Burying Wire to Throttle

[FurkaSOCal]

I am planning on adding an additional speed control onto my analog layout on the far side of the yard. I was planning on using those black and white cables that lgb sells for the connection and burying it just under the ballast for the run from the transformer indoors out to the speed control. I was a bit concerned though that rodents and such may eventually decide to chew through them. How do all of you deal with this type of situation for accessories and such?​

 

[Paul M]

I am planning on adding an additional speed control onto my analog layout on the far side of the yard. I was planning on using those black and white cables that lgb sells for the connection and burying it just under the ballast for the run from the transformer indoors out to the speed control. I was a bit concerned though that rodents and such may eventually decide to chew through them. How do all of you deal with this type of situation for accessories and such?​

240Volts normally stops the little s*ds! Seriously though, it'll probably be a good idea to run it through a metal tube. That also will prevent any chafing to the wire by the natural movement of the track and ballast

 

[dutchelm]

Option 2. Just bury it & hope for the best. I did have an instance where the mice chewed through some cables under the shed, but it was easier to mend them than to encase them in tube.
However do not use brown wires. The birds think it's worms & pull them up.

 

[PhilP]

Run a length of cheap garden hose, then feed your cable through that..

Hint:
A tiny offcut of cloth, tied to a polyester sewing thread, can be sucked through the hose with a vacuum.
Alternatively, a needle on the thread (tie it on!) and a strong magnetic on the outside of the hose will work. - Takes longer though.

 

[Rhinochugger]

I am planning on adding an additional speed control onto my analog layout on the far side of the yard. I was planning on using those black and white cables that lgb sells for the connection and burying it just under the ballast for the run from the transformer indoors out to the speed control. I was a bit concerned though that rodents and such may eventually decide to chew through them. How do all of you deal with this type of situation for accessories and such?​

Yup, alternatively use 20mm plastic overflow pipe with push-fit connections. All you have to do is tie a weight to to the end of the cable, and drop it through each 6 ft length, slide the connector on and start again.

It would also give you a little bit of protection of you started digging by mistake

 

[phils2um]

Two conductor low voltage direct burial wire can be found at your local home center if you're worried about longevity. (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.) The cost is not much more than the LGB wire and is made for applications like this. Use 18AWG size at a minimum. 16, 14 or even 12AWG is even better depending on how far you need to go to minimize voltage drop. Note that smaller AWG numbers correspond to bigger diameter wires. Also, stranded wire is more flexible than solid. You can use line-side shacks to hide terminal blocks and use the much more flexible LGB wire for final connections.

Phil S.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Conduit is safest, and if you use conduit, you can use cheaper wire, otherwise the landscape wire will do, but the gophers can still bite through it. The landscape wire is more expensive, so the costs almost even out.

Greg

 

[dunnyrail]

I have run all my wires and air line through cheepo DIY Shed Plastic Conduit. Has the benefit that you can lift the top off to do alterations/additions. Mice would not get into it and does not need to be buried running alongside the line doing what the prototype would do. If in view well worth painting Gray to represent Concrete Troughing as used on the real thing.

 

[JimmyB]

If you use a good size hard plastic, then changing or adding more wire can be easier next time around, future proof

 

[stockers]

I use off cuts of mains wires for all my low voltage outdoors.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

JonD, What is shed plastic conduit? Here in the states conduit is metal or plastic pipe, normally for electrical runs.

Lifting off the top is not possible in a pipe. We do have raceways that are often used in interior network applications.

Can you post a picture of what you are talking about?

Thanks, Greg

 

[Paul M]

Isn't it actually plastic trunking? Almost square section with a cover that snaps into place. Ideal for running cables lineside but a bit larget for burying under ballast

 

[Greg Elmassian]

This is what we use for networking, clearly not for outdoors: (raceway)

And we have this kind of stuff that is used to conceal wires inside (clearly not weatherproof either)

Greg

 

[Paul M]

This is what we use for networking, clearly not for outdoors: (raceway)

And we have this kind of stuff that is used to conceal wires inside (clearly not weatherproof either)

Greg

The second pictures the stuff. It should be fairly weatherproof if you seal the ends. Then again if you're going to bury cable in ballast, that's not exactly watertight! ,

 

[PhilP]

Greg:

SHED - Large retail outlet, big industrial retail unit, hence 'shed'..
JonD uses 'trunking', 'raceway', with the slots, tends to be called what it is.. Slotted trunking.
Conduit, is conduit.. Steel or plastics.

Most conduit (plastics) is OK for UV for a few years.. More if painted. - Goes brittle otherwise.
Black seems better than white. YMMV.

Oh, YMMV? - Your Mileage May Vary.

Two countries separated by a common language!

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Paul, with all due respect, no way this stuff is weatherproof!!!!

Interior use only... the only thing weatherproof is plastic pipe, glued so as to seal the connections. This plastic is designed for indoors, so not sure what direct burial and exposure to soil and moisture, but it would definitely accumulate moisture.

The connectors at the ends are also not water/weather proof.

By the way, that stuff is more expensive than plain conduit.

What I did is bury conduit and use "sweeps" (90 degree bends) to bring it out of the ground, and then the next segment of conduit starts with another sweep and continues to the next place. (rotated 90 degrees from this picture)

This allowed me to pull wires a bit at a time, and to have multiple places to "break out" the wires.

If you found you needed another "break out" place in the middle of an existing conduit, just excavate there, cut the conduit, and then install 2 sweeps... easy!

Greg

 

[trammayo]

Hosepipe for me or HDPE water pipe has worked for the last twelve years or so. Either mains or automotive cables. Work out the length of the "conduit" ( which is just a means of conveyance) and pushing your cable through before laying it in position is far easier than doing it afterwards - especially if there going to be any bends in the pipe.

 

[stockers]

Keep it simple. I suggest you just lay wires. it's only a train set after all!

 

[dunnyrail]

Paul, with all due respect, no way this stuff is weatherproof!!!!

Interior use only... the only thing weatherproof is plastic pipe, glued so as to seal the connections. This plastic is designed for indoors, so not sure what direct burial and exposure to soil and moisture, but it would definitely accumulate moisture.

The connectors at the ends are also not water/weather proof.

By the way, that stuff is more expensive than plain conduit.

What I did is bury conduit and use "sweeps" (90 degree bends) to bring it out of the ground, and then the next segment of conduit starts with another sweep and continues to the next place. (rotated 90 degrees from this picture)

This allowed me to pull wires a bit at a time, and to have multiple places to "break out" the wires.

If you found you needed another "break out" place in the middle of an existing conduit, just excavate there, cut the conduit, and then install 2 sweeps... easy!

Greg

As Phil says sorry for my English descriotion of a DIY store in a great big "shed". Yes that is the stuf that I use and it has been outside here for getting on for 5 years with no damange whatsoever. I have done a thread on the way I use it or it is in my Railway Build thread. Here are two pics the first with a little of the top taken off. At this height there is no egress of stuff but in my stations where slightly smaller is used in a more cosmetic way again no worries about stuff getting in as with only Low Voltage Power Lines (dcc) and Air Line for the Points no problems occur outside. The big benefit is that I can take the top off to do any changes at will - well until the trunking is full anyway which is case in some of it in my main shed.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

OK so my mistake, I thought you were recommending it to be buried alongside the tracks.

You have it elevated, not in the ground. This thread was about burying the wires, and I read your post but thought about burying it as per the thread topic.

Regards, Greg