[Isard.Dick]

Hi to all
This is my first time to ask question.

I am building a gondola car with two 12 volt @ 9000 mah Nimh battery back.  Sorry no li-on bad deal.   Two chargers on board and all necessary switches and protection.  After charging  I'll  switch to 24 volts.   My question is this type of pack best built on 18, 20.4 or 24 volts to furnish power to LGB mogul?   Along with that are all the sound systems subject to hight voltage also?  

Being in the battery business I am able to build most any size of pack.  I understand  cordless drill packs are used , 18 volters 

Picture,s will follow some day.

Dick Isard
Battery Tech Central

 

[Del Tapparo]

I don't personally own an LGB Mogul, but I would think 18V would be more than enough. 14.4V is usually good for most all steamers. Diesels tend to need more (not because they are diesels, just because they are built by a different manufacuter).

 

[TonyWalsham]

Dick.
What voltage will work best depends a bit on which LGB mogul you are talking about and on how you will operating.

If the LGB Mogul has a DCC decoder and is sound equipped, the LGB electronics will burn off the first 5 - 6 volts so 20 -22 volts will be ok. 
Are you going to control the battery voltage with some sort of controller?  If so which one?
If the proposed controller has a pwm output you MUST not use it with an LGB loco with DCC /sound.
Either use a filtered Linear controller or remove the LGB DCC decoder / sound and set the dip switches the prescribed way.

If the LGB Mogul does NOT have a DCC decoder or LGB sound, a bit less voltage will be OK.  
It will be OK to use pwm.

Personally I would not use NiMh batteries.  I know of their attributes.  
However, I do not like their self discharging characteristics so I much prefer NiCd chemistry.   Also NiCd batteries have a greater number of recharge cycles available.  At least double.

 

[Torby]

Keep in mind the peak voltage when the pack is fully charged. I know a guy who fried his airwire 'cause he didn't.

 

[Stan Cedarleaf]

Dick, I've found that most of the LGB locomotives like a bit more voltage.  I have used 18 with some controllers but 24 seems to be more to the LGB locomotives' liking.  

Question.....  What controller will you be using for power to the motor and boards of the Mogul?  Train Engineer can handle 24 and higher, Airwire can handle 28 in the 2 battery configuration.  

If the locomotive has built in LGB sound, you can use up to 24 volts.  Check the specs for Sierra and Phoenix.  Again depending on the controller you'll be using.