How do you clean your wheels on DCC

[Multigauge]

On DC I used a simple wire brush arrangement I bought years ago, but getting to work with DCC locos seems very unreliable. 

What do others do to clean wheels efficiently?

[Dagworth]

A pair of these https://www.trix.de/en/products/details/article/66602

 

Sometimes it's necessary to give the loco a wiggle to get a contact to get it started but once it's going it stays going quite well 

 

Other brands are available, Conrad seems to be a rebadged Trix item, https://www.conrad.com/p/trix-h0-92012-h0-wheel-set-brush-1-pcs-219928 while Gaugemaster also make one. https://www.petersspares.com/gaugemaster-gm60-ooho-scale-wheel-cleaning-brush.ir

 

Andi

Edited January 18, 2023 by Dagworth

[woodenhead]

I've got the Gaugemaster ones in N and OO.

 

Fine for all wheel drive locos, less so on things like Farish DMUs with a single power bogie or tender drive steam engines, without even mentioning traction tyres.

[WIMorrison]

I use one end of a cotton bud with white spirit and dry the wheel with the other end. Works perfectly for me. Then after the wheels have been cleaned, I then put a tiny drop of oil on the axle.

 

This process takes less than 5 minutes per loco.

[fulton]

I place a piece of kitchen towel on the track with a few drops of track cleaning fluid, then hold the loco with one set of wheels on the towel and the other picking up power, then let the wheels spin, black marks are normally left behind, I do this at start of a days running and it lasts all day.

[ColinK]

9 hours ago, Dagworth said:

 

Sometimes it's necessary to give the loco a wiggle to get a contact to get it started but once it's going it stays going quite well 

I know what you mean by give the loco a wiggle as that’s what I used to do until I gpt some of my locos converted to DCC sound , the chap that fitted the sound serviced the locos too as he said the pick ups wete all distorted by me ‘wiggling’ them. Seemed to be a big problem on Heljan shunters.

[Gilbert]

27 minutes ago, ColinK said:

I know what you mean by give the loco a wiggle as that’s what I used to do until I gpt some of my locos converted to DCC sound , the chap that fitted the sound serviced the locos too as he said the pick ups wete all distorted by me ‘wiggling’ them. Seemed to be a big problem on Heljan shunters.

and Hornby Pecketts.....

[Oldddudders]

Woodland Scenics TIDY TRACK Wheel Cleaner. Sits on 16.5 mm gauge track and the loco runs from one end to the other, obeying the DCC throttle. Works reasonably well. 

[JST]

I use a cotton bud and IPA with the loco running on the rolling road. Works fine.

[dasatcopthorne]

I use this. A length of track with two Furniture pads inserted. The feeds plug into my layout so I can clean during a show if required.

 

Pads are soaked with the best cleaner I have ever used. Also used to clean rails.

 

Brilliant.

 

Dave.

 

 

[Multigauge]

Cheers peeps

 

[Rob K]

On 18/01/2023 at 11:47, JST said:

I use a cotton bud and IPA with the loco running on the rolling road. Works fine.

Indian Pale Ale ???

[smokebox]

35 minutes ago, Rob K said:

Indian Pale Ale ???

You can try it if you want but Isopropyl  Alcohol is pretty good.  :-😉

[melmerby]

6 minutes ago, smokebox said:

You can try it if you want but Isopropyl  Alcohol is pretty good.  :-😉

Also one of the ingredients (propan-2-ol) of that WD40 stuff, along with some alkanes.

[melmerby]

On 17/01/2023 at 23:19, Multigauge said:

On DC I used a simple wire brush arrangement I bought years ago, but getting to work with DCC locos seems very unreliable. 

What do others do to clean wheels efficiently?

You shouldn't use wire brushes as they will eventually remove any finish on the tyre

[AndrueC]

I have a device from - I think - Gaugemaster. It consists of two sections of wire brush with a copper contact underneath. You put the device on a straight section of track then put the loco on top. But I don't clean loco wheels very often as I've rarely needed it. It did my Farish Class 08 a lot of good when I first got it although, sadly, it's still not a brilliant runner. Or at least it runs but if I needed it to do any stop/start shunting I'd be annoyed.

[dasatcopthorne]

Why I use WD40 Contact Cleaner.

 

Here is the article that changed my thinking on the subject.

 

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mrhpub.com/2019-05-may/online/index.html?page=9

 

There's no doubt that others work. I've used IPA very successfully as I does clean thing but now I feel WD40 CC is a further step forward.

I've used it on my own samll offering and on our Club Roundy Round to very good effect and I won't be going back to IPA.

 

Dave.

Edited January 22, 2023 by dasatcopthorne

[WIMorrison]

That article is also the reason I use White Spirit, mainly because it provides similar benefits but is a lot cheaper than WD-40 🤣

[dasatcopthorne]

25 minutes ago, WIMorrison said:

That article is also the reason I use White Spirit, mainly because it provides similar benefits but is a lot cheaper than WD-40 🤣

 

Thanks.

 

Never realised Mineral Spirit was the same as White Spirit.

 

When my WD40 runs out I'll be changing.

 

Another step forward in track and wheel cleaning.

 

Appreciated.

 

Dave.

 

 

 

 

[Right Away]

The home-made method that I use might seem a bit “cheapo” but is very effective; combining the cleaning and inspection at the same time.

 

I use a length of flex, one end connecting to the DCC bus and the other to stiff copper wire contacts fixed in a piece of Plastikard.

The locomotive is inverted in a foam cradle, the contacts placed against the wheels whereby they are cleaned by holding a cotton bud dipped in IPA. The wheel backs and pick-ups are cleaned at the same time, and valve gear can be examined in motion (pun intended).

 

NOTE: I find the smaller Tamiya triangular cotton swabs very good for this as there’s no fluff and they can be handled with more precision.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Right Away
spelling

[WIMorrison]

@Right Away Exactly the same as me, excepting that I use White Spirit rather than IPA.

[JST]

OK... just been out and bought some white spirit. Any ideas for another use of 10 litres of IPA? 😂

[Ron Ron Ron]

Surely using wire brushes, will have the same deleterious effect on the wheels as using abrasive methods on track work, ultimately leading to an increased need to keep cleaning?

 

 

.

[WIMorrison]

Not if you use BRASS brushes, unfortunately a lot of those sold are actually steel brushes with a good coloured paint laying to look like brass - and they will eventually damage the wheels.

[dasatcopthorne]

Sometimes I use this at Shows if I need to clean one loco.

Turn it over and touch the wheels and use a cotton bud.

 

For both methods, I have a couple of 4mm Banana sockets on the from of my layout board, wired to the DCC. (I operate from the front.)

4mm Banana plugs on the leads as well as crocodile clips with banana sockets built in.

 

Dave