remote start/stop wiring

I'm think I'm missing something here. What's wrong with phone jacks and plugs?

Jim

On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 15:31:26 -0800, Grant Erwin put forth the notion that...

There are any number of three pole plugs and sockets you can use, but I definitely wouldn't use anything as flimsy as phone wire. First you need to check to see what your control voltage is. If it's 24 volts or less, T-stat wire will work fine. If it's 120 volts or more, you need to run everything in conduit.

You didn't state whether the little bit of power was at low voltage or not. If it isn't, I'd steer clear of tiny connectors, or anything that isn't rated to carry the voltage on those circuits. I'd also steeer clear of trying to use regular power cord "three wire plugs", for obvious reasons.

The venerable "Jones Plug" is still around:

They can handle line voltage, are rugged and not likely to be confused with anything else in your shop. Quite easy to wire up if you have a soldering iron.

I assume you are aware of the little radio control "remote" switches sold for just the purpose you described. From what I understand they work just great....until you drop the remote on the floor a couple of times, and it's never where you can find it anyway.

-- Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."

I have a number of these. I use three conductor Twist-lock plugs and outlets. Make double sure they are all wired the same or they won't be interchangable.

If you are only looking for a rugged connector that will take three wires, and be suitable for a shop environment, my personal choice would be the M/S series electrical connectors that are available through newark electronics.

A distant second would be Cinch Jones plugs. If they're tied together with a zip-tie they're not bad. But if you're only doing a few of these, buy several M/S connectors that are about the right size to accept something like

18 or 16 SJ cordage.

Three pin connectors like this will set you back about ten bucks apiece, but they're environmentally sealed, with o-rings and all. Dust/oil/chip/spooge-proof.

Jim

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Grant Erwin wrote: I want to put a remote start/stop

Neutrik Powercon connectors- good and (relatively) cheap.

Kevin Gallimore

How about an RF remote control no need for any wiring or plugs. Available at Radio Shack and Busy Bee and likely many more sources.

Jack

Since you conceal your location, things may be different there but here you don't need conduit if the run is 5' or more above the floor.

Ted

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 18:49:20 GMT, Ted Edwards put forth the notion that...

Line voltage run exposed with no conduit? I don't know of any place in my neck of the woods (Southern California) where you could legally get away with that.

All the sockets I've seen have had screw terminals. The plugs are a different matter. When I did a bunch of phone wiring, I used a kit from Radio Shack containing several plugs and a stripper/crimper tool. Very easy to use.

If you want super quality wire, check Boeing Surplus. Their wire used to be a real bargain but I haven't been there for several years. Otherwise, 14-3 Lumex would give you three conductors plus ground and should be readily available about everywhere.

Ted

The Peoples Republic of Kalifornia is notorious for some of its laws so I'm not surprised.

Here the plastic sheathed wire is fine if placed at or above five feet from the floor. (I wired our house and my garage/shop and had no problem with the toughest inspector in the valley.)

Ted

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 03:58:19 GMT, Ted Edwards put forth the notion that...

You got that right about Kalifornia. We have more bullshit rules and regulations than you can shake a stick at. There are probably 30 or 40 cities in my county. Although they all follow the NEC in general, they all have their own little idiosyncrasies. I don't know of any place around here that will allow exposed Romex in a garage. Most require flex, and some even require EMT. On commercial jobs, it's generally no flex below 8' from the floor. Romex is definitely not allowed in commercial or industrial work. One of the beach cities insists on stainless steel ground rods instead of copper, and rigid conduit outside instead of EMT. After 29 years of that shit, now you know why I'm building phase converters instead of wiring buildings. The rest of the country isn't safe from Kalifornia though. Remember, a lot of the bullshit that starts out here gets adopted elsewhere eventually.

As for running control wiring without mechanical protection, there's always the possibility that insulation could get skinned, and the two conductors going to the N.O. start button could short out causing a machine to start unexpectedly. Anything exposed in my shop is run in EMT.

OK, OK, I'll use conduit! I normally run 220V coils so this is even worse than you guys had been talking about. Remember, this is a dust collector so other than a startle factor it wouldn't hurt much if it did start unintentionally.

Lots of good ideas, though. Thanks!

Grant Erwin Kirkland, Washington

Grant, You could always use a 12V relay to kick in the 220v coil - that way you would only have 12v running around in the shop and the connectors at each machine could be very light duty. One 12v relay could be controlled by dozens of "switch lines" running to different machines. Ken.