Electric Timer device to turn on/off power??

Are there any devices that I could plug in line in between the extension cord and 115v vacuum pump motor that could be set to turn on after so much time? I don't know exactly what to search for and i'm not coming up with much. I know I have heard about people using devices that will turn power on at a certain temperature. I just think it would be handy to have so I could set something when I leave for work early in the morning to turn on 4 hours later or use it to turn the tractor/truck coolant heater on at 3 AM rather than have it run all night from when I leave it the day before.

Just put is on a timer for like lights it will work they make several different style from every half hour to hours. You can select when it come on and goes off i have one on my vacuum pump and it works. Got mine a wal-mart for $10.

ok, i'll have to look at those. I kind of assumed something for lights wouldn't be rated for the current. My motor is 1.5 hp on 115v. I use a 10 gauge 100' extension cord from the garage out to the pump.

what does the 1.5hp draw for amps the one i got is rated for 10amp resistive, 500 watt tungsten, 120v/60Hz and its made by Brinks hope that helps i know they make heavy ones my brother in law is a electrican and his father own a electrial company so they do all my work for me and they said it was fine for my setup.

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Originally Posted by dhbiker1

ok, i'll have to look at those. I kind of assumed something for lights wouldn't be rated for the current. My motor is 1.5 hp on 115v. I use a 10 gauge 100' extension cord from the garage out to the pump.

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depends on the amount of lights it was meant to control. it will have a max wattage rating. It has been my experiance if it was meant for 1000 watts it will not last long at 1000 watts :rolleyes:
watts / volts = amps.: amps. x volts = watts
electric motors and resistive heat(resistive heat includes incandesent light bulbs) all "spike" higher on start up. with motors that is greatly increased if the motor starts under load.



1 HP is 746 watts. depending on the lenght and size of the cord you are running your voltage at the motor(voltage drop) will be less than at the outlet you are using. unless it is just crazy long or small it usually is and can be mostly ignored. but if you are at the upper limit of a wattage rating of any of the components in your system. It then becomes a major issue. IE component failure.
EXAMPLE
take a portable air compressor that starts fine in the shop with 100 psi "head" against the pump. now plug it in through a 100 foot cord.
unless the cord is massive compared to the "amperage" rating of the compressor. it will not start or barely start with 100 psi head, this is due to voltage drop in the cord combined with the increase starting amperage of the motor under load. that is why most motors have an FLA rating that is the amperage drawn when the motor can not turn. it is there so you can factor in the wire and breakers sizes to accommodate that requirement and not just go by the running load.
I hope i HAVE NOT JUST SUCCEDED IN CONFUSING YOU MORE!

I have been wondering why people are putting vac systems on timers...
why not thermostats?
for small pumps you could use a 110 thermostat set on cooling.(gets so warm pump comes on) connected directly, on bigger systems use the 110 thermo to control a relay or motor starter block.

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Originally Posted by Kev

I have been wondering why people are putting vac systems on timers...
why not thermostats?
for small pumps you could use a 110 thermostat set on cooling.(gets so warm pump comes on) connected directly, on bigger systems use the 110 thermo to control a relay or motor starter block.

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That's exactly what I'm doing. I have a microcontroller with two solid state relays. When the microcontroller senses the outside temperature is warm enough it will turn on the relays for the vacuum pump and the relay for the pump house. When the temperature becomes too cold it will turn off the vacuum pumps and initiate a countdown to purge the releaser of sap and then turn off the pump house. The reason the pump house gets power turned off is because I have two solenoid valves that drain the pump to prevent it from freezing.

Twofer and Kev, where do you get all the controls for your temp. controls and micro controllers? Ebay? I have a 3hp, 220v. motor running my vacuum pump and I have considered putting some sort of temperature controller system on the system to start and stop the vac.

Twofer. What are you setting for start up and shut down?

