Smart Switch for Compressor???

[Bessy]

Occasionally, I forget to turn the compressor off before leaving the garage. Now our garage is detached from the house so it's not like it's going to necessarily be a big deal (to us) if it kicks on in the middle of the night. However I am planning to move it out of the garage to a shed in the not so distant future and I want to be considerate of the neighborhood.

We have a number of lamps and other items in the house on smart switch outlets that can be monitored from our phones, and controlled with a schedule. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a smart switch that can handle a 230v (sticker rating) motor that could be wired in or a similar solution that could connect to something like IFTTT or a similar interface so that I can automatically cut the power at certain times of the day, and/or monitor whether the system is powered or not?

I suppose if I have my leaks all sorted I could rely on a smart valve of sorts, but I do think some smart version to cut the power entirely after a certain time of day would be a better solution.

And with that, I turn it over to the brain trust. Give me your best solutions!

 

[kwb]

I have been down this road a few times, never actually installed anything.
I think the best solution is a normally closed solenoid valve (120V) mounted at the tank and attached to a timer (or smart plug). If you want automation.
I just redid my compressor shed and I am putting a "porch" light on the side of it that is on if the breaker is on to the compressor. That light will be very obvious at my bedroom window but generally visible from most of the house at night.

 

[oldmachinenut]

A contactor, properly sized for the motor HP with a 120 volt coil controlled by your shop lights.

 

[DGersic]

Occasionally, I forget to turn the compressor off before leaving the garage. Now our garage is detached from the house so it's not like it's going to necessarily be a big deal (to us) if it kicks on in the middle of the night. However I am planning to move it out of the garage to a shed in the not so distant future and I want to be considerate of the neighborhood.

We have a number of lamps and other items in the house on smart switch outlets that can be monitored from our phones, and controlled with a schedule. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a smart switch that can handle a 230v (sticker rating) motor that could be wired in or a similar solution that could connect to something like IFTTT or a similar interface so that I can automatically cut the power at certain times of the day, and/or monitor whether the system is powered or not?

I suppose if I have my leaks all sorted I could rely on a smart valve of sorts, but I do think some smart version to cut the power entirely after a certain time of day would be a better solution.

And with that, I turn it over to the brain trust. Give me your best solutions!

I’ve seen a few posts using a wall box mounted timer to ensure the compressor gets turned off.

 

[Shiftless]

I’ve seen a few posts using a wall box mounted timer to ensure the compressor gets turned off.

I hope there is a relay involved with those set ups.
The start up current surge for a compressor is pretty big.

 

[MovingAlong]

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a smart switch that can handle a 230v (sticker rating) motor that could be wired in or a similar solution that could connect to something like IFTTT or a similar interface so that I can automatically cut the power at certain times of the day, and/or monitor whether the system is powered or not?

Might consider looking at "smart breakers" instead. May have to put a subpanel in the shed for just the one breaker, but would seem doable.

 

[Bad Habit]

A contactor, properly sized for the motor HP with a 120 volt coil controlled by your shop lights.

That's about what I did. Contactor with 120v coil controlled by a Smart Switch. I kept it separate from the lights so it wouldn't start every time I went into the shop to grab something. It is tied to the light switch, just double tap it to turn it on. Then it does shut off when I turn off the lights. Plus I can turn on/off remotely via my phone

 

[Shiftless]

Here is more input…

Need a way to shut off at night or a Timer switch for air compressor 220v

Hiya- A 5hp old Puma that's had the motor replaced twice. Basically, I'm sick of hearing the compressor go off at 3 am and it's 2 degrees out, and again an hour later. i saw a photosensor post but I was thinking of a 12 hour timer, (4 hour...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Bessy]

That's about what I did. Contactor with 120v coil controlled by a Smart Switch. I kept it separate from the lights so it wouldn't start every time I went into the shop to grab something. It is tied to the light switch, just double tap it to turn it on. Then it does shut off when I turn off the lights. Plus I can turn on/off remotely via my phone

Would love to know more about this set up. Do you have a list of components you used by chance?

 

[Bad Habit]

I used a Square D 2 pole 40a/5HP contactor (https://www.supplyhouse.com/Square-D-8910DP42V02-2-Pole-40-Amp-120V-DP-Contactor) that I mounted inside a 6x6x6 enclosure.

I have a Smartthings setup at the house so just grabbed a compatible light switch for control. I ran a separate circuit for this and also put a GFI outlet on it for incidental power (I have everything in an outdoor shed). I then just set up a routine in Smartthings to turn on that control switch when I hit the shop light switch twice (basically a lighting scene control), then turn everything off.

Works pretty good, I am using Zwave devices, I'm sure WiFi ones would work too, just need a smart controller of some sorts (not that I would ever have the spying eyes around her, but assume Alexa or the Google spy pod would work too)

 

[granturismo850]

Thirty years ago I moved into my new shop building. I bought a new air compressor from Sam's Club, a Campbell Hausfield Black max 5 hp 80 gallon tank for $600. Had the electrician wire it up and turned it on. The only time it has been turned off is when I replaced the drive belt 3 years ago. I leave my cordless tool battery chargers plugged in too.

