Thread: Shopvac auto-start adapters?

Originally Posted by Bernmc

SO one of these wee beasties should handle it:

Attachment 455007

Plus a little hall-effect current sensor on the tool side... I think I'll have a play when I have a spare five min.

Oh no!! Beware the fake Fotek SSRs

Please be aware that online retailers are awash with fake Fotek SSR - they look identical to the real thing, but are made with vastly under-rated components (much cheaper, de-rated TRIACs), and can pose a real fire hazard.
Please, if you use a Fotek SSR ONLY buy it direct from the manufacturer (¶§©ú¹q¾÷) or buy an SSR from a well trusted electronic component supplier such as RS Components.
See:
https://protosupplies.com/inferior-c...on-the-market/
https://hackaday.com/2018/08/24/fail...spectacularly/


However, I suggest that you look at this - it does exactly what you want:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Kemo-M10...frcectupt=true
s-l500.jpg

I have used one to build an auto on-off for a dusty hooked up to a jobsite saw -works a treat!

By the time power points and a box are added the price would come to about that of the Bunnings master/slave thingo. Not to mention the postage for the Kemo unit

Genuinely curious - how much would it cost to get a sparky to install a 24VDC coil contactor to control your DC?
Once that is installed, a certificate of electrical safety covers the insurance/safety/oops-I-tried-but-burn-my-shed-down stuff and you can do your own extra low voltage wiring to your hearts content beyond that. I'm an industrial sparky so have no idea what a fellow domestic tradesman would charge but it always seems to me to be a slab deal plus materials for a job that would take less than an hour.

Originally Posted by RossM

Oh no!! Beware the fake Fotek SSRs

Please be aware that online retailers are awash with fake Fotek SSR - they look identical to the real thing, but are made with vastly under-rated components (much cheaper, de-rated TRIACs), and can pose a real fire hazard.

Thanks for the heads up and the links. I cracked mine open after comparing the criteria and found the alleged 40A rating device had an 8A triac so it was bound to fail.

C7352302-4308-419C-BA26-8803A2D5CB0A.jpg

I have some of those too - no idea what triacs are in them tho, but I would be ultra surprised if any were the genuine deal. Big money in knockoffs huh !

Originally Posted by maxxsinner

Genuinely curious - how much would it cost to get a sparky to install a 24VDC coil contactor to control your DC?
Once that is installed, a certificate of electrical safety covers the insurance/safety/oops-I-tried-but-burn-my-shed-down stuff and you can do your own extra low voltage wiring to your hearts content beyond that. I'm an industrial sparky so have no idea what a fellow domestic tradesman would charge but it always seems to me to be a slab deal plus materials for a job that would take less than an hour.

I agree that would be the thing to do on the DC side but there would still need to be a current sensor installed on the tool power supply side of the operation so the current sensor could be hooked into the 24V coil contractor on the DC.

My impression was these guys wanted a low cost black box enabling any power tool to be operated to start stop any vac/DC.
Something like this $80 iVac product referred to back on page 1 - which is not much use to us in Oz given the US sockets/plugs

It has two input cords that can be attached to two different circuits for greater power output (not much use if all you have is one 10A circuit in your shed) plus it has an adjustable delayed off and on which I reckon is worth having.

Screen Shot 2019-06-14 at 7.30.51 pm.jpg

I played around a bit more with the delayed off circuit I made and described back up at this post
Shopvac auto-start adapters?

I added a "reset" button to the outside of the box. The reset restarts the Arduino electronics should it get scrambled while it running. This has yet to do this during my experimentation and it can be done by turning the whole thing off/on at the mains but this just makes it a bit easier.

I also messed around with the program.
- Added count down of the delayed off for the slave power point which once the delayed off its triggered by turning off the master the display now shows remaining time the slave will stay on. If more time is needed the delay time can be increased on the fly while it's still counting down,

The delay time is programmed to be adjustable from 0 to 102 seconds (it could be changed by updating the program at any time).
Now if a delay time above 100 seconds is selected the second (slave) power point stays on in definitely affect the master is turned off.

This is the neat thing about programmable control whereby all manner of extras can be added without diddling with the hardware.

Originally Posted by BobL

I played around a bit more with the delayed off circuit I made and described back up at this post
Shopvac auto-start adapters?

I added a "reset" button to the outside of the box. The reset restarts the Arduino electronics should it get scrambled while it running. This has yet to do this during my experimentation and it can be done by turning the whole thing off/on at the mains but this just makes it a bit easier.

I also messed around with the program.
- Added count down of the delayed off for the slave power point which once the delayed off its triggered by turning off the master the display now shows remaining time the slave will stay on. If more time is needed the delay time can be increased on the fly while it's still counting down,

The delay time is programmed to be adjustable from 0 to 102 seconds (it could be changed by updating the program at any time).
Now if a delay time above 100 seconds is selected the second (slave) power point stays on in definitely affect the master is turned off.

This is the neat thing about programmable control whereby all manner of extras can be added without diddling with the hardware.

Nice work, programming certainly gives flexibility to tailor for specific needs. My effort is stuck waiting for a part from China. Rejigged my original idea now to a modified switched power board.

Originally Posted by apple8

My effort is stuck waiting for a part from China. Rejigged my original idea now to a modified switched power board.

Parts finally turned up and after a couple of redesigns on the run it’s finally together and working. I haven’t included a photo of the inside of the power board so others aren’t encouraged to try, but safe to say there is a few reshaping mods, circuit changes and an added power supply for relay power. The ABS box is nylon screwed and glued to the board and sealed with tamper resistant screws.

16896B89-7AF6-4857-A79C-DEB6FBDF590E.jpg FFFDF98A-EB2A-4608-935D-97BFE3C0BFEA.jpg