Help Re-wiring the Motor in a 50-875 Air Cleaner

The remote that comes with it works really great.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

Why would you mess with the internal wiring when all you have to do is is wire the outlet to be live when the wall switch is turned on?

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Woochuck—yes, the remote works well, but I have something more automated in mind.

BroDave, this particular unit has a solid-state control panel. When you cut power and then restore power, the unit is reset—ie. even if it was “on” before you cut the power, the unit will not turn back on again until you manually (or via the remote) press the “on” button on the control panel. Therefore, a simple wall switch won’t do.

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

I’ve been thinking about replacing the solid state control with some type of mechanical switch so I can control the unit with a wall switch I wired up to the ceiling plug when I built my shop. I know I’d give up the timer option ( which I’ve never used ) but I hate always looking for the remote and I rarely run the unit above the slowest speed.

-- Dave Herron, Boise, ID -- “That which does not crash the browser, makes it stronger”

I’ve done some searching and reading on AC motors online—this page seemed a reasonable primer, but wound up with more questions than answers. I was especially concerned upon reading about “capacitor-start” motors as there’s a big honkin’ cap hooked up to the red wire at the motor. This made me concerned that the controller may be doing more than just supplying the right voltage to only one wire at a time.

Anyway,...for Dave and anyone else that is interested: I hooked up a voltmeter to the wires coming off the controller and it looks to me to be rather straightforward afterall. I assumed (correctly) white to be “common” and checked in turn the voltage coming off the red, blue and black wires at each setting (slow, medium, fast).

Here’s what I found:

I’m fairly certain that the nominal voltages of 9-14V are inconsequential and unnecessary to motor performance. So based on this, it’s looks pretty clear that I just need to hook up power to my choice of the three to get ‘er goin’. As with Dave, I can’t recall the last time I used anything other than the slow setting, but just in case I change my mind, I’m thinking of purchasing a 3-way mechanical switch so that I can change speeds without having to open the case again.

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

If you locate a switch to do the job, let me know the source.

-- Dave Herron, Boise, ID -- “That which does not crash the browser, makes it stronger”

Partrick – I’m not sure what you are trying to do because of your comment to Woochuck:

“yes, the remote works well, but I have something more automated in mind.”

But instead of rewiring the unit, so you can turn the unit on and off from a wall switch, why don’t you use mount the remote control to the wall where you want switch to be located? If you are trying to do something other than having a wall switch, could you explain what you mean by “more automated”? Curious minds would like to know.

Dave—I’ve picked up a couple heavy duty toggles from Ace and will document what works here…hopefully tonight if I have the time. The rotary SP3T switch they have is only 4A, I bought it but I’m not sure that’s enough…have to review the motor ratings when I get home. I also got a 20A SP2T that would work in a high/low configuration, which I think would be sufficient.

Jimp- I didn’t want to get too deep into specifics mainly because I didn’t want to clutter the thread…and figured I’d blog about the whole thing once (and “if”) I got it working. But, since you asked:
My plan is to use an Insteon-enabled switch to control the air filter’s outlet. Then, when the X10 signal is sent to turn the dust collector on, it’ll trigger an event to also turn on the air filter. When the dust collector is turned “off,” I plan to set up a timer to turn off the air filter after some amount of time, say 2 minutes. This way I’m pretty much guaranteed to use the system.

I also have a 300CFM vent fan currently controlled by an Insteon switch that’s installed in the ceiling a few feet past the output of the air filter…and I’m thinking I could also have this switch on/off automatically with the air filter, but only when the outside air temperature is +/- a certain number of degrees of the shop.

Someday I’ll likely build my own sensors and blast gate controllers to automate the entire works—so all I’d need to do it start the CMS, for example, and the entire “dust control system” will fire up/down automatically.

Also, the Delta remote control is IR and would therefore need to be mounted “line of site” to work—which would require it to live in a rather inconvenient location in my shop. ;)

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

I dunno, useing a belt clip for the remote would seem to me to be alot easier and convieniant. You wouldn’t be constantly walking over to the switch on the wall. There are also times I don’t need the DC running when I need the air filtration box going. I think it’s a huge waste of time and you could possibly ruin something. But it’s your machinery, don’t ask me to screw it up for you. If you mess it up, it’s your fault, no one elses.

-- If you can't find the time to do it properly, how will you find the time to fix it ?

don’t worry ‘bout me, woodchuck…it won’t take all that long, I won’t blame anyone else and even if I fail I wouldn’t consider it wasted time, anyway.

Clearly this hack isn’t for you, but I would find this significantly more convenient as well as an interesting project!

;)

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

Patrick – I like your plan and I hope it works for you. I can’t wait to read about it once you have it working.

OK…I’m done!

I’ll put up a blog with more details on this later…but it’s late and I’m tired, so for now, here’s the summary:
I’ve installed (2) switches. One of them a DPDT that switches between “Direct” and “Remote” modes as I’ve labeled them (for lack of a better idea). “Direct” is hardwired into the second switch where I can set it to “High” or “Low” speed and “Remote” activates the original controller so the unit functions as the factory intended—using the supplied IR remote and built-in keypad. I can’t imagine why I’d ever switch it back to “remote” mode, but it was easy enough to do, so now I have the option.

Here’s a pic:

BTW, I set it up so that the switched outlet is controllable via my X10 keychain remote. So now I can use an RF remote instead of the included IR…though, again, I’m not terribly keen on keeping tabs on the remote control and will ultimately be programming this to turn on/off automatically with the dust collector.

Total time: ~4hours, including research into AC motors.

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

Look like it may be a good solution. Are the switches remaining cool to the touch while the fan is running? I put too many lights on a dimmer switch awhile back an burned it out.

-- Dave Herron, Boise, ID -- “That which does not crash the browser, makes it stronger”

I didn’t keep a hand on any of the switches while it was running, but there’s a 5A fuse in the unit (that I kept in-line) and the switch ratings far exceed this. The switches are both rated 20A @125V. That won’t be an issue.

Dimmer switches are a very different animal from simple toggles as they use resistance and convert some of the power to heat instead of sending it on to the load. You definitely need to be sure to stay well under the switch wattage rating if you want to keep from burning your fingers, or anything else for that matter!

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL www.TenonAndSpline.com

Well done Patrick, excellent.
I should have looked into the machine before I asked my first question. I deal with those “in sight” remotes on ductless A/C units and hate them, as do most end users when they misplace the remote.

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