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Offline sedgar2  
#1 Posted : 18 May 2015 02:08:39(UTC)
sedgar2

United States   
Joined: 06/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 48
Location: Virginia, King George
Has anyone had any success changing a European Marklin transformer from 220v to 110v? Is it possible to open the unit and rewire it? Thank, Steve
Offline mike c  
#2 Posted : 18 May 2015 02:57:26(UTC)
mike c

Canada   
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 7,865
Location: Montreal, QC
Here is the easiest solution: http://www.ajckids.com/products/Marklin/6646
The price has been dropped from 170 to just under 130 and has now been reduced by an additional cent. Nobody can resist such an incentive.

As far as the older 220V transformer, it still can be used to provide a constant and adjustable output with a max voltage of around 9VAC when plugged into a 110V outlet. This provides a reasonable level of lighting for buildings and other details.

Opening a Maerklin transformer which are not really designed to be opened can pose a risk as once opened, the unit may not properly close and could be an electrical risk to children.

Regards

Mike C
Offline cookee_nz  
#3 Posted : 18 May 2015 04:20:14(UTC)
cookee_nz

New Zealand   
Joined: 31/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 3,946
Location: Paremata, Wellington
Originally Posted by: sedgar2 Go to Quoted Post
Has anyone had any success changing a European Marklin transformer from 220v to 110v? Is it possible to open the unit and rewire it? Thank, Steve


'In theory', yes you could rewind it, but it would not be cost-effective unless you either had buckets of time on your hands and enjoyed doing such things, or you had a lot of them to do and this would justify setting up a rewinding machine to do several all from the same specs. I guess if you worked for a motor/transformer maker or rewinder and didn't have to factor in your labour it might work out.

Some manufacturers build their transformers in such a way that they have a 'tapped' or multi-primary winding, so in this instance the full primary winding end to end would be used for 220v, and a tap brought out from the middle of the winding would be for 110v (simplified description, bit more to it in practicality)

I'm not sure why Märklin did not employ this, surely it would have been cheaper to have a single transformer core manufactured which was then actually wired during assembly according to the intended destination country.

It's quite possible if you asked the manufacturer (possibly Siemens or similar) why this did not do this, they could very likely say 'because no one asked us to"!!

This is the whole battle for logistics, ie avoiding any duplication as much as possible, less stock to hold, simplicity in ordering etc.

A step-down transformer would be cheaper' although wasteful in terms of energy. On the other hand, you might save on heating LOL

And as Mark has pointed out, these are not designed as a 'serviceable unit', so anyone venturing within needs to have the appropriate skills and qualifications.

Cheers

Cookee
Cookee
Wellington
NZ image
Offline lmedberry  
#4 Posted : 18 May 2015 07:26:23(UTC)
lmedberry

United States   
Joined: 14/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 55
Originally Posted by: sedgar2 Go to Quoted Post
Has anyone had any success changing a European Marklin transformer from 220v to 110v? Is it possible to open the unit and rewire it? Thank, Steve


Hi Steve,

I have ordered a converter that hopefully should work and give the proper output voltage I hope. I read good reviews about this item and the price was very reasonable.

The Marklin sprint transformers are the same way and there seems like there are no other options. Once I receive the unit I can test the difference. Right now with just a plug adapter the output of the Marklin is only 10 volts and should be around 14 volts. I will report back with my findings.

UserPostedImage

Lance
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Offline mike c  
#5 Posted : 18 May 2015 18:49:55(UTC)
mike c

Canada   
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 7,865
Location: Montreal, QC
I will always recommend going with the option of buying a suitable 120V transformer rather than converting 110VAC to 220VAD to power your model trains.
There is also the alternative of asking an electrician to install a 220V wire into your hobby room and then attaching a US type (stove/washer) 220V plug to the end of the transformer cable. Most electricians will not install a European standard receptacle (socket) in North America.

Regards

Mike C
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Offline lmedberry  
#6 Posted : 18 May 2015 22:15:04(UTC)
lmedberry

United States   
Joined: 14/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 55
Yes using the correct transformer is always better but unfortunately some items only come in European 220 which makes choices difficult.

US 220 is different because it used 2 110 wires and a neutral so it is always 3 wires. The European 220 is just 2, one hot and a neutral.

