Could you please
explain why a relay controlled by a remote switch is a bad idea? BTW,
thanks for the links.

a) Because a relay is _NOT_ typically rated for motor-start loads.
b) Because a relay is not designed for the purpose you suggest.
c) Because a relay does not accept abuse very well.

Whereas:
a) A definite-purpose contactor _IS_ rated for whatever motor load you choose (it's only money).
b) A definite-purpose contactor _IS_ designed to turn motors on and off, as needed and as often as needed.
c) A definite-purpose contactor _MAY_ be designed against any number of coil voltages.
d) A definite-purpose contactor _IS_ quite reliable if installed correctly..
e) A definite-purpose contactor will take a great deal of abuse. In point of fact, they were developed for exactly the sort of scenario you suggest.

Again - this venue may often get used as a means to avoid the safe-and-correct solution in preference for the Kluge solution - but that does not make that solution correct, nor safe, nor reasonable.

Keep in mind that any problem with electricity, motors, and controls for same has, at some point in the last 130 years or so, been addressed and managed. Most, quite elegantly. Reinventing a simple wheel only for the sake of that reinvention is always futile, often silly, and all too often, dangerous.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA