@zhubl posted:The ZW-L has been brought up more and more recently in these breaker threads. I feel like we tend to beat around the bush on the ZW-L, myself included. The ZW-L has the same technology all new Power Masters, CW-80, and GW-180 use. When the excessive current is detected it folds back the voltage to give you time to fix it or prevent more damage if the short isn’t fixed or if it’s still a very large current draw it immediately shuts off power. It also has 12A (I think that’s what they are) breakers. I have had zero issues with my ZW-L and can’t ever remember a time when I tripped the separate breakers before the electronics shut off power.
@ftauss posted:With my new train room it's all new 20 amp breakers. I have a ZW-275 which I like better each time I use it. To keep from melting things I bought Lionel #91 breakers from "back in the day" that I think were made for it. I found 5 of them. I also have a 1033 that I do not use to much yet. The breakers are adjustable. I just crank them up and then run a train and then crank it down until it trips then back it off 1/4 to 1/2 turn until it runs. Derailments pop them immediately and I am far more confident than I was before. I had melted wire twice before this. And fried a loco that I have a new board for. It's good as it lets me vary the cutoff amps since the trains vary in what they draw depending on the engine and what the other cars pull.
Frank
Excellent. These last two posts wrap things up on this topic nicely, at least on the current (amps) side.
@zhubl has indicated that the ZW-L does indeed behave like a PH-180 alone. Its current sensing and control functions are the same and so the ZW-L alone will do the job. No need for a PSX1 or Airpax breaker downstream. No settings for "slightly higher than the your max current measurement" needed because the ZW-L is smart enough to handle the current draws presented by different trains without adjustment. Thank you Zachariah for your comments, and for the link to Mike Reagan's video to illustrate.
Last but not least, @ftauss has brought us an all-old-school method for a current monitoring and control method that uses classic Lionel #91 adjustable breakers. You still need to set them at "slightly higher than the your max current measurement", and he's mentioned a good way to do that, one that works for him. Thank you Frank.
Here's what a #91 looks like:
@Hp289, let's hope that this is now clear, and that you can proceed using what we've provided.
Good Luck, and let us know how it turns out.
Mke
