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Re-wire SS Vac for detail shop use

Waxman

Super Moderator
Hello all

I have some new/used car wash coin-op vacuums that I want to wire with an on/off switch for my detail shop.

They have an IDX timer and IDX MA800 coin acceptor.

What is the best way for me to accomplish this / what would you do?

Thank you!
 
Bypass the timer and coin acceptor and use a 20 or 30 amp rated fuse or you could run it through a relay and use a lighter rated switch. A simple on - off light switch would work. I did this in my detail shop and ad a 50 foot hose so I could reach about anywhere in the shop.
 
A while back I installed a vacuum at a body shop. They wanted a push button to pulse the timer to start the vacuum. I took the coin acceptor out and connected the push button to the coin input on the timer and then changed the timer so it would run for X amount of minutes with each push of the button. The reason they wanted a push button and timer was they would sometimes close up for the night, go home and leave vacuum running. They were happy with it.
 
If you aren't worried about them being left on unnecessarily, you can just add a 30A toggle switch. That's how most vac manufacturers sell them. You don't need a separate fuse or internal breaker or relay, just don't have more than one vac on a 20A dedicated circuit.

I've set up vacs for detailers before, and they usually like them on a timer. JE Adams sells theirs with a single pushbutton and a non-accumulating timer to run preset minutes. I wouldn't use the accumulating timer if you want to limit the time on per press since people will figure out a bunch of presses will have it on for an hour.
 
You know what would be nice is if you mounted it outside the building and ran the line through the wall to reduce noise. With a push button pulsing a timer, you could use 18-2 wire and mount a pushbutton station from somewhere like automation direct on the wall.
 
Yes the plan is to install the vacs outside the building and run the hoses and wires inside.

I'm planning to use an on off switch with some type of light indicator so that I know when the vacuum is on.
 
I've sold several extra vacs to detail shops/car lots and just wire a toggle switch in. No need for the timer or anything else. Straight connection to the 120v. A light is a good idea so you know it's on.
 
You know what would be nice is if you mounted it outside the building and ran the line through the wall to reduce noise. With a push button pulsing a timer, you could use 18-2 wire and mount a pushbutton station from somewhere like automation direct on the wall.

I wonder if a possible low cost time delay relay with enough amperage could be integrated with the change-over. Digikey is where I personally would tend to start looking to see what their time setting ranges are etc.

The behind a concrete block wall is what we did for our 2 room dog wash back in 2009. It was to keep the sound level less for both the pet vacuum & also for the even louder pet blo dry. Just the hoses & nozzles are on the "less noise desired" side of the wall. We are glad we did it that way considering the unforeseen (yikes) new competition we wound up getting.
 
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