Hey I need to know which is the better Coupler, Bachmann EZ-Mate Coupler or Kadee Coupler? Because I have Walthers Amtrak Superliner Cars and a Athearn F59PHI in the Surfliner Paint Scheme and they all came with Bachmann Couplers, but for some reason the Couplers are not that strong, is kadee couplers strong and do they couple together securely like the real prototypes? Thanks! [ 20. July 2002, 16:11: Message edited by: AcelaExpress2036 ]
The Kadees are stronger. It usually dosent make a difference which brand you use, unless you run realy long trains (30cars& up) The generic brands of couplers tend to seperate in this situation .For a passinger train it probably wont make any difference. But if you notice cars uncoupling for no apparent reason you might want to change over to Kadees.....Mike
I would recommend the Kadee couplers. They are made of metal while all the other ones are made of plastic.
The near scale number 58 is also metal. I'm not sure which ones are plastic because I only use the 58, 5s and 7s. Roger
Which Kadee type should I get for my Superliners & F59PHI Locomotive? I don't wanna buy a pack and it doesn't fit. Thanks!
I'm not aware of any plastic couplers made by Kadee. Proof, anyone??? And remember, we're talking HO couplers here. I also use Kadees, most notably the 5s and 58s. On my old Atlas/Roco HO locomotives, I have number 7s. Wish I could give you the numbers I use in N scale (the MT stuff). All I know is, I use 'em and they work really fine. Plastic couplers= landfill material
IIRC, the 20 and 30-series couplers (i.e. 24, 36, etc.) have shanks that are plastic; the knuckle and trip pins are still metal. I'd avoid them, not because of a breakage problem, but because of excessive flexing in the shanks that can cause undesired uncouplings. I'd go with metal K-D's like everyone else has suggested, since they are so reliable. Everything I have nowadays is either equipped with 5's or 46's, and on new and overhauled equipment, the new semi-scale 58's and 78's. As far as couplers on the F59's, Kadee recommends using a 38 (36 on the front, if you you're using a plow). I'd be leery of using them, however, since I'm 99.9% sure they are plastic, and they use a goofy mounting box and torsion spring for centering that's a big hassle to use, at least compared to the "standard" bronze centering spring and #5 style mounting box (for me at least). I'd give them a try, but if it turns out they are a problem, I'd file/grind off the coupler mounting boxes on the F59, and install #5's with their boxes instead. [ 22. July 2002, 00:22: Message edited by: SP 8299 ]
IMHO Kadee over the years may have lost thier patent. HOWEVER, Kadee never lost thier superiority. The answer... KADEE!!! All of the other knuckler couplers I have tried can't hold a candle to the Kadee quality. FOOTNOTE: "I am BIASED to what has been tried and true over the years". I guess my sensible answer is.. since I have never had a problem EVER w/ a Kadee coupler... I have shy'd away from the "Johnny-come-lately's" since the Kadee patent went out.
MR recently did a review of HO couplers. Kadee's patent did expire, and now we have a slew of knock-offs. But, as most of us know, Kadee blew the copycats away with their strength and integrity. The scale #58's are all metal, as are the new #78's. The 78's are the same size coupler as the 58s, but it comes with a scale draft gear box. Since the shaft is also shaped different to fit the draft box, the 78 will not 'drop' in to most modern manufacturer's draft boxes. For this situation, where you would want to swap out a Kadee for a EZmate, for example, you could just 'drop' in a #58. At least, that's what I have deduced.
20 series - plastic shank, No 5 mounting box. 30 series - plastic shank - wierd mounting box but fits in tight spaces (it's not as long) such as on the end of an Athearn frame mount. 40 series - metal shank, No 5 mounting box. http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page25.htm If you MU two units with frames that are part of the electircal system, and you use all metal couplers and metal screws to mount them to the frame you can end up with shorts. This is a good reason to use the plastic shank couplers. There are other ways to insulate the coupler.
The oldtimer series by Kadee are plastic through and through. I don't remember the series number, bout I remember running into them...they were of a weird design, possibly ancien, and I instantly resold them.
