Thanks for the video! I bought the changeover (blue) switch to replace a rotary switch in my 3hp 220v wood shaper. I'm hoping it's okay for that AC single phase use. It's rated at 20amps and the mag switch for my shaper motor is rated at 18amps. It looks like I'll have to jumper like you've done here to create a common. I was hoping you could confirm the wiring for me so I don't blow up the switch. It's a 4 wire single phase motor (green, red, black, white) and single phase 220v power wire coming in from a Nema 6-50R receptacle (black, red, green). The motor cover indicates that with the 4-wire side, connecting white and red rotates one direction and connecting white and black rotates the other. However, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the input having 3 wires, but the motor having 4. I guess Nema 6-50 calls for 2 power legs (red and black) and a ground wire, but no neutral. That said, the ground connects to the same bus bar in the mains box as neutral, so it seems like it could act as a neutral/common. That makes me think that I should use the ground/green wire from the wall as common for the rotary switch. However, that would keep me from connecting the ground at the machine to the wall. Any chance I could pester you for some help on how to best wire things in this situation?
I would love to help you but I can't give wiring instructions based on a description. It's way to easy for use to have a miscommunication and then to have bad things happen. The switch amps is max and operating amperage is usually 2/3-3/4 max. The good news is your motor is 18 amps max and the operating amperage is likely less then that but hard to say exactly how much. I guess what I am trying to say is the switch is likely on the raged edge of being big enough
@dazecars No worries and thanks for the reply. I noticed the switch is physically smaller than the original, so i ended up buying another one that's the same physical size and actually rated at 63 amps, so that one ought to have a ton of headroom. At first I thought your crossover jumper setup from the video wouldn't apply to my situation with an AC induction motor vs the DC treadmill motor, however, I was able to use the same idea to draw up a wiring scenario I believe will work for my situation. It will basically do the same thing to the two power legs and use the third switch/row on the cam switch to tie in the motor's white wire to whichever power leg passes through on that side. If the switch is turned to the right, the white wire ends up tied to the black power wire for CW rotation and when the switch is turned to the left the white wire ends up tied to the red power wire for CCW rotation. When the new switch arrives and I get it all wired up, I'll test it with a multimeter to confirm it's working as I believe it should. This video was a big help though, so thanks again!
Smart to use a meter, in fact I would use one to confirm the function of the old switch of part of it still works, then all you need to do is match function and wire it "the same" in respect to function
@dazecars Sadly, it was a used shaper and the old switch never worked for reverse (just buzzed). Fortunately though, I managed to figure out all of the jumper wires needed to connect everything and she runs in both directions now. Whew! Throws my brain for a loop trying to get all the wiring figured out, but I'm happy it worked out in the end. Thanks again for the videos and the helpful tips!
I am building a camper out of an all aluminum cargo trailer. I got a apiele 32A 3 position 8 terminal rotary selector switch. I want to switch between my Bluetti AC 300 solar generator and shore power. The Bluetti has a 30A plug to hook a camper into it. I was wanting to wire the other end of a 30 amp cord to the switch. And have the shore power on the trailer hooked to the switch. So I can select either source to my power distribution panel. Some videos iv watched have said to use jumper wires. Some didn’t. One guy combined all the grounds together. With a wire nut. I could use some clarification
I think I am following what you are doing but on the off chance we have a miscommunication or are not on the same page I would need more info to provide info. You can contact me through my website with pix drawings and the like and if I can get a clear picture of what you are doing I may be able to help.
I'm trying to run two 15,000 btu ac's in my travel trailer on one power source using that same switch. I need to run one at a time. Using 12/2 wire I assume I take the power wire and connect all of them the same as the red power wire in you video. Is that switch heavy enough for ac's to run safely? Great video.
I have no idea if the switch is heavy enough or not you need to determine the amps and volts of the AC units and then match the switch accordingly. The BTU doesn't help at all as different units will have different power requirements.
Thanks for the video. What switch would you recommend for the following? I want to replace the motor on my 220v 40a water heater, with a switch that can choose to send power to my water heater (which I use once a month bc of solar hot water) or power to a 220v outlet for a level 2 car charger? Could I use a changeover switch? I saw someone comment somewhere that changeover switches shouldn’t be switched while under load. Not sure if this is true. What would you recommend? These changeover switches look nice and simple.
The biggest thing is that you are getting a switch with the correct amp rating. A switch that is bigger will be better than one that is smaller. Most switches that go from one thing to another will be better off with no load. Although this is slightly less of an issue when working with AC compared to DC.
