Need help wiring a foot pedal into a 220 line going to stationary sander

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Jim I will have to study this for a while.

[Mark R Webster]

Just an update, I contacted the company who makes the foot switch I noted above and they recommended I not use it for this application for the reasons you guys have mentioned in this thread. They sent me to another manufacturer who I contacted and am ordering a different pedal... a DPDT. We'll see how this looks hopefully more straight forward for someone like me

[Jim Becker]

Mark, if this is a 240v tool, you need to check and see if you can even use a simple DPDT switch with it. A lot of these tools use mag switches or motor starters and it's important to know what's required before you spend money.

[Mark R Webster]

Hi Jim, Thanks for the advice I will check into it.

[Mark R Webster]

Ok…. I ordered/and received a new/different foot pedal/switch. To my surprise, it has no schematic included and no wiring instructions. But, upon taking it apart, I identified the actual switch inside. (different manufacturer). The rest of the unit is just a mechanical exterior.
Again, I am not an electrician so excuse my ignorance. Here is a link for the switch inside the exterior http://products.omron.us/Asset/DZ_10..._en_201109.pdf . I am trying to figure out how to wire it up. I am coming from a 240V 20 A outlet at the wall with 2 hots and a ground. There is a spot for the ground on the foot pedal body. The switch product number is DZ-10G-1A1 and is made by Omron. It has the pin plunger and solder terminals. Looks like 6 places one can attach wires, two labeled COM, two labeled NC and two labeled NO. Looking at the “Structure” description on the datasheet, it appears one would attach the hots from the wall to the Com1 and Com2 and the outgoing “hots” could attach to the NC or NO connections. The info says the NC and NO refer to Inrush currents. NC is 30 A max and NO is 15 A max. The tool only uses 7 amps with 240. Can someone describe which connectors I should attach the 2 hots from the wall to and which connectors I should attach the outgoing “hots” to?

[John Lanciani]

NC is Normally Closed, NO is Normally Open. This is the state of the contact at rest. If you want the machine to run when you press the pedal you use the normally open contacts.

Is the switch you have momentary or continuous? (Do you have to keep your foot on the pedal to keep the machine running, or is it press on, press off?)

[Mark R Webster]

The switch is described as Maintained (press on / press off). So... would I connect the incoming hots, one to each "COM" and the outgoing hots one to each "NO" terminal?
Thanks
If your wondering why I am not asking the pedal's customer service, I have called them once and they were kind of rude and I got the feeling they were irritated that I was asking questions. That was when I was asking which pedal to buy. I am afraid I will get the "idiot" treatment... "just hire an electrician" .... "why are you asking me these questions?".
pics from switch manufacturer's documentation

IMG_3541.jpgIMG_3543 2.jpgIMG_3542.jpg

[Ronald Blue]

There are far more qualified people than I to chime in here. As John stated you will use the normally open terminals. I'm not a fan of unguarded foot switches. The dangers are obvious in some applications. Someone mentioned earlier to get a guard and it's good advice. I think a disconnect might be a good idea here as well. Or unplug when not in use. You could use one side of the normally closed contacts to turn on a power light whenever the circuit is energized. Just as a reminder it was "live". This is pretty straight forward circuitry here. Good luck.

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Ronald, this switch is enclosed in a very sturdy cast iron foot pedal frame. I can set up a guard as you described, in addition though. Does my description of where to put the wires make sense and is it appropriate? Sorry for being dense, I just don't want to do this in an unsafe way.

[John Lanciani]

You may well burn that switch up using it to start an induction motor,it doesn’t appear to have a horsepower rating. A typical 1 hp induction motor running at 240 volts is going to have 40-60 amps of inrush current, it looks like the switch is only rated to pick up 15 amps. A .5mm contact gap is also going to have a hard time breaking the load.

Did the manufacturer or distributor sell sell it to you as a motor rated switch?

ETA - I just took a close look at the mfr spec sheet, that switch is only rate for a 1/4 hp or 1amp inductive load at 240 volts AC. It will probably fail the first time you try to use it on your sander.

[Mark R Webster]

I told the tech support guy from the pedal company that I was going to use it on a Jet stationary belt sander. He indicated that it would work...?

[Dan Friedrichs]

He was wrong. You're going to have a hard time finding a DPDT switch that can run a load this large - at this scale, it makes WAY more sense to use a contactor, so that's what people would do. You need to do what Mike suggested - use the switch to control a relay (contactor).

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Dan

[Jim Becker]

Please look again at the diagram I provided in post #13. Replace the switch with your foot pedal (what you have will be fine) and the cyclone with your sander. That's all you need to do what you want to do safely. Contactors are made for this purpose. The "control" side can be 120v or low voltage...whatever you prefer. Just buy a contactor that matches what you want on the control side and has the appropriate current rating on the load side. Mount the contactor in a small electrical enclosure (I used a tiny "load center" cabinet and ripped out the breaker provisions to just use the box)

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Jim!!