Heavy duty remote for dust collector?

[4nthony]

I have a set of remotes ordered from Amazon that I've been using to run a couple of fans for ventilation/filtration along with my Fein Turbo I vac. The remote outlets are rated for 13 amps.

I recently picked up a small 1HP Dust Collector from Rockler which is 12 AMPS and currently have it plugged into the same remotes. No issues, but I've only run the DC for a few minutes at a time.

However, I noticed Rockler sells a remote which is rated for 15 AMPS and is quite a bit more expensive. (as are similar remotes from other resellers).

Am I putting myself at risk (overheating, fire, etc.) by running this DC off one of the Amazon remote outlets? Does my 1HP DC warrant upgrading to one of the heavier duty remotes?

Thanks!

 

[afish]

If you run into trouble you could use a contactor for the load side and just use the remote outlet to just activate the coil this is more common for using a 120v to trigger 240v on/off but should work on 120v to handle more amps too.

 

[ChuckM]

The Amazon set you got is said to be rated for 1/2HP.

This one on Amazon is good up to 1.5HP inductive load; I don't know what that really means:
https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Outlet-Wireless-Switch/dp/B0859YH7J9

This is the iVac option ($96 US):
https://www.ivacswitch.com/ivac-for-diys/ivac-dust-collector-remote-switch/

 

[4nthony]

If you run into trouble you could use a contactor for the load side and just use the remote outlet to just activate the coil this is more common for using a 120v to trigger 240v on/off but should work on 120v to handle more amps too.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know what any of that means [embarassed].

The Amazon set you got is said to be rated for 1/2HP.

Oh. Duh. I can't believe I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

This one on Amazon is good up to 1.5HP inductive load; I don't know what that really means:
https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Control-Outlet-Wireless-Switch/dp/B0859YH7J9

This is the iVac option ($96 US):
https://www.ivacswitch.com/ivac-for-diys/ivac-dust-collector-remote-switch/

Quite a difference in price. I'll have to research more specifically what the specs mean and see what the advantages are to options like the iVac. Considering the the lower priced options tend to be geared toward lighting, it might make sense to just upgrade to one specifically made for dust collectors.

Thank for the replies!

[cool]

 

[afish]

 

[afish]

its basically a heavy duty switch capable of switching heavy loads.  The coil when energized makes or breaks the contacts. the coils come in different voltages 12, 24 120 are common.  the coil takes very little power. one side of the contacts connects to power from the panel the other side goes to the thing being controlled such as a motor.  so say you had a 240v dust collector but you wanted to turn it on/off with your remote.  your remote outlet would get wired to the coil and one side of the contacts goes to the panel the other goes to the motor. its pretty simple once you get it.

 

[montyss]

That is exactly what I did for my pressure washer and dust collector. A  contactor from a Air conditioning unit that is switched by a remote module that triggers the contactor.  Think total cost was around $60 and works great. The one I made will do 20 amp

 

[afish]

Yes, and the contactor itself is pretty cheap.  You can get a basic 30 amp contactor for $13 He already has the remote so some misc. wire and a box/housing is about it. 
https://www.amazon.com/Packard-C230...d=1644068466&sprefix=contactor,aps,167&sr=8-4

 

[montyss]

This is the remote from Amazon for the one I made,https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JLQNHRH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ChuckM]

The contactor approach, new to me, sounds like a workable solution. From montyss's Amazon link, I also saw this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094QS5DD...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Rated for 2.4HP, 110V, 15 AMP. $56 US, at half the price of the Rockler's.

 

[afish]

Yes there are plenty of offerings for higher amp controls but once you discover the possibilities of contactors you can do a lot more. Tons of possibilities but the biggest is being able to control large high amp devices from low voltage signal.  You can also buy 240v. remotes but they are usually pretty pricey.  You can control the contactor with just about anything including smart home switches, Alexa, etc.  Lots of cool stuff you can do with them

 

[4nthony]

Ok, you guys have me convinced to look into it more. I'll try and find some wiring diagrams to see how everything connects and works with my existing parts as I'm having a hard time visualizing it. I'm comfortable working with residential electrical (adding circults, running wire, etc.) so adding a contactor doesn't seem that much harder than wiring an outlet or switch.

 

[montyss]

Anthony  Recheck this post later and I'll try and add in a picture of the finished product. 

