any pratical way to turn my vac boxes on and off from two locations?

[knight_toolworks]

I have two vac boxes the 110 one has two switches as they pop the breaker if both turn on at the same time and a 220 box that has one switch. both are on heavy extension cord. I thought of three way switches but all that extra wire length may not be good I figure about 20 feet to the new switches and back.
it needs to be simple with my pea brain for things that use power.

[myxpykalix]

To keep them from popping the breakers you need to put the vacs on separate circuits if they pop the breaker now or as long as the wire is rated for it, you could substitute a larger amp breaker in the spot that it is now. That would be the simplest and probably cheapest alternative.

Also depending on how long your heavy extension cord is that plays a role in the power surge to get them up and running

[kubotaman]

Steve the simplest way is using remote control. I use it in my shop and can control many different switches from anywhere. Go to the web site of Home Automation and you can get all the necessary parts needed and it really is less expensive than one would think. No wiring necessary!!!

[steve_g]

Or use a couple of latching on delay relays. Set the delay on one to zero and the other to something greater than the ramp up time of the first. the latching feature will allow you to turn them on or off from any number of locations with a low voltage DC source and a push button.

Steve

[taskins]

Steve-
I think your first hurdle is to figure out your power requirements. Look on the Vacs and get the specs for the Max draw in amps and the voltage- 110V or 220V, then rate your wire size and breakers accordingly. I'm guessing the 110V will need a 20 amp with #12 wire to the outlet and the 220V will be 30 amp with #10.....but that's only a guess- you need the specs for your equipment. You might also need to have the heavy duty 20A outlets for the 110V.

I'd also guess the 'heavy duty" extension cord is 16 ga wire (it's stamped on there somewhere) - if so the resistance is probably causing the breakers to kick. Either shorten the run by installing a new outlet closer to the Vac or make up your own 12Ga S/O cord.

Properly wired 3 way switches are easy to install and should not affect the functionality of your equipment- if the switches, breakers and wiring are sized properly. If you are not familiar with equipment power requirements maybe hire an electrician for this project - remember when you see the black smoke all the magic is gone.....

The remote controls are really cool and you can switch them on/off from the Bot controller or a key fob. Here's a link to a quick tutorial on remote outlet control to get you going. http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/119 (http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/119)

[ken_rychlik]

Google searches are easy. Here ya go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRmbi6uuzk

If you are tripping breakers, you need more and or larger wiring and breakers to do the job. I second the idea of getting an electrician if you have any doubts at all.

[garyc]

Steve...
Try these: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/dust-collector-auto-switches.html

110 and 220 volt, light and heavy duty. Match the amps/horsepower NOT the budget :rolleyes:

[CNYDWW]

Remote relays for DC units. Should handle the vac motors depending on specs.

220v http://www.grizzly.com/products/Remote-Control-220V-Frequency-A/G4700

110v http://www.grizzly.com/products/110V-Remote-Control-Frequency-A/G4699

You could use 3M tape to attach the remotes together with labels and keep it with you when you're running the machine.

Regards
Randy

[dana_swift]

You might consider an arduino to sequence them on and off. The arduino can drive a half a dozen solid state relays that could run a vac system each. You could have the bot signal the arduino as to when you want vac, in addition to push buttons you could wire in anywhere you want them to signal the arduino you want to manually turn on or off.

With the arduino you can turn on the first vac, "pause" some time in the order of 2-3 seconds and start the second one automatically.

At first an arduino seems daunting, but then so did the bot when you first got it. Wade in, find out why so may people are using these things.

With the bot, what you make is limited only by your imagination. Same thing with an arduino. The two used together are awesome.

http://www.arduino.cc/

Right now arduinos are selling for less than $30 each. Solid state relays come in all ratings, be sure to get ones rated for motors of your HP.

D

[knight_toolworks]

I thought of remotes but not sure if it is the way to go. I don't want to carry them around like I used to carry the dc remote around. If I attach them to the machine that's 6 remotes.
I want to get a amp meter today to see how much they pull. the 110 motors run fine on one breaker as did the feins. But I had planned on a heavy duty cord once I work out how to do it.
but the feins had separate cords for each motor and that is what I should do. I only have two usable 110 breakers in my shop so if I use both I can't run any other tool.
the 220v seems fine and I can run the table saw at the same time.
so I will need two 110v switches and one 220v. But I also will need three way switches too right so I don't have to worry about what one I flip.

[myxpykalix]

Another solution is a double breaker. They have some that are the same size as a single breaker but are split. So it might be a 20 amp circuit broken into 2 10 amp circuits that would give you enough power to run both vacs from seperate circuits, not take anymore space in your panel.

You could run them to one outlet that is wired to handle each electrical flow seperately to on/off switches right there close to the bot.:eek:

[bruce_taylor]

I don't know what size power you have coming in but if you have a decent size you might want to put in a small subpanel with some more breakers. I would replace any extension cords with #12 wire and a box wired in for anything that I use regularly. I upgraded my shop panel to 200 amps a while back and it certainly helped out having plenty of power to run everything Money well spent.
If your underpowered eventually it will start raising havoc with burnt up connections and breakers and when you least need it to you will be powerless.
It amy be money well spent to have an electrician help you out with the plan to maximize what you have. As much as we hate to admit it sometimes it's worth while to call in a pro, especially on things that are so dear to us like our tools. Especially if you don't have a great grasp on all those electrons work!

[knight_toolworks]

I have lots of power just a small box. well it was enough till I got the bot. I have three 110's one dedicated to the bot 2 220 one dedicated to the dc and one 3 phase. the three phase took up extra room.
went to home depot and enough 12-4 and heavy duty switches to do the job gets to be around 100 or so. going to the remote gates would be 120.00 but I also would have to buy cheap 3 way switches.
what would work is some kind of switch that can be activated by a simple monetary switch. then I could use simple switches thin wire and such. What I will do is run some 12-2 to the box and see if I can turn both motors on at once. if so then things would be cheap to setup.

[knight_toolworks]

looks like the x10 is the way to go. there are several brands that work with it. I can find a 220v switch that would work but no 110v 20 amp switches. I can get a wire in module that will work or a plug replacement. but switches would be nice if something fails and I can still use the switch. for two 110V modules a 220v switch and two wired remotes that will let me turn all off with one button is the way to go for about 130.00
I will try the 12-2 wire to the box see if I can turn both motors on at once. that will make life easier.

[jerry_stanek]

your breaker could also be a little weak try switching the two breakers and see if that helps.