Thread: remote control switching for DC

In Bunnings, they have some 3 pin plugs made by Arlec that are controlled by a little remote control. It costs about $30 for a set of three. The controller handles three points.
I have two sets of lights on two of the remote controllers and my dusty on the other.

Thanks Bob, I'll check them out when I go to town today.

Bob, I checked out the arlec switches you mentioned at bunnings today. they say they are rated at 10 amps on the packet, what size dust extractor are you running off yours ?

I am thinking along the lines of using one of these arlec switches to switch a heavy duty relay on, which will supply power to the motor.
That way there wont be a big load on the remote controlled switch. Maybe I'm thinking a bit over the top :confused: , might have a bit of a yarn with a lecky tommorow and run it past him.

gday Ironwood,

Ive got the same issue you have, I been looking around for while for something to remote control a dusty with no sucess as yet. At the moment I have just extented the wirring to the switch which is mounted on the shed wall closer to the machines,but its still a pain in the butt.

Everthing I have seen is rated too low power wise. Anything designed for home automation that I have found is only rated 1000 watts max which is not enough to run a 2hp dusty. I did see an ad for something at Mitre 10 designed for garage doors and such but havent had a chance to investigate further. The heavy duty relay may be the only option.

When you do find a soloution I would be very intested to hear what you came up with

Cheers Paul

I think I posted an answer to this some time ago. What you can do is buy some light switches which you can buy rated at 15 amps but what you need is 2 x 2way switches and what ever number of what are called intermediate switches and you wire them up using 2.5mm2 cable.

You have a two way switch at each end of the run and the intermediate switches in between depending on how many machines you want the switch controls at.

This is how I have wired up the lights in my hallway. I have five bedrooms and I can switch the hall lights on or off at any bedroom or I can switch them on in one bedroom and switch them off at the next or any other bedroom.

If anyone wants to know how to do it I can post a wiring diagram of how it works but remember it really is an electritions job so please read my disclaimer in my signature.

Originally Posted by Brown Dog

gday Ironwood,

Ive got the same issue you have, .........When you do find a soloution I would be very intested to hear what you came up with

Cheers Paul

Paul, I'll post my progress here as I go,

I thought of those cheap remote control switches, also available at Jaycar electronics. But I have one of those safety switches on my DC, so that when the power goes off then on, the DC stays off. So if you have one of these type switches, then remote turn on is not simple. The whole switch will need replacing which is quite a few dollars.

Originally Posted by Barry_White

I think I posted an answer to this some time ago. What you can do is buy some light switches which you can buy rated at 15 amps but what you need is 2 x 2way switches and what ever number of what are called intermediate switches and you wire them up using 2.5mm2 cable.

You have a two way switch at each end of the run and the intermediate switches in between depending on how many machines you want the switch controls at.

Barry,
thats an interesting solution to the problem, I will definitely think about this some more.
Though I am leaning towards buying the 3-pack of remote switches at the moment, as I am thinking that I will use one for the cyclone, another for the vacuum cleaner, once I set it up under the bench, and the third one for the fan. all contrlled off the one remote control.

Just have to work out a way of keeping track of the remote, if I put it down somewhere amongst the shavings. Which is bound to happen.

Originally Posted by alanm

I thought of those cheap remote control switches, also available at Jaycar electronics. But I have one of those safety switches on my DC, so that when the power goes off then on, the DC stays off. So if you have one of these type switches, then remote turn on is not simple. The whole switch will need replacing which is quite a few dollars.

Alan, if my idea with the relay works, you would just have to get an electrician to remove your switch and wire your DC motor directly to the relay. Or maybe put the relay after the switch, that way you still have the safety aspect of the original switch.
There is an old post about someone who had the same type of switch on their DC, they were trying to figure out a way around it, but they didnt post the outcome, maybe they didnt persue the idea, who knows.

I posted my remote switch info on the forum a while ago.

I used one of the $25 remote switches you can get ( I bought mine off ebay)

An elecronic friend replaced the fuse (just with a piece of copper wire)built into the unit which the DC power plugs into and we then replaced the safety switch on the DC with a 15 amp toggle switch mounted onto a piece of plastic into the switch box. The biggest problem was undoing the tamper proof screws holding the unit together.

I leave the 15 amp switch on and just use the remote to turn the DC on and off.

The beauty of the remote is it is a radio signal so you can use the remote anywhere even in another room. My DC is in a separate workshop and my saw is in the main workshop. The remote sits in a bracket on the front edge of the fence. I even tried the remote outside and can turn the DC on out on the front footpath.

I have had it working daily for several months now - no problems.

It appears that nobody is interested in my solution but I will post the wiring diagram anyway.

It needs to be run in 2.5mm2 cable. The best way is probably to use building wire run in conduit using switch mounting boxes and switches at each machine. That way you could run the return wire from the last 2 way switch back through the conduit.

I don't think a remote control would last very long in the dusty conditions of a woodworking shop. No matter how good the dust collector is.

Originally Posted by Barry_White

I don't think a remote control would last very long in the dusty conditions of a woodworking shop. No matter how good the dust collector is.

You might have a point there Barry.
I will have a look at where I can put some switches, and how convenient they will be when I go down to the shed tommorow. some of my machines are in the middle of the shed floor with overhead leads, but maybe I could just put some switches in some strategic positions around the shed wall. Will put some thought into it and have a bit of a look in the morning before work, if I get time.

Originally Posted by durwood

I posted my remote switch info on the forum a while ago.

I used one of the $25 remote switches you can get ( I bought mine off ebay)

An elecronic friend replaced the fuse (just with a piece of copper wire)built into the unit which the DC power plugs into and we then replaced the safety switch on the DC with a 15 amp toggle switch mounted onto a piece of plastic into the switch box. The biggest problem was undoing the tamper proof screws holding the unit together.

I leave the 15 amp switch on and just use the remote to turn the DC on and off.

The beauty of the remote is it is a radio signal so you can use the remote anywhere even in another room. My DC is in a separate workshop and my saw is in the main workshop. The remote sits in a bracket on the front edge of the fence. I even tried the remote outside and can turn the DC on out on the front footpath.

I have had it working daily for several months now - no problems.

Durwood, what size DC are you running?

Ironwood,

I have read with interest your first post and the subsequent posts from you and others. My solution to this problem is reasonably expensive, but I love my set-up. It may or may not be of interest to you.

My set-up requires a contactor (I used a 32Amp one), a remote switch to control it (I used a 10Amp Clipsal Industrial), and an "Automatic Start" box from FELDER (the 1-8 machine box costs approx. $150AUS from memory), and transformer coils (one for each machine to be linked to the dusty; these cost $30 each).

I had my electrician hard wire these components in-line between my electrical box, and my outlet for my dusty. The transformer coils were put onto various outlets which feed my tablesaw, bandsaw, thicknesser, planer, etc. When I turn on one of these machines, the coil provides a signal to the FELDER autostart box, which in turn, supplies a signal to the 32Amp contactor, which in turn completes the circuit for power to my dusty. Voila, dusty turns on automatically whenever a major machine is also turned on. The FELDER box has a delayed stop function to make sure that all the dust from various machines is collected. The extra switch was also wired in-line so that I can turn on my dusty at any time, essentially bypassing the autostart mechanism.

I was able to purchase all these parts for a few hundred dollars, and it cost about $400 to have it all wired up. While it is rather expensive, compared to the other suggestions in this thread, it is just wonderful.

I would be happy to post pictures if people are interested.