 

[afish]

For some reason it is difficult to find a simple diagram of a contactor on google pics.  It is very esy if you are comfortable with residential wires its even easier.  Basically if you look at a 2 pole contactor you will have 4 large lugs 2 per side this is basically just in and out.  Probably be labeled if they even are L1,L2 & T1,T2  I dont think it even matters which side goes to the motor and which goes to the panel but typically most will use the L1 & L2 as the supply side,  So if you come off a breaker say 20amp circuit you will connect the hot to L1 and neutral to L2.  Then T1 & T2 will be your output to whatever you are trying to turn on/off (call this the MOTOR side) there will most likely be a bunch of spade connectors near the lugs as well but dont worry about those or let them confuse you.  Now if you look at the side of the contactor there will be some more spade connectors This is the coil side and what controls the ON/OFF of the contactor.  As mentioned the coils come in some different types but It sounds like you need a 120v coil.  when this coil is energized it connects the L1 to T1 and L2 to T2  You dint go into to much detail on which remote you have but assuming it is just a typical outlet you would use a electrical plug with a long enough pigtail to reach the contactor and hook the out put of the remote outlet hot to one side of the coil and neutral to the other side.  Thats the important part most likely there will be more than one spade connector per side dont hook both hot and neutral to same side unless you like fireworks.  one side gets hot other side of contactor gets neutral.  when you trigger your remote on it will send 120v to the coil the coil will then complete the path between the L1,L2 and T1,T2 side and send power from the panel to your MOTOR.  If you are using it to control 240 its the same but you will send 120v to both legs L1 and L2 and neutral wont be connected to the contactor.

The coil takes very little power to energize so you can feasibly turn on an entire warehouse or stadium form just one light switch. Or use low voltage signal to turn on high voltage.   

 

[4nthony]

For some reason it is difficult to find a simple diagram of a contactor on google pics.  It is very esy if you are comfortable with residential wires its even easier.  Basically if you look at a 2 pole contactor you will have 4 large lugs 2 per side this is basically just in and out.  Probably be labeled if they even are L1,L2 & T1,T2  I dont think it even matters which side goes to the motor and which goes to the panel but typically most will use the L1 & L2 as the supply side,  So if you come off a breaker say 20amp circuit you will connect the hot to L1 and neutral to L2.  Then T1 & T2 will be your output to whatever you are trying to turn on/off (call this the MOTOR side) there will most likely be a bunch of spade connectors near the lugs as well but dont worry about those or let them confuse you.  Now if you look at the side of the contactor there will be some more spade connectors This is the coil side and what controls the ON/OFF of the contactor.  As mentioned the coils come in some different types but It sounds like you need a 120v coil.  when this coil is energized it connects the L1 to T1 and L2 to T2  You dint go into to much detail on which remote you have but assuming it is just a typical outlet you would use a electrical plug with a long enough pigtail to reach the contactor and hook the out put of the remote outlet hot to one side of the coil and neutral to the other side.  Thats the important part most likely there will be more than one spade connector per side dont hook both hot and neutral to same side unless you like fireworks.  one side gets hot other side of contactor gets neutral.  when you trigger your remote on it will send 120v to the coil the coil will then complete the path between the L1,L2 and T1,T2 side and send power from the panel to your MOTOR.  If you are using it to control 240 its the same but you will send 120v to both legs L1 and L2 and neutral wont be connected to the contactor.

The coil takes very little power to energize so you can feasibly turn on an entire warehouse or stadium form just one light switch. Or use low voltage signal to turn on high voltage. 

Trying to put your instructions into a quick diagram:

- Supply from 20A circuit
- Hot & neutral from supply are pigtailed to the outlet with the remote and to the L1/L2 tabs on the contactor
- Remote outlet is plugged into supply outlet
- Plug with wires connects remote to contactor side tabs to energize coil
- Hot and neutral T1/T2 connects to load outlet
- Dust Collector is plugged into load outlet

(There's a link to the remotes I bought in the first post.)

Came across this video. The switch seems to handle the load/amps at a reasonable price:

 

[montyss]

I cannot get images to load  [unsure]

 

[ChuckM]

4ntony, Looks like the Youtube link you shared is the simplest solution.

 

[4nthony]

4ntony, Looks like the Youtube link you shared is the simplest solution.

Agreed.

Although, the more I read about contactors, the more interested I am in putting something together using one just so I can continue to use the same 3-button remote.

This video is long and rambling but the guy pretty much does exactly what's needed:

 

[montyss]

I keep getting a Fake path when trying to insert images. What is the secret ? I have tried all the browsers

 

[4nthony]

I keep getting a Fake path when trying to insert images. What is the secret ? I have tried all the browsers

Hmm, not sure. I typically upload images to a web server then reference them using the full http path and the IMG tags.

Are you trying to embed them from your local file system? Below the input box you should see "Attachments and other options." Expand that and click the "Choose file" option. That should let the browser use your file system to select then upload the image to the FOG server.

If that doesn't work, I'm not sure what the problem could be.