Now that I've found an adaptor to connect my Wickes/Earlex vac to my circ
saw, I was wondering...

You can get vacs with a socket outlet on, so you can plug a power tool into
it. When you start the power tool the vac switches on, stopping the power
tool switches off the vac.

I assume some kinda electronic gizmo senses the load and does the switching.

Can you buy said gizmo to fit to an existing vac?



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Can you buy said gizmo to fit to an existing vac?

I've not seen a task-specific gizmo, but how about the "intelligent"
power strips that are sold for turning off all the crap round your PC
when you turn off the computer itself? They have one socket that's
always on, and others that are on only when at least 100watts or so is
being drawn from the first one.

Pete

The Medway Handyman submitted this idea :
Now that I've found an adaptor to connect my Wickes/Earlex vac to my circ
saw, I was wondering...

You can get vacs with a socket outlet on, so you can plug a power tool into
it. When you start the power tool the vac switches on, stopping the power
tool switches off the vac.

I assume some kinda electronic gizmo senses the load and does the switching.

Can you buy said gizmo to fit to an existing vac?

Don't know about the suitability (check the ratings), but you can get a
power strip for a computer, which turns on/off several sockets operated
by the current drawn as you turn the PC on and off. Turn the PC on and
the other sockets become live, turn it off they all turn off.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Pete Verdon wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

Can you buy said gizmo to fit to an existing vac?

I've not seen a task-specific gizmo, but how about the "intelligent"
power strips that are sold for turning off all the crap round your PC
when you turn off the computer itself? They have one socket that's
always on, and others that are on only when at least 100watts or so is
being drawn from the first one.

Yep. Saw one in B&Q not 30 mins ago for 15 quid.
David

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:50:29 GMT, The Medway Handyman wrote:

You can get vacs with a socket outlet on, so you can plug a power tool
into it. When you start the power tool the vac switches on, stopping
the power tool switches off the vac.

Yes the Earlex PowerVac:

http://earlex.co.uk/html/wd_html/wd1200p.htm

Cheap, cheerful, does the job. The Power take off is limited to 1800W but
as the Vac is 1200W that probably has more to do with the loading on a
single 13A plug (3000W +/- a tad depending on voltage).

There are probably other similar vacs about.

With the "power saver" plug strips I'd watch what the maximum load through
the monitored socket is and what the total load for the switched ones is.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:20:41 +0100, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

Turn the PC on and the other sockets become live, turn it off they all
turn off.

That reminds me the Earlex has about 10s run on for the vacum after the
power tool is switched off this clears the last bits of dust or WHY from
the pipe work. Not sure these "PC" switched power strips have such a
delay.

--
Cheers
Dave.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman"
saying something like:

I assume some kinda electronic gizmo senses the load and does the switching.

Can you buy said gizmo to fit to an existing vac?

Get one of the vacs from Lidl/Aldi next time they're in. I was using
mine that way to collect concrete dust from 14 double socket holes and
it was tremendous the way the dust got sucked in as I worked.
--

Dave

Dave Liquorice wrote:

That reminds me the Earlex has about 10s run on for the vacum after the
power tool is switched off this clears the last bits of dust or WHY from
the pipe work. Not sure these "PC" switched power strips have such a
delay.

The one I tried out briefly for my telly (the freeview box didn't draw
enough power to switch it) left the sockets on for a few seconds. Don't
think it was as long as ten though.

Pete