 

[kwb]

Thirty years ago I moved into my new shop building. I bought a new air compressor from Sam's Club, a Campbell Hausfield Black max 5 hp 80 gallon tank for $600. Had the electrician wire it up and turned it on. The only time it has been turned off is when I replaced the drive belt 3 years ago. I leave my cordless tool battery chargers plugged in too.

Some of us have large piping distribution systems that are prone to have a small leak here and there. Having a compressor cycle at 3am in an otherwise quiet neighborhood isn't very neighborly. If my system is on but I am haven't used anything it will be about 4-5 hours to bleed off enough pressure to cycle on.
If there are gaps in time between using the shop it is also not very energy efficient to let the compressor maintain pressure on a system that isn't going to use it. Compressed air is an expensive utility.

 

[CraigStu]

My compressor is 120V so a little easier. I got a 'twist beyond 10 min' type rotary switch rated far enough amps to run it. Found it at L or HD. It works fine for me I can turn it on for anything up to 60 minutes. For the kind of hobby stuff I do walking to the timer after 60 min to crank in another 60 is no big deal. BTW I also installed a 120V operated valve in the compressor outlet piping. It is plugged into the same outlet as the compressor. I have 2 hose reels and one of them has a tiny leak. SO my piping drains down overnight but the valve keeps the compressor from losing air too. When I turn on the compressor I hear a whooosh and the 30 gal tank has enough air to immediately charge the piping. In the past our house had a remote (100ft) parking pad for a camper. The original owner had run 240V out there to a small circuit box on a post w/ 240 and 120 outlets. I wanted to be able to de-power the thing so I got a 240V contactor that was controlled by a standard 120V wall switch in the house. You could combine my two things into a 240V contactor controlled by a 120V timer.

 

[PoorUB]

Thirty years ago I moved into my new shop building. I bought a new air compressor from Sam's Club, a Campbell Hausfield Black max 5 hp 80 gallon tank for $600. Had the electrician wire it up and turned it on. The only time it has been turned off is when I replaced the drive belt 3 years ago. I leave my cordless tool battery chargers plugged in too.

Probably just bad luck, but when I used to leave my compressor on i had a pressure switch fail and I came home and the compressor was running with the relief valve popped. I don't know how long it had been running that way, but the pump was smoking it was so hit! I had a second time it stayed on too, a air line ruptured and of course the compressor ran for who knows how long.

I have mine tied into my lights so if the lights are off, the compressor is too. I like the wind up timer idea too.

 

[charbar]

All you need to do is run a wire from your lights to the pressure switch on the compressor. Compressor can only run when the shop lights are on.

 

[Beerhippie]

When using a contactor ("definite purpose" contactor, in this case), it's the amperage rating that you really want to pay attention to. For 230V, you should use a 2-pole contactor, as both wires are hot, but it has to be rated for more than the maximum draw of your motor. Look for LRA rating--that's Locked Rotor Amperage, meaning what the max. the motor will pull. Better yet, use the amperage rating of the breaker for the motor.

Two SSRLs (Solid State Relays), one for each pole, are also a good option. Again, get ones rated for at least the LRA rating of your motor--or maybe double that. SSRLs require a heat sink, otherwise, just as easy to use as contactors.

 

[j-becker]

I was working exactly on the same problem. My compressor is outside and I got tired of walking outside and switching it on and sometime forget to switch it off at night. With all the smart home automation around I finally found an easy way to address that:

I am using HomeAssistant and an ESP32 based board for remote operation and automation. I bought a sophisticated board from China (Kinconny A6 $30) because I am not only doing the remote switching and auto off, but have a pressure sensor working and an electronic purge and shutoff valve for the compressor bench tested and ready to install. I used HA since it is open source, there are many ready made configuration files available for download that require no programming for the hardware and you decide what you expose to the cloud. In my case, it all only works on my local wifi. I have set up HA to switch off the compressor at sun down and again at 10 pm if it is on (I can switch it from my mobile phone so it is really easy to override if I still need it).

How to set this up depends on your compressor. Mine runs a 3 phase motor via a VFD so I set it up for the pressure switch to control the VFD's run command. The advantage is that the control voltage in this case is only 12V and safe to monkey around with. The smart switch is just in series with the pressure switch (logical AND) and has a bypass switch in parallel so I can disable the remote and run the compressor if the electronic setup is on the Fritz (usually due to me messing with it -- otherwise it runs stable for several months).

