110v, 115v, 120v - Electricians and/or EE's Does it matter?

[Dan Hintz]

220 ,221 What ever it takes........ Michael Keaton Mr Mom.........

Love that show, and I quote that one often...

[Joe A Faulkner]

Bob, I think we found the way together. When you questioned the the voltage rating it motivated me to ask others for more information. Something I love about this forum is the wealth of info.

OP is shorthand for "original post" or "original poster", meaning the person who started the post or thread. Of course sometimes there is conflicting information, and there almost always is more than one way to skin a cat. Good luck in getting your remote control solution worked out. One thing to consider no matter what solution you go with. In general, I'm not sure it is a great idea to cycle your DC on and off again in short succession. So if you have a series of cuts to make with brief pauses between cuts, you should probably just fire up the DC and let it run. With iVac modules you can do this by flipping a switch. If you use a remote to fire a contactor then you are basically starting the DC independently of your tools and you wouldn't necessarily want or need the iTool module.

[Bob Landel]

Joe, just read your newest response. Finally got a amp meter and tested my Delta 1 1/2 hp dust collector. While it was in spec., you're right about cycling on and off putting a strain on the system; including the remote control unit. My DC started up pulling 67amps!, then quickly settled down to 14.1 to 14.7 amps on a steady run. However, I just don't like the noise running it while it is not being used so I do cycle.

Multi tool units of the IVac Pro will not work for me. My table saw is 220 volt 30 amps plug. IVac does not have a switch for this. My other tools are 220 volt 20amps and 120 volt 15 or 20 amps. I rather have ONE remote control to turn on and off the DC as needed.

What IVac (I intend to call them directly and learn more) taught me is the need for a heavy duty relay switch, or "contactor" between the DC and a remote control unit for a 110volt (or 120volt) DC running a 1 1/2 hp motor.

The Rockler/Woodcraft unit can't take the strain of a true 1 1/2 hp DC by itself.

Very surprised there were no other similiar complaints on this site or Rockler not alerting the manufacturer of a problem. I, for one, returned one unit for a refund to them.

It was the IVac info which appears to solve the problem.

If I learn anything new, I'll let ou know.

[Dan Hintz]

I went with the heavy-duty 240V, 20A relays from X-10... runs my 2HP DC just fine.

[ian maybury]

Good to hear that your dust collector is not doing anything odd anyway Bob - that at least sidelines some negative possibilities.

I'm no expert and not familiar with those iVac units. But unless i've got the wrong end of the stick something seems a little odd. As in so far as I know plugs, wiring and sockets normally have more than enough current carrying capacity to handle short term start up surges. i.e. when you select sockets you normally match its rated amps to the maximum steady state amps of the load the circuit is designed for - there's no need to add any cushion.

There are exceptions to that rule, but not many. e.g. sizing circuit breakers - but that's because they by design pop very quickly if the rated current is exceeded. Sockets on the other hand normally have a cushion by design that means they can easily dissipate the heat effects of a momentary overload like this - plus handle variations in amps arising from variations in the supply voltage as discussed here.

That's not to say that you couldn't by repeatedly switching the device on and off so that it doesn't have time to dissipate the heat from earlier starts cause a problem - but in that case it's likely the dust system motor or maybe the breaker would quit too so it's not a good operating plan. i.e. it's often better to let things run.

Another thought. Some of those units switch the dust system plus another device such as a saw or whatever. Is it somehow possible that the amps the unit is rated for is the total load of both the dust system and the device being switched, and that the combination adds up to more than what it's rated for?

If in fact the unit checks out as handling amps less (even slightly) than what it's rated for then it should be OK. If it's failing it points to some sort of a problem in the socket. Sockets do on occasion suffer from overheating. One cause at least can be a bent blade that doesn't contact the plug pin over a large enough area.

You could in effect use the device to switch a relay on a higher rated (higher amp) circuit if the current is in fact higher than what it's rated for, but again if it's failing at amps below those it's designed and marked for it points to a fault in the unit and i'd want to get to the bottom of that first....

ian

[Van Huskey]

Joe, just read your newest response. Finally got a amp meter and tested my Delta 1 1/2 hp dust collector. While it was in spec., you're right about cycling on and off putting a strain on the system; including the remote control unit. My DC started up pulling 67amps!, then quickly settled down to 14.1 to 14.7 amps on a steady run. However, I just don't like the noise running it while it is not being used so I do cycle.

.

I bet the actual inrush was more like 150 amps for 20ms or so and bet the peak was well over 200 amps, just WAY too fast for anything short of a recorder to register.

[Bob Landel]

Ian, thanks for your help, but I hope it is settled. The inexpensive remotes offered over here by Rockler/Woodcraft and others are made in Taiwan. The sockets may be suspect even if rated for 15amps. In addition, I plug it into a 20amp cuicuit, not that should be a problem in itself.

I believe the problem is the startup amp surge of my DC and my constantly cycling.

The solution is to install a contactor between the DC and the remote.

The IVac people clearly state this on their site.

[Curt Harms]

Being occasionally the curmudgeon, I'd be tempted to not do a remote at all. A contactor with a 28 volt coil and a few start/stop stations connected with inexpensive wire (remember it's low voltage pretty low amperage, maybe 18 ga. speaker wire might work) and there's no concern about turning on when it shouldn't, not turning on when it should etc. etc.

[Matthew Sherman]

It's my understanding that all outlets are 120 volt or 240 volt and that 110 is just a laypersons number. You are definitely safe using a 120v 20 amp.

Yes, that is correct. The amperage is the more important number concerning proper sizing of the outlet and wire. However if you measure your house voltage it should be right around 120v now days. Even at far runs (which really aren't that far in a typical house) it shouldn't be far off. Service voltage at your box should be within 114-126. If it is out of this range for any length of time other then a short spike you should contact your electric company.

Quick story... we had a UPS backup system reporting high voltages at one of sites and causing outages. Usually hovering around 126-127. After keeping on the electric company about the voltage issue they sent a crew to check and found a bad transformer.