The previous owner of our hose left me a nice Ingersoll-Rand air compressor. I also left my air compressor in our old house for the new owners.
The compressor is in the basement with 2 air lines going to the garage upstairs and 1/2 down the basement to where he used to do old car restorations. I lengthened the basement air line to reach my workshop, next to where the tractor sometimes sleeps. Next I had to set up a control system where I can turn the compressor on and off from either air terminal location. I did that at the old house.
It's a pretty easy project. Run 3-way switches (SPDT) with 3 wire from each location, 18 ga thermostat wires. I took a nice size j-box and put a 230 to 24 volt transformer and a large contactor with a 24 v coil. The internal compressor switch is left in the on position. From either location I can turn on/off the compressor.
The only issue is the compressor may be powered on but not running because it's up to the pressure setting and from the switches you can't tell if the compressor is energized or not (no on or off position with 3-way switches). So simple solution, I added 2 extra low voltage wires that are connected to the contactor coil. They run to a 24 v led mounted next to each switch (2nd half of project, yet to be done).
Just because I could, I drilled 2 10mm holes in the top of the box for 2 230v leds, one red, one yellow. One will be connected to the line side of the contactor, the other to the load. When standing next to the unit I will be able to tell if the box has power and if the compressor is powered, even if the motor isn't going.
Almost done
just have to connect the 230 in the box and run the thermostat wire.
The compressor is in the basement with 2 air lines going to the garage upstairs and 1/2 down the basement to where he used to do old car restorations. I lengthened the basement air line to reach my workshop, next to where the tractor sometimes sleeps. Next I had to set up a control system where I can turn the compressor on and off from either air terminal location. I did that at the old house.
It's a pretty easy project. Run 3-way switches (SPDT) with 3 wire from each location, 18 ga thermostat wires. I took a nice size j-box and put a 230 to 24 volt transformer and a large contactor with a 24 v coil. The internal compressor switch is left in the on position. From either location I can turn on/off the compressor.
The only issue is the compressor may be powered on but not running because it's up to the pressure setting and from the switches you can't tell if the compressor is energized or not (no on or off position with 3-way switches). So simple solution, I added 2 extra low voltage wires that are connected to the contactor coil. They run to a 24 v led mounted next to each switch (2nd half of project, yet to be done).
Just because I could, I drilled 2 10mm holes in the top of the box for 2 230v leds, one red, one yellow. One will be connected to the line side of the contactor, the other to the load. When standing next to the unit I will be able to tell if the box has power and if the compressor is powered, even if the motor isn't going.
Almost done
just have to connect the 230 in the box and run the thermostat wire.
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