there are some locomotives that are geared for much slower speeds and the motor will handle higher voltages. then we will set the power pack to 20 volts.

Remember that not all large scale locomotive motors are designed for 24 volts, a number will burn out at that voltage if they are run on it full time.

[Dan Love]

Aristo-Craft is being honest with their numbers.

Some companies combine both AC and DC in VA.

It's not going to hurt anything using it. You'll know when to change.

Dan