Thread: Custom vac switch for table saw

I'll have a stab at what might be happening.

The clue to me is the white switch connected to two prongs on the plug.

It looks like some sort of secondary machine (maybe t was a vac) custom switching mechanism whereby the two cables on that plug are shorted by the switch.
One of the cables is ACTIVE UP to the switch which then controls ACTIVE back down the second cable.

You can test this out by - with everything unplugged - attach a continuity or ohm meter to the two prongs and toggle the switch.

By plugging it into the mains power and throwing the switch you effectively directly connected ACTIVE to NEUTRAL which is why the breaker blew,

You were lucky worse did not occur.

We see a lot of these "Ning-Nong Home Solutions" on donated machines at the mens shed. It's a wonder more people are not injured or killed by this.

I would recommend completely removing the switch, cable and plug before someone else tries to do what you did.

Thanks for your thoughts.
Judging by the workshop setup, and the quality of the previous owner's work, I wasn't inclined to pass it off as a "ning-nong home solution". More than anything, I feel like a ning-nong for not understanding it before I tried to use it!

I'm not sure what you mean by:
"One of the cables is ACTIVE UP to the switch which then controls ACTIVE back down the second cable."

The orange cable isn't attached to anything other than the switch, i.e. the switch at one end, and the plug at the other. There's no second cable attached to it.

Thanks for your help.

My take would be that he’s removed the On/off switch from the vacuum cleaner and connected a two wire orange shielded cable to the wires. The other end of that orange cable goes to a female socket into which plugs your orange lead plug. So the white switch on the front simply replaces the switch on the vacuum cleaner - ie. a remote switch.

OR
He could have connected it across the Vacuum cleaner switch so he could switch on the vacuum cleaner from the table saw or from the vacuum cleaner itself.

What I said is basically what Lappa says.

Like this.
Screen Shot 2018-07-17 at 1.59.16 pm.png

He could have removed the vac switch or left it in place - it doesn't matter which.

And to service this operation it appears a conventional 2 pin plug has been used which is a complete no-no.
A non-standard plug/socket should be used so that no one can just plug it into mains power and trip breakers or worse.

Swap socket and plug and BobL’s diagram is spot on. There would have been a female socket off the vac. so there were no exposed pins.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Swap socket and plug and BobL’s diagram is spot on. There would have been a female socket off the vac. so there were no exposed pins.

Sorry the diagram was correct but the text labels were incorrect .
Now fixed

Thanks BobL and Lappa. Especially for the wiring diagram.
The on/off switch on the vacuum still works as normal. And there's no female outlet coming from the vac, only the standard power cord. So I'm guessing the part I'm missing is the "added vac socket" in your diagram - a female plug coming from the vac cleaner. Is that right?

And if I were to work all this, and maybe run it off a powerboard with surge protector, would that be safe?

If not, I'm happy to leave it well alone.

Originally Posted by notdjp

Thanks BobL and Lappa. Especially for the wiring diagram.
The on/off switch on the vacuum still works as normal. And there's no female outlet coming from the vac, only the standard power cord. So I'm guessing the part I'm missing is the "added vac socket" in your diagram - a female plug coming from the vac cleaner. Is that right?

Sounds like it. He might have had that plug on another vac that is no longer around.

And if I were to work all this, and maybe run it off a powerboard with surge protector, would that be safe?
If not, I'm happy to leave it well alone.

You might be safe but someone else might plug it into the mains like you did, and cause problems
I f you want to use it I'd be changing the plugs to something else , but then again the minor convenience it saves may not worth the risks.

Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.