In Theory Would This Work????

Posted on
Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:17 pm
Sharek326 offline
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In Theory Would This Work????

Today my lights blinked in my house due to weather and when they came back on my Whirlpool Tub kicked on even though there was no water in it. Long story short....The Controller got shorted out and of course they don't make this Controller / Pump anymore requiring me up buy a new setup for about $598 bucks.....This got me thinking what if I just used a ZWave device to control the pump.

There is no heater just simple on/ off of the pump. When looking in the accessories panel under the tub it appears to have a controller box with a few ribbon cables running up to the switches on top and into the motor / pump. The pump has a typical 12/2 wire running into it.

Currently the tub is off because I have the breaker off. What if I used a Micro Switch to control the on/off of the pump. The GFI is back at the panel so that is still covered and I am assuming (without opening the pump) the 12/2 is just tied in under a few nuts or a terminal.

In Theory this should work .....right? What would be the best Z-wave device to do the job that Indigo supports?

Posted on
Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:59 pm
Sharek326 offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

lanbrown wrote:
You should be able to use a nano switch to control power to the motor and could possible wire it up to the existing switches.

Have a look:

https://aeotec.com/z-wave-outlet-socket

https://aeotec.freshdesk.com/support/so ... fications-

It says up to 15 amps.



Thats what I was thinking to. The Motor is Max 10Amps so I think I can just bypass the controller and gives me a reason to automate

Posted on
Tue Apr 03, 2018 12:21 am
kw123 offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

Motors when they start draw a lot of amps
I would be carful to not use a switch that would barely fulfill the max amps

Speaking from experience.

Karl


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Posted on
Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:25 am
Sharek326 offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

kw123 wrote:
Motors when they start draw a lot of amps
I would be carful to not use a switch that would barely fulfill the max amps

Speaking from experience.

Karl


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From the specs on both the motor and the switch....The Motor Max Amps is 10 and the Nano Switch Max is 15... I should be ok right?

Posted on
Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:20 am
Colly offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

Depending on the motor the inrush can be 2-3 times the normal running current. If unsure the best option might be to put a higher rated relay/contactor in the circuit which could be controlled by any z-wave device as the current would be minimal.


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Posted on
Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:56 am
kw123 offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

It should also show watts. That should be the steady state power. Divide by voltage then you have the steady state amps. If that is 10 amps then 15amp switch might be to close. If it is 5 amps then you should be fine.


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Posted on
Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:06 am
johnpolasek offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

You might also see if the switch specifies a different number for "Inductive" or "Motor" loads than for "Resistive"...

Posted on
Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:34 pm
Sharek326 offline
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Re: In Theory Would This Work????

So far so good. I installed the Microswitch today and also one of the quad WallMotes to control it. Only small bug I am having is a bit of delay here and there from the time the button is pressed until executed. Once it seemed to hang so I reset theZ- Wave Interface and that cleared it up. I have optimized since then so hopefully that doest the trick.


Not going to lie $50 for the switch was a whole lot better then $600 for new controller.

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