Amperage rating for vacuum remote

[wjt]

I have a Fein Turbo I vacuum that is rated at 8 Amps

What should the amperage rating be for a remote for this vacuum?

Is 8 enough or should it be at least 10 amps?


Thanks, Bill

[Steve N]

Does the vac not have an auto start feature?

which model?

Or maybe I don't understand how you plan to use it, but if you hook a tool to the vac plug itself, turning on the tool turns on the vac, at least all of the Fein's I have seen.

[wjt]

The vacuum is used for multiple machines. Tablesaw above blade dust collection, drill press (under the table port which doubles as a light duty vacuum clamp) and a dust port on the router table fence. In addition I have a portion of my garage walled off which can be heated in the winter time with a small oil filled electric radiator heater. I plumbed a vacuum port through the wall so I can have the vacuum in the garage to keep the noise down even though at 63 db the Fein is quiet. I use a Mr. Nozzle 12' as the primary hose and a Fein 16' hose that came with the vacuum in the small area.

In the small area I use the vacuum for my scroll saw and mini lathe which makes a mess. The Fein hose is very flexible so works well for general cleanup as well..

Also the remote would save wear and tear on the on/off switch of the vacuum.

A long winded explanation of why the remote for the vacuum.

Bill

[fredhargis]

If it's not going to have other tools plugged into (some of the vacs have that ability), most of the switches are at least 10 amps, so I think almost any would work. I'd still try to get the heaviest one you can (I have a 15 amp, but I got it on e bay). This one is 13 amps, and I use it on my DC...since it's weather proof, it will hold up to the diust.

[thewizzard]

Get the biggest one you can find. A "typical" outlet is going to be 15 Amps, so obviously you don't need to go above 15 Amps. If your vac is rated at 8 Amps, you would prefferably want to go about 20% higher than that or at least 9.6 Amps.

All that in mind, something between 10 - 15 Amps should be fine.

ALSO, note that many of these general purpose remotes have dual ratings. One is for resistive loads and one is for inductive loads. You want to look at the inductive load rating. Its always lower than the resistive rating to account for power factors associated with inductive and capacitive stuff like motors.

[TDKPE]

thewizzard said:

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ALSO, note that many of these general purpose remotes have dual ratings. One is for resistive loads and one is for inductive loads. You want to look at the inductive load rating. Its always lower than the resistive rating to account for power factors associated with inductive and capacitive stuff like motors.

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I was going to suggest a hp-rated contactor, which takes into account the potentially huge make and break current loads, for the reasons wizzard gives.

[BillN]

I use a Long Ranger for the shop vacuum that's connected most of the time to the blade guard on my saw.

[ianab]

Because it's an inductive load the start current will be higher than the running current, so go with the 15 amp rated unit. If everything else is the same it should be about a dollar more for a heavier triac or slightly bigger relay.

If the lower rated unit is significantly cheaper, what else did they cut costs on to get the price down?

[wjt]

I took Fred's advise and purchased the remote he linked to in his post.

Actually I found what appears to be the same unit sold under the Westek brand (model RFK306) at WalMart.

Thanks for the feedback.

Now to figure out how I can keep from losing the remote. I can loose my glasses easier than I care to admit

Bill

[Waterman]

I have used a Long Ranger remote, actually two of them. One on a 1.5 HP dust collector and one on a JDS air filter. I think they are rated for 20 amps. Overkill for your shop vac but you shouldn't have any issues overloading the switch and you can use it if you upgrade to a dust collector in the future.