vacuum chuck witch 220v

[Dan Forman]

I need to get my 220 volt Gast pump (Surplus Center) hooked up to a switch, but Home Depot didn't appear to have any 220v switches. What should I be looking for? Thanks

Dan

[Jim Podsedly]

Dan,

i am using a gast 220 pump and a 20A Double Pole Switch is all i needed.

jim

[Keith Burns]

I got mine from McMaster-Carr

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dan - got mine from Menards - 20A Double Pole Switch, # 3637535.

[Dan Forman]

Thanks for the quick replies.

No Menard's out here, does it matter if it's only rated to 110v, or is it just necessary to have 20 amp double pole? Thanks

Dan

[Keith Burns]

Dan, I don't know the answer to your question but wanted to offer one other thing I did. My lathe is 3 hp, 220 v so rather than running another 22o v circuit I added an additional outlet off of the existing outlet for the pump. It works without any problem. (Don't know about any code though)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Dan - not sure how they are going to label it - but you are only going to have 120 volts per pole anyway.

Also - I did the same thing as Keith - piggy backed another outlet off the 220 VAC for the lathe. Works fine.

[Chris Haas]

a 110v double pole is 220v. just make sure it is a 20 amp switch. thats what 220v is, it is (2) 110v legs of power. thats why sometimes people think their clothes dryers heater is broken, in fact, one of their legs of power has gone down. when you go to wire it, NORMALLY with 220v, there are 2 hot lets, NORMALLY black and red, and a ground white. good luck, Chris

[Harlan Coverdale]

I don't believe you really need a 20A switch for the Gast pump, but I think that's about all you'll find in a double pole single throw wall switch. I had to do some searching through the display, but I did find one at Lowes when I built my vacuum rig. If my math is right, that pump will only be pulling about 1 amp or less when running, so the 20A switch won't even be breathing heavy.

And like the other guys above have done, I've got both my lathe and pump running on the same 220v circuit. I've got a single outlet on the wall, then use a 15' or so #10 AWG extension cord with a dual box and two outlets to accommodate the lathe and pump.

[Chris Haas]

i have been talking to a lot of electicans on jobs i've been on, now i'm not saying that i wouldnt run an extension cord with (2) 220v outlets on the end, but it was explained to me that each 220v outlet has a dedicated breaker because if there is a short in the box with the 2 outlets in it, then the breaker at the box could possibly not trip therefore it could possibly burn your house down. this was explained with many technical terms i cant repeat, and i really dont know if i'm explaining it correctly, but basically to do it right, all 220v outlets need to have there own breaker in order to pass code.

like i said, not saying i wouldnt use a 220v splitter, but i dont think it is the safest

not an electrican, just picked a couple of their brains. good luck.

[Dan Forman]

Thanks for all of the replies. Fortunately, I have several 220 outlets in my shop, so as long as I'm not using all of the big machines at once, I will be in good shape. :)

Dan

[George Clark]

I don't know about code, but to seems to me that by "piggy backing" on the same circuit you have a bit of a safety factor in that if the vacuum pump looses power so does your lathe and thus reduces the chance of a flying bowl. As was stated the vacuum pump has a low current draw so it's unlikely to overload the circuit.

[Tim Rinehart]

I had to look also, but did find the double pole switches at HD. I'm pretty sure they did say on the switch that it was rated for 220, which is standard role of a double pole switch.

Another option, one that I just purchased as a modification for my 3520, is one of several switches that Grizzly sells. I got an H8243 as a remote shutoff for the lathe...perhaps overkill and 'too easy' to accidently shut off for a vac system. A different option that would work well is like I got for my drill press... H8238. Search on Grizzly and that part number to see what they look like.

I have no stock or other interests in Grizzly...just found that they have some good options on some stuff.

By the way...if you go the route with the Grizzly switches...they fit real nicely on one of the metallic (or plastic if preferred) boxes that are used for mounting exterior floodlights, and available from most big-box hardware stores. They have a better capacity inside than the typical steel utility boxes, and have a clean exterior. If you need a pic...let me know.