Contributed by:
Moshmont
Submitted: june24 2004
A little bit of info on
what can control shaded pole and other general types of
AC motors:
Potentiometer NO
Dimmer
NO
Rheostat NO
Solid-State Speed/Power Controler
YES
Variable Hertz/Frequency Drive YES
Potentiometers, Dimmers and Rheostats can not be
used to control the speed of an AC motor. They all use
forms of voltage resistance.
From first hand
experience I know that even low draw Hz drives can cost
well over $100 (I have seen them as high as $500 at a 1
Hp rating). Hz drives are a waste unless you need to
precisely control the speed/pulse of something
beyond/below the input frequency (or a capacitor
run/start motor). The next best thing is a solid-state
adjustment device.
$10-$15
Solid-State Controler (I.e. fan controller)
$1.50
#16 (or bigger) extension type cord, with ground (2
feet)
80 3/8 cable connectors (x2)[/b]
$5 1
male & 1 female standard rubber 3-prong electrical
plug
$3 Deep set 2x3 electrical box
All of
this can be bought at an home improvement store for
around the same price (such as Home Depot or Lowes).
Note: you need to have some basic wiring skills
to do this.
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The first thing
you need to do is confirm your not buying a Rheostat or
Dimmer. Look at the price and what\'s printed on it (fan
controls are more expensive). You need to make sure it
says it can control attic and/or whole house fans. I
chose the 100% controllable one, they also make them
with a Low/Med/High setting. The next part isnt much
harder, basically all you do is strip your cable &
wires and put on your plugs. In this case I already
(knowingly) left some on the M/F ends from a previous
project. Strip your cable and wires at the other end,
then using the supplied wire nuts connect all commons
(white wire) together. Connect one hot (black wire) to
ether hot lead (black wire coming out of device). Now
for the ground/s (green wire) use an extra wire nut. Or
you can strip about 2 off all of them and twist them
together nice and tight (if you don\'t have a wire nut).
Next push the fan controller into the box, before doing
so tuck the cluster of grounds under the other wires.
There should also be 2 supplied machine screws that you
will use to attach the mounting plate to the box.
Thats all there is too it, it can be used just
like a regular fan (only now you can adjust the
CFMsspeed).
Notes: Dont load it to max capacity.
In this case using the 5 amp model dont use it to
control a fan/motor the uses more than 4 - 4.5 amps.
These CAN NOT control capacitor start or run motors (you
would need a Hz drive for that.). When used, the motor
will get warm/warm-hot as if it where running regularly,
this is normal. Another thing I would do is let the
motor run for at least 3 hours (check on it from time to
time) on the lowest setting just to make sure it wont
over heat.