“Most switches from one thing to another are better off with no load”. If this switch goes form one thing, to nothing on, to the other on, is that the same concern? What is the risk of going from one thing on to the other thing on under load? This will be 220v.
typically when you hit a power switch its going from no load to load or vise versa. Then when it comes on it typically takes a second to build to full amp draw. Load to load there is no build and there is no off. It is harder on the contacts inside the switch. Again your best bet is to get a switch rated higher than the volts and amps you are dealing with. if your at 220AC V and 40 amps I would try to find a switch that is at least 50% more in both specs.
i want to put a rotary switch in my motorhome, so i can alternate between the 230v mains hook up and a 230v 30amp hook up from a battery power bank made for motorhomes, 2 alternative feeds into the switch with one common feed going back to the original fuse box, so i can have mains electric from the power bank when wild camping, am i right in thinking just wire up the rotary switch but have the 2 sides used as feeds feeding the common i have seen 32amp rotary switches which is what i am going to use, enjoyed your video thx for taking the time to post it regards chris
problem is you are dealing with DC and the high amp rating of most rotary switches is for AC. You will need a specific high volt high amp DC switch and it will be expensive. The consequences of using the wrong switch could be a fire or worse. Thanks for the comment, glad you liked my videos.
excellent point and a nice option to have in a pinch but at that point a higher amp switch with the correct features would make more sense to me as they are not that expensive.
I have the same switch, well not same because it only has 2 and yours has 3 which I bought the switch off Amazon and they didn't send me a schematic on how to wire it. I bought it for my lathe because my 110 lathe motor will do forward or reverse and I was on the assumption that switch did. Maybe you can do a video on wiring that switch for forward and reverse? Thanks a bunch I really appreciate the way you explain yourself in videos.
You're not wrong. It wasn't bad until I added the lights and then I didn't realize that the camera angle didn't allow for a clear view of what was going on.
Thanks for the video! I bought the changeover (blue) switch to replace a rotary switch in my 3hp 220v wood shaper. I'm hoping it's okay for that AC single phase use. It's rated at 20amps and the mag switch for my shaper motor is rated at 18amps. It looks like I'll have to jumper like you've done here to create a common. I was hoping you could confirm the wiring for me so I don't blow up the switch. It's a 4 wire single phase motor (green, red, black, white) and single phase 220v power wire coming in from a Nema 6-50R receptacle (black, red, green). The motor cover indicates that with the 4-wire side, connecting white and red rotates one direction and connecting white and black rotates the other. However, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the input having 3 wires, but the motor having 4. I guess Nema 6-50 calls for 2 power legs (red and black) and a ground wire, but no neutral. That said, the ground connects to the same bus bar in the mains box as neutral, so it seems like it could act as a neutral/common. That makes me think that I should use the ground/green wire from the wall as common for the rotary switch. However, that would keep me from connecting the ground at the machine to the wall. Any chance I could pester you for some help on how to best wire things in this situation?
I would love to help you but I can't give wiring instructions based on a description. It's way to easy for use to have a miscommunication and then to have bad things happen. The switch amps is max and operating amperage is usually 2/3-3/4 max. The good news is your motor is 18 amps max and the operating amperage is likely less then that but hard to say exactly how much. I guess what I am trying to say is the switch is likely on the raged edge of being big enough
@dazecars No worries and thanks for the reply. I noticed the switch is physically smaller than the original, so i ended up buying another one that's the same physical size and actually rated at 63 amps, so that one ought to have a ton of headroom. At first I thought your crossover jumper setup from the video wouldn't apply to my situation with an AC induction motor vs the DC treadmill motor, however, I was able to use the same idea to draw up a wiring scenario I believe will work for my situation. It will basically do the same thing to the two power legs and use the third switch/row on the cam switch to tie in the motor's white wire to whichever power leg passes through on that side. If the switch is turned to the right, the white wire ends up tied to the black power wire for CW rotation and when the switch is turned to the left the white wire ends up tied to the red power wire for CCW rotation. When the new switch arrives and I get it all wired up, I'll test it with a multimeter to confirm it's working as I believe it should. This video was a big help though, so thanks again!
Smart to use a meter, in fact I would use one to confirm the function of the old switch of part of it still works, then all you need to do is match function and wire it "the same" in respect to function
@dazecars Sadly, it was a used shaper and the old switch never worked for reverse (just buzzed). Fortunately though, I managed to figure out all of the jumper wires needed to connect everything and she runs in both directions now. Whew! Throws my brain for a loop trying to get all the wiring figured out, but I'm happy it worked out in the end. Thanks again for the videos and the helpful tips!
glad you got it working and that I was of some help if only a little bit.