But if your setup is running on 230V including the control voltage for the pressure switch, I would either change that first to low voltage controls (quality components appropriately sized, not ali-express) or get a properly rated contactor (look at industrial focused sites such as automation direct) to put in series with the pressure switch or main power switch that you control via a smart swicth of your choice. If you want to do it properly I would plan what and how you want to do this and leave the installation and final component selection to a qualified electrician.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I have posted this before but I'll share it again,

I wired my compressor (220V Champion, 5HP 2-Stage) so that one leg powers a brass, navigation light off an old Great Lakes Freighter I mounted on the exterior of my tool room.

If the compressor is powered up, the green, Starboard running light is on.

I wired the outlets that power my tool battery chargers through a switch that is tied in with the red, port running light. If the red light is on, the chargers are energized.

At a glance, I can verify I have turned them both off before leaving the shed.

 

[devvar]

I installed a smart relay and contactor to cycle power to my heat pump remotely. Works pretty well, relay is on the wifi, no smart hub or anything required. Adding Smart Relay to Heat Pump Controls

 

[nadogail]

You could install a normally open relay in series with your pressure switch, power to the coil can be taken from shop lights

 

[Norcal]

I used a Square D 2 pole 40a/5HP contactor (https://www.supplyhouse.com/Square-D-8910DP42V02-2-Pole-40-Amp-120V-DP-Contactor) that I mounted inside a 6x6x6 enclosure.

I have a Smartthings setup at the house so just grabbed a compatible light switch for control. I ran a separate circuit for this and also put a GFI outlet on it for incidental power (I have everything in an outdoor shed). I then just set up a routine in Smartthings to turn on that control switch when I hit the shop light switch twice (basically a lighting scene control), then turn everything off.

Works pretty good, I am using Zwave devices, I'm sure WiFi ones would work too, just need a smart controller of some sorts (not that I would ever have the spying eyes around her, but assume Alexa or the Google spy pod would work too)

Not code compliant to use that contactor since it is not UL listed, it’s only a UL recognized component for use in listed equipment, so unless prepared to submit to having it field tested and paying a shitload of money, it’s best to choose a listed contactor.

 

[Skooterj]

Not a compressor, but I used a 220 Volt contactor with a 120 volt trigger with a smart switch wired as the trigger. I can control it from anywhere as well as have it on a schedule to turn off every night for 8 hours. Contactors are cheap, about $15 and can handle the high in rush of current a motor requires.

 

[Bad Habit]

Not code compliant to use that contactor since it is not UL listed, it’s only a UL recognized component for use in listed equipment, so unless prepared to submit to having it field tested and paying a shitload of money, it’s best to choose a listed contactor.

I'll get right on that

 

[Norcal]

I'll get right on that

And TV evangelists are going to quit asking for money.

 

[Bessy]

All you need to do is run a wire from your lights to the pressure switch on the compressor. Compressor can only run when the shop lights are on.

I like this solution in terms of simplicity, but the trouble with this plan is that I'm planning to move the compressor out of the shop into a shed which won't be on the same switch. The big thing I want is the ability to have remote control when I do forget to shut things down so I'm not harassing the neighbors in the middle of the night by the compressor firing up, and secondarily, so I can fire the compressor up before I go out to the shop to begin whatever I'm working on.

 

[Bessy]

I have posted this before but I'll share it again,

I wired my compressor (220V Champion, 5HP 2-Stage) so that one leg powers a brass, navigation light off an old Great Lakes Freighter I mounted on the exterior of my tool room.

If the compressor is powered up, the green, Starboard running light is on.

I wired the outlets that power my tool battery chargers through a switch that is tied in with the red, port running light. If the red light is on, the chargers are energized.

At a glance, I can verify I have turned them both off before leaving the shed.

This is totally up my alley as a boater! If I could do something like this but also have remote functionality to cut or uncut the power as well, that would be mint!

 

[Sleeper]

Idk if I missed where you said how many HP your compressor is but something like this sells for about $60 and says it can handle 3hp at 240v. Not sure what the biggest one is rated for but you could try searching for something like: WiFi outdoor pool timer. There are lots of options in the 40 amp range, maybe you could find a bigger one or make one of those work to activate the pressure switch.

 

[txvwnut]

A contactor, properly sized for the motor HP with a 120 volt coil controlled by your shop lights.

I never thought about tying it to the shop light circuit.

 

[Bessy]

Idk if I missed where you said how many HP your compressor is but something like this sells for about $60 and says it can handle 3hp at 240v. Not sure what the biggest one is rated for but you could try searching for something like: WiFi outdoor pool timer. There are lots of options in the 40 amp range, maybe you could find a bigger one or make one of those work to activate the pressure switch.

My compressor is a 5hp. Electrician wired in a 30a breaker to the panel for it when we moved in. I know I need to upgrade the service to the whole property eventually (100a with 40a going to the garage specifically), I just haven't gone the route of getting 200a service quoted yet.

I'll look into one of these switches!

Cheers,

 

[Mike65]

I have the same problem as the o/p, I went the easy route & just taped a note to the switch plate for the garage lights to make sure the air compressor is off.