VAM Caravel v1 microswitch - Page 4

#31: Post by **Marcelnl** » April 11th, 2016, 10:44 am

cuppajoe wrote:Thanks, will keep that in mind. Is that 9A on 120V or 240, with or without both elements going? With electrical, I like to leave lots of headroom.

A faemina is 800 plus 200 watt , so 10 A is for full steam ahead at 120V vs 5A or so at 230V.

A switch only just capable of the current/voltage will fail sooner than one with headroom, so if you can add some...

April 11th, 2016, 2:10 pm

Why I was concentrating on 15A, wanted to find something that would work anywhere. Have a candidate on the way.

Thanks to all for joining in the hunt, there's got to be something out there. Finding an original with maker's markings would be helpful. So far Francesco has'n't come up with a replacement, so maybe he's exhausted his junker supply. My guess is the original was robust enough that failure was usually due to water or some other physical damage.

April 11th, 2016, 6:20 pm

Iguess that the original did not bother with the option of 120v ..."so anything you find that works is a great find!

#34: Post by **drgary** » April 11th, 2016, 7:46 pm

Figuring out how to rewire these for 120v all the way through would be great since we now have access to 120v heating elements.

#35: Post by **Marcelnl** » April 12th, 2016, 12:19 pm

Add a SSR seems an easy option, provided there is room to put it...not sure how the microswitch is operated but that way you could even use a reed switch or something similar inside the housing of it to operate the ssr

April 12th, 2016, 1:12 pm

Really no room for an SSR, tho some folks have run outboard PIDs. The Arrarex has a complicated method of temp control, with the kettle clicking into place turning the machine on, then the system cycles power with a rocker bar moving in and out to activate the microswitch.
Here's the whole assembly

Here's a closeup of the switch.

And here's the metal bar at the back of the kettle that pushes on the rocker.

April 12th, 2016, 1:24 pm

I have two Caravel switches that do no match the VAM the OP posted. The link posted earlier works for mine, except I want higher than 6 amp rating.
I believe this will work?

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/microswitches/8486354/

April 12th, 2016, 2:21 pm

Thanks.

However, 10A 250V would be right at the limit for 120V and 15A should give plenty of headroom. And if not using an exact match, the most important physical dimension would be width, 11.45mm/.45", keeping in mind that it does go in a tight spot.

April 12th, 2016, 2:29 pm

I thought it meant 10A up to 250v? Guess i'll have to keep looking.

April 12th, 2016, 3:05 pm

From what I gather, if it's spec'd 250V 10A, the amperage spec would be lower for 120V. Sometimes they do indicate that the amperage spec is across the board, which would seem to indicate it's rated for the lowest voltage listed.