I am building a camper out of an all aluminum cargo trailer. I got a apiele 32A 3 position 8 terminal rotary selector switch. I want to switch between my Bluetti AC 300 solar generator and shore power. The Bluetti has a 30A plug to hook a camper into it. I was wanting to wire the other end of a 30 amp cord to the switch. And have the shore power on the trailer hooked to the switch. So I can select either source to my power distribution panel. Some videos iv watched have said to use jumper wires. Some didn’t. One guy combined all the grounds together. With a wire nut. I could use some clarification
I think I am following what you are doing but on the off chance we have a miscommunication or are not on the same page I would need more info to provide info. You can contact me through my website with pix drawings and the like and if I can get a clear picture of what you are doing I may be able to help.
I'm trying to run two 15,000 btu ac's in my travel trailer on one power source using that same switch. I need to run one at a time. Using 12/2 wire I assume I take the power wire and connect all of them the same as the red power wire in you video. Is that switch heavy enough for ac's to run safely?
Great video.
I have no idea if the switch is heavy enough or not you need to determine the amps and volts of the AC units and then match the switch accordingly. The BTU doesn't help at all as different units will have different power requirements.
@@dazecars Sorry, they are 20amp circuits, 110volt.
that switch seams a little small for that amperage. I would go with this one amzn.to/4hdaZkR
@@dazecars Thank you for the replies. I ordered the one you suggested but its not expected until Feb. sometime. Got the blue one to experiment with.
Got the red one because you mentions the bigger contacts.
Thanks for the tips 👍😎👍
Any time!
I got the same blue rotary switch but it only has 2 banks. Can i still use that as a direction switch for a treadmill motor?
Even though likely rated for decent amps on AC the contacts on the blue switches I have seen are small and not a good choice for DC current
Thanks for the video. What switch would you recommend for the following? I want to replace the motor on my 220v 40a water heater, with a switch that can choose to send power to my water heater (which I use once a month bc of solar hot water) or power to a 220v outlet for a level 2 car charger? Could I use a changeover switch? I saw someone comment somewhere that changeover switches shouldn’t be switched while under load. Not sure if this is true. What would you recommend? These changeover switches look nice and simple.
The biggest thing is that you are getting a switch with the correct amp rating. A switch that is bigger will be better than one that is smaller. Most switches that go from one thing to another will be better off with no load. Although this is slightly less of an issue when working with AC compared to DC.
“Most switches from one thing to another are better off with no load”. If this switch goes form one thing, to nothing on, to the other on, is that the same concern? What is the risk of going from one thing on to the other thing on under load? This will be 220v.
typically when you hit a power switch its going from no load to load or vise versa. Then when it comes on it typically takes a second to build to full amp draw. Load to load there is no build and there is no off. It is harder on the contacts inside the switch. Again your best bet is to get a switch rated higher than the volts and amps you are dealing with. if your at 220AC V and 40 amps I would try to find a switch that is at least 50% more in both specs.
i want to put a rotary switch in my motorhome, so i can alternate between the 230v mains hook up and a 230v 30amp hook up from a battery power bank made for motorhomes, 2 alternative feeds into the switch with one common feed going back to the original fuse box, so i can have mains electric from the power bank when wild camping, am i right in thinking just wire up the rotary switch but have the 2 sides used as feeds feeding the common i have seen 32amp rotary switches which is what i am going to use, enjoyed your video thx for taking the time to post it regards chris
problem is you are dealing with DC and the high amp rating of most rotary switches is for AC. You will need a specific high volt high amp DC switch and it will be expensive. The consequences of using the wrong switch could be a fire or worse. Thanks for the comment, glad you liked my videos.
I am trying power from battery(inverter) and ac power when needed to use manually.
did you have a question?
Should be Able to wire all three of the contact gangs on each side in parallel , to triple the contact rating.
excellent point and a nice option to have in a pinch but at that point a higher amp switch with the correct features would make more sense to me as they are not that expensive.
I have the same switch, well not same because it only has 2 and yours has 3 which I bought the switch off Amazon and they didn't send me a schematic on how to wire it. I bought it for my lathe because my 110 lathe motor will do forward or reverse and I was on the assumption that switch did. Maybe you can do a video on wiring that switch for forward and reverse? Thanks a bunch I really appreciate the way you explain yourself in videos.
you need to find a wiring diagram for your motor and then test the switch so you know what connects to ehat in any given position
What a mess of jumbled wires using to explain 😂😂
You're not wrong. It wasn't bad until I added the lights and then I didn't realize that the camera angle didn't allow for a clear view of what was going on.