Motor shootout

[mike_lawyer]

Some of you may recall from the Atlas forum that I have been testing different motors for remotoring a Kato Mikado.  I have a couple of Mikados with traction tires and received some motors from Eldon (the Motorman) over the past few weeks.

My main gripe with the stock Kato Mikado motor is that it runs much too fast and lacks torque to haul long trains. I am running DCC and all tests were made with a Zimo N-scale decoder.

1.  Faulhaber 1016 (6 volt) with 4:1 gearhead - This is my favorite of the bunch.  The gearhead allows for very slow operation when moving around the yard, and the top speed is about 40-45 mph.  I find that the top speed is just about right for my preference, although many heavy 2-8-2's were capable of faster speeds.  You do need to use a Dremel to widen the frame sides a bit to allow this motor to fit in the loco, but it is well worth it.  As far as torque is concerned, I can probably haul about 80 cars with this locomotive and a GHQ pewter shell. 

The only downside, and it is slight, is that the gearhead can be slightly more noisy than an iron-core engine.  Overall, though, the torque and smoothness of the coreless motor is very much worth it.


2.  Maxon RE 1017 with 4:1 gearhead - This motor is very similar to the Faulhaber 1016, but the Maxon has more torque.  This motor is rated at .75 watts, which when you add in a gearhead, results in 4 times the torque.  Overall, this motor is just as smooth as the Faulhaber.  However, it is a longer motor than the Faulhaber and will not fit under a GHQ Pennsy boiler shell.  It might be possible to trim down the rubber motor-worm shaft connection piece, but it would be a close call.  This motor, however, is very impressive.

3.  Mashima 1024 motor.  This is a skew-wound, five pole motor.  It has an impressive amount of power for a small motor, however, the motor starting speed is slightly higher than the stock Kato Motor.  Once revved up, it can haul much more than the stock Kato Motor.  I did not install a flywheel yet, but the stock Kato flywheel would fit nicely onto this motor.  It is a good motor for the money.

[Lemosteam]

Hi Mike- would love to see some install shots...  Thise might be more convincing for me one way or another...

[mike_lawyer]

I need to pick up another Faulhaber 1016 with a gearhead, and should have that in the next few weeks.  I'll do a comprehensive photo upload of the process.

You do have to grind away the rear portion of the frame that encloses the stock Kato Motor, but it is not hard to do.  Also, if you go this route, be sure to purchase the 6 volt version of the motor, as that has a higher top speed.  The 12 volt version of the motor is much too slow for this application.

[mmagliaro]

Mike, are you driving that 6v Faulhaber at 12 volts?  (or 9 or 10?)
That is the big advantage of using the 6v... you can "cheat" and get more speed out of it by exceeding its rated voltage.
(And as I've posted before, those 6v Faulhabers seem to be able to tolerate plenty more than 6v as long as
you make sure that the CURRENT is not going over their maximum rating.)   Always be sure to measure it
at a full stall at the highest voltage you hope to run it at.  Then you'll know for sure it won't fry.

[mike_lawyer]

Max -

Yep, I am "cheating" and driving the motor at more than 6 volts.     I can't really tell how much I am cheating, as I am using DCC.  But the loco cruises at about 40-45 mph at speed setting 19 out of 28, and it does not seem to be stressed at the least.  My findings are consistent with yours.  I'm probably driving it at about 9 volts.