Adding HexFrog Juicers After Installation

[kelleywpns]

I'm using Juicers with my Peco Electrofrogs and all I do is drop a soldered wire from the frog and attach it to the Juicer.  It works fine.  It seems to me that soldering a jumper between closure and stock rails in order to make them the same polarity is overkill with Peco turnouts as the rails are so far apart they are unlikely, never in my case, going to be shorted by a wheelset.

Ted

I have been adding Frog Juicers to my 20 year old Peco Electrofrog turnouts lately after suggestion from the above "Chinapig". Total reliability now instead of cleaning points regularly.  Just drill a hole in your baseboard and solder a wire to either of the rails coming out of the frog. Job Done. Only proviso: Doesn't work with the 3-way point!
Cheers.

So in both these instances, are you guys NOT adding an additional gap to isolate the frog?  Following the other thread kicking around the forum now ("Turnout tuning and maintenance: best practices") there are many examples of gapping the frog and soldering jumpers -- pretty challenging for turnouts already installed.  In both of your responses, it looks like you guys are just soldering a wire from the frog to the juicer and calling it a day -- am I missing something?
Mike

[peteski]

That makes sense to me. Adding the Juicer to the frog (and points) positively powers to be at the same polarity as the stock rail they are touching.  No longer you depend on the unreliable contact of the points with the stick rail to power the frog.  The juicer acts like a standard SPDT switch mechanically coupled to the throwbar you would normally use.

[bobthebear]

So in both these instances, are you guys NOT adding an additional gap to isolate the frog?  Following the other thread kicking around the forum now ("Turnout tuning and maintenance: best practices") there are many examples of gapping the frog and soldering jumpers -- pretty challenging for turnouts already installed.  In both of your responses, it looks like you guys are just soldering a wire from the frog to the juicer and calling it a day -- am I missing something?
Mike

That's correct Mike. As peteski says: it's all you need to do.
Cheers.

[kelleywpns]

Thanks ... good news since I didn't feel like pulling up the 18 or so turnouts in my yard/station/servicing facility area.  I'm happy with the PECOs so far, but knowing that I can add the juicer while they are already in place seems like a plus for down the road.

I'll add that to the 'to-do' list before I weather/ballast and detail the yard.

Thanks again

Mike

[kelleywpns]

I apologize ahead of time for bringing back my post from almost a year ago ...

I finally have some Hex Frog Juicers on hand and I was about to start laying them out and installing them on my pre-existing yard (as mentioned above, Peco ElectroFrog turnouts and track installed and tacked down, but not weathered or ballasted yet).  I did some last minute research to see if anyone has added any info onto the topic ... and I came across this on the Fast Tracks website:

"Which brands of turnouts will work with the Hex Frog Juicer?"

"Peco Electro-Frog: As long as the wire jumpers to the frog are cut and are attached to the Hex Frog Juicer."

I'm assuming this is referring to the wire underneath the turnout  that is now hidden on my installed turnouts?

Has anyone tackled this before?  Am I looking at pulling up my turnouts to access the jumper?

Thanks ahead of time for any advice.

Mike

[pdx1955]

Tam Valley's website now says that the Hex Frog Juicers have been modified to work with Peco Electrofrogs as is ...so I think it would work fine as long as you bought them recently. I still have to install the ones I got a couple months ago...its nice to know that they will work with stock turnouts , not just ones that I've gapped and jumpered.

Peter

[kelleywpns]

Peter

Thanks for the tip ... I wasn't sure the statement on the Tam Valley website meant that.

I'll begin trying it out this week ...

Mike

[kelleywpns]

Got 11x frogs hooked up to juicers tonight ... worked like a champ.

Thanks for the advice.

Mike

[basementcalling]

I will be adding juice to my frogs this way as well. With Atlas turnouts, the points are not as firmly locked in place as with the Peco throw mechanism, so you can short a turnout that is thrown against you and not always derail. Don't ask how I learned that. Let's just say it involved pushpins in the foam benchwork that are not as tough as expected.

[Upstate Gator]

I have a question about juicers and Atlas code 55 turnouts thrown manually. I'm using earring backs as ground throws. (See picture below.) My 44 tonner will not get through #10 switches. Is it easy to use juicers with manually thrown turnouts? Within a single  power district with no reverse loops, could I just run track power from the bus to a juicer and connect it to a frog?

Ben



If I ran a loco against a.turnout thrown the wrong way, what would happen?
I

[davefoxx]

I have a question about juicers and Atlas code 55 turnouts thrown manually. I'm using earring backs as ground throws. (See picture below.) My 44 tonner will not get through #10 switches. Is it easy to use juicers with manually thrown turnouts? Within a single  power district with no reverse loops, could I just run track power from the bus to a juicer and connect it to a frog?

Ben

If I ran a loco against a.turnout thrown the wrong way, what would happen?
I

This is exactly how I use the Hex Frog Juicers.  I use slide switches to control my turnouts manually, but I do not use them for the electrical control of the frog.  If I run through the wrong way, worst case scenario is a derailment but probably not a short.  It also gives that extra split second to realize the throw is the wrong way and throw the switch before a derailment.  Oh, and yes, I pull power off of the track bus.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[Upstate Gator]

Definitely.
This could be quite helpful.
Ben

[peteski]

Just remember that the points on #10 switch are fairly long and without a solid electrical connection to the closure rails. If your small loco only stalls on the frog then the juicer will help. But if the loco stalls when over the points then the juicer will not help. The only way to fix that would be to install jumpers between the points and the closure rails/frog.

[Upstate Gator]

Or sell the offending loco! (The 44 tonner was a novelty purchase anyway.)

Ben