The converter came in today and did work well. Brought the voltage up to 19 volts using the 220 out socket. Not sure exactly what the output of the Marklin sprint transformer is when used in the right conditions. That would be handy to know.

Lance

Edited by user 19 May 2015 06:13:34(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

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Offline mike c  
#7 Posted : 19 May 2015 06:28:20(UTC)
mike c

Canada   
Joined: 28/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 7,865
Location: Montreal, QC
Our stove and washer connections have 220V connections using the three prong system, but our heating system is equipped with 220V with two wires, like it is in Europe.
The type of wiring can be determined by how it is connected at the junction box.

Regards

Mike C
Offline lmedberry  
#8 Posted : 19 May 2015 07:11:48(UTC)
lmedberry

United States   
Joined: 14/01/2015(UTC)
Posts: 55
Originally Posted by: mike c Go to Quoted Post
Our stove and washer connections have 220V connections using the three prong system, but our heating system is equipped with 220V with two wires, like it is in Europe.
The type of wiring can be determined by how it is connected at the junction box.

Regards

Mike C



Hi Mike,

Interesting and thank you for expanding my knowledge!

I wonder if we could have that done here. That would make life a lot easier.

Lance

Offline tulit  
#9 Posted : 19 May 2015 13:06:09(UTC)
tulit

Canada   
Joined: 20/05/2012(UTC)
Posts: 400
Be very careful. Just adding a 240v outlet for euro appliances is likely not allowed under the NEC. There's a subtle difference in the way the neutral is derived in north american 240V vs Europe. Here, you will end up with 120vac to ground on both legs whereas in the European setup your neutral leg is effectively at ground. How this matters has a lot to do with the way the device you're plugging in was designed. Definitely consult a knowledgeable electrician before doing anything like this. My guess is it won't be legal where you live.

I stopped using the cheap step up transforners as well. They are all auto transformers which offer no isolation between the primary and secondary. In fact I got shocked a few times with the 60101 power supply using an auto transformer due to the way the design seems to be polarized even though it shouldnt. A true isolating step up transformer is in my opinion a better way to go but they are hard to find and expensive.

However, the question is what marklin device are you using that there is no 120v alternative for? I think they may equivalents of almost everything.
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Offline sedgar2  
#10 Posted : 19 May 2015 22:36:05(UTC)
sedgar2

United States   
Joined: 06/05/2015(UTC)
Posts: 48
Location: Virginia, King George
Thanks for all the responses. There is in my collection an old transformer which was purchased in Europe way back when. Having just blown the dust off to see what I have accumulated over the years, there it was, a 220, two prong Marklin transformer. I will replace it; I was only exploring the possibility of a safe and inexpensive conversion so as not to have to dispose of an intact piece of equipment. Thanks for the warnings/information. I will NOT attempt to rewire it or my house. Thanks to all who replied, Steve
Offline Mike863  
#11 Posted : 23 May 2015 03:09:26(UTC)
Mike863

United States   
Joined: 19/06/2013(UTC)
Posts: 61
Location: Florida
You should have no problem using a roughly $20 step up / step down voltage converter, as noted above. I have one 220 on voltage converter ganged with 3 x 110 transformers on my layout all sharing a common ground. I have all these old 2 prong transformers including the voltage converter plugged into a grounded 3 prong power strip.

As with any multi transformer layout, you have to pay attention to 'polarity' to get them in phase. This prevents the voltage spikes or drops when crossing Eckert Engineering and others provide good descriptions on how to do this. Once I figured it out, I marked one side of each 2 wire supply line and left them plugged in the power strip with the same orientation. Although all house outlets 'should' be wired the same way, it would be worth testing again if you decide to run multiple transformers from different outlets in the room.

I have several other 220 volt transformers that need some repair for bad insulation on supply wiring or scratchy rheostats but would put them into service on a voltage converter once repaired if I ever need them. (I'll probably manage to acquire something better in 220 or 110 in the meantime.) Plenty of the old transformers (along with the locos, etc.) did not really see much use so if they were stored in good conditions and did not deteriorate (i.e. crumbling plastic insulation), very likely good to use.

If your unit is in good shape, you can put it to use with a voltage converter without any problem.
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