2fer
Micro controls are very nice.
I myself prefer "caveman-oldschool" get any supply house parts and components. that way if something breaks after hours I can pay too much if I have to and get it from a plumber or a sparky or what ever trade is involved and be up and running again.or go to a supply house if they are open and pick it up myself. Instead of having to wait for replacement parts or components from a specialty manufacturer. LOL i think this might come from living in the middle of no where :lol:
homestead
I do not have a vac system, maybe someday:D I hope to run some taps on gravity next year and least get into the last century:cool:
I had asked about it because I have seen several posts about peps running out to turn on vac systems if the temp hit 33 or so degrees.
Then there were other posts of people using timers to turn on their systems. To me it would make more sense to use a t-stat so it will come on auto at the right temp. I also understand that many people have to run their vacs on generators so then controls are a mute point, unless you use one to shut down when it gets to cold out.
I know there are t-stats for 110v for around 60 bucks new. This is the kind my dads furnace at his house uses since its hot water heat with blowers in the radiators in each room. so it uses a 110 t-stat in each room for the blowers.
using one of those would save you from having to use a step down transformer to run the t-stat and then a relay controlled by the t-stat to turn on a 110 motor (small amperage but i doubt anyone one is running a vac sytstem that is small enough to not require a starter) higher amperage 110 or 220 would still require a motor starter that could be controlled with the 110 t-stat (connected in place of the stop start buttons)
For the 110 t-stat I would go to a heating and cooling supply company if it were me, they tend to be a little cheaper there than the electrical supply places, at least in my area. or yes you could look on ebay
would you like me to build you a box that you just plug into ? I need some paying work:lol:

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Originally Posted by Homestead Maple

Twofer and Kev, where do you get all the controls for your temp. controls and micro controllers? Ebay? I have a 3hp, 220v. motor running my vacuum pump and I have considered putting some sort of temperature controller system on the system to start and stop the vac.

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For the microcontroller I use a cheap Arduino from here: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9950

Just a heads up but it is a microcontroller that will need to be programmed. Since I'm a network engineer by day and a sap burner by night I am able to use my day job skills to program it to do whatever I need it to do.

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Originally Posted by Typical8

Twofer. What are you setting for start up and shut down?

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Right now I have it set to turn off at 30 degrees and turn on at 33. This is my first season and I'm still experimenting with it. I think I can run it lower than this but the releaser I purchased has a leak around the float rod and it freezes up if I run it lower than 30 degrees.

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Originally Posted by Kev

2fer
Micro controls are very nice.
I myself prefer "caveman-oldschool" get any supply house parts and components. that way if something breaks after hours I can pay too much if I have to and get it from a plumber or a sparky or what ever trade is involved and be up and running again.or go to a supply house if they are open and pick it up myself. Instead of having to wait for replacement parts or components from a specialty manufacturer. LOL i think this might come from living in the middle of no where
homestead
I do not have a vac system, maybe someday:D I hope to run some taps on gravity next year and least get into the last century:cool:
I had asked about it because I have seen several posts about peps running out to turn on vac systems if the temp hit 33 or so degrees.
Then there were other posts of people using timers to turn on their systems. To me it would make more sense to use a t-stat so it will come on auto at the right temp. I also understand that many people have to run their vacs on generators so then controls are a mute point, unless you use one to shut down when it gets to cold out.
I know there are t-stats for 110v for around 60 bucks new. This is the kind my dads furnace at his house uses since its hot water heat with blowers in the radiators in each room. so it uses a 110 t-stat in each room for the blowers.
using one of those would save you from having to use a step down transformer to run the t-stat and then a relay controlled by the t-stat to turn on a 110 motor (small amperage but i doubt anyone one is running a vac sytstem that is small enough to not require a starter) higher amperage 110 or 220 would still require a motor starter that could be controlled with the 110 t-stat (connected in place of the stop start buttons)
For the 110 t-stat I would go to a heating and cooling supply company if it were me, they tend to be a little cheaper there than the electrical supply places, at least in my area. or yes you could look on ebay
would you like me to build you a box that you just plug into ? I need some paying work:lol:

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Since it's just a $30 microcontroller I have a standby that I've already uploaded my custom programming to in case of a failure. And next year I plan to have it logging tank level, temperature, and vacuum level measurements to my webserver. This will allow me to check on the status of the system from anywhere and see if there are any problems or if I need to get home ASAP and start boiling. :)

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Originally Posted by twofer

Since it's just a $30 microcontroller I have a standby that I've already uploaded my custom programming to in case of a failure. And next year I plan to have it logging tank level, temperature, and vacuum level measurements to my webserver. This will allow me to check on the status of the system from anywhere and see if there are any problems or if I need to get home ASAP and start boiling. :)

